Bill Reid Foundation

INVITATION TO SUPPORT THE TOTEMS TO TURQUOISE EXHIBITION

The Bill Reid Foundation has been given a special opportunity. The American Museum of Natural History has mounted a spectacular 500-piece exhibition celebrating the resurgence and artistic brilliance of North American native art, and a great many of the selected pieces are by artists from British Columbia.

Totems to Turquoise: native north american jewellery arts of the northwest and southwest has dazzled visitors and critics during lengthy runs in New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The Bill Reid Foundation, together with the Vancouver Museum, has brought this exhibition to Vancouver, its only Canadian venue. The exhibition runs until March 25, 2007, at the Vancouver Museum in Vanier Park.

“Totems to Turquoise … revels in the sheer radiant splendour of its displays, including 17 exquisite pieces by Bill Reid …” -- Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail

The exhibition features an array of classic and contemporary jewellery, each piece dramatically displayed in its cultural and historical context. North American native art is rooted in tradition and much was lost forever. That’s why it is so inspiring to see it reborn in the work of masters like Bill Reid and Charles Edenshaw, as well as contemporary artists, Chief Jim Hart, Robert Davidson, Lyle Wilson, Dempsey Bob … the list goes on. The exhibition brings old and new together and shows that both stand among the most beautiful art ever produced, anywhere.

Since so much of this treasury was created and inspired here, the Bill Reid Foundation has brought it home to Canada’s West Coast where it can educate and re-inspire us all. But we still need your help.

This is an expensive proposition. In order to assure installation and promotion of this major event in time, the Bill Reid Foundation had to commit $500,000 and we haven't raised all of that yet. Without the lead time to secure big dollar sponsors, the Foundation has turned to securing broad community support to help it finance Totems to Turquoise in Vancouver. It is raising these funds by asking individuals, corporations, and foundations to become a Donor of the Day with each donor supporting one day of operating the exhibition for $5,000.

As a Donor of the Day, you or your organization will receive:

Recognition as a hosting sponsor.
100 exhibition passes (bearing your name) to be used at any time during the exhibition. Give them to friends, customers, employees or anyone you choose. You may wish to donate your passes to a school, retirement home, or other community organization, so that others can visit the exhibition. Each pass also entitles the bearer to a discount at the exhibition’s gift shop.
Name exposure to 40,000 – 50,000 visitors during the five-month exhibition.
The option to choose a specific day on a first-come-first-served basis for your sponsorship.
Prominent signage in the exhibition on your designated day.
Recognition with the other Donors of the Day near the entrance of the exhibition for its full duration.
The opportunity to hold an event or reception at the exhibition on your day (at an appropriate added cost). Be creative with this – we can help!
A copy of the publication, Totems to Turquoise: native north american jewellery arts of the northwest and southwest, a lavish art book in which cultural context is provided by the artists themselves.
An appropriate charitable tax receipt.

We are asking you to join the many others who have become a Donor of the Day to support this fabulous exhibition. To become a donor, please download and fill in the “Confirmation Letter” and return it with a cheque for $5,000 payable to the Bill Reid Foundation.

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP A
VIBRANT TRADITION INSPIRE US ALL.