Out of Silence - YVR Airport

Krista Point, Robyn Sparrow, Debra Sparrow, Gina Grant & Helen Callbreath · YVR International Terminal, Level 3 · Richmond, BC

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) · Medium: Weaving & Fibre

Four weavings. Five women. Centuries of knowledge made visible on the walls of an airport.

The Work

Out of Silence does not announce itself loudly. It rewards the traveller who slows down — who reads the patterns rather than glancing past them. Four large-scale weavings by a collective of Musqueam women line the corridor at Level 3, their diamonds, squares, and zigzags carrying meaning that runs far deeper than the eye first registers.

For many centuries before European contact, intricately woven Coast Salish blankets were worn or distributed during social and religious ceremonies. Weaving was not craft — it was knowledge, identity, and record. The women who created Out of Silence chose to work with traditional patterns as an act of cultural continuity — honouring the endurance of their craft and signifying their identities as weavers in the most public space available to them.

The title is significant. Coast Salish weaving nearly disappeared under the pressures of colonisation. The women who created this work are part of a generation that brought it back. Out of Silence is both a name and a statement.

The four weavings are installed alongside Susan Point's Flight as part of the Musqueam Welcome Area — a deliberate pairing of carving and weaving speaking together at the threshold of the country.

Take your time here. The patterns in Coast Salish weaving are not decorative — they record history, lineage, and teachings. The more closely you look, the more the work gives back.

Know Before You Go

Located in the International Terminal, Level 3, directly alongside Flight as part of the Musqueam Welcome Area. Viewable from the main corridor. Fully accessible.

Best time to visit: Off-peak arrival windows for the most unobstructed experience.

Getting There 

By Transit — Canada Line SkyTrain directly to YVR Airport Station. Connected directly to the International Terminal.

Non-traveller access — The International Terminal public areas are accessible without a flight. Enter via the departures level. Check YVR's current public access guidelines before visiting.

All three xʷməθkʷəy̓əm YVR works share this access route. Starting your Trail visit at YVR? The Welcome Figures are your first step. The Gathering Place in Domestic Arrivals is your fourth.

CONTINUE THE TRAIL

→  Flight (Spindle Whorl) · Susan Point · YVR International Terminal, Level 3 · 0 km

→  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Welcome Figures · Susan Point · Canada Customs Hall, Level 2 · 0.2 km

→  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Gathering Place · Journey Canoe · Domestic Arrivals, Level 2 · 0.3 km