Artifact Collection

Explore the artifacts that tell the stories of the people who helped shape the City of Surrey.

old-fashioned camera

Surrey’s artifact collection is housed, cared for, and exhibited on the unceded, and ancestral lands of the Salish peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and se’mya’me (Semiahmoo) nations.

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Preserving and Sharing Surrey’s Stories

Heritage Services administers a large civic artifact collection, which consists of over 20,000 objects. The collection is exhibited primarily at Museum of Surrey and Historic Stewart Farm, and at other civic venues, museums, and galleries. The collections and their associated stories play a significant role in the presentation, interpretation, and understanding of the City’s past, present, and future. A dedicated heritage staff team oversees the administration of the collection and works collaboratively to support access and use for exhibits, programs, and research.

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The Museums’ Collections Policy guides the acquisition of new collections and outlines criteria for acquisition, including Surrey provenance; uniqueness; historical value; and good physical condition. Heritage staff work collaboratively with Surrey residents, community associations, and businesses to ensure significant Surrey-based objects are identified, acquired, preserved, and made accessible.

Where can you see the collections?

Ownership

Heritage Services holds its collections in trust for the people of Surrey. Objects are predominantly donated by residents, community associations and businesses. Legal ownership is transferred by deed of gift to the City of Surrey. Guided by best practice in artifact collections management, staff, volunteers, and external experts take great care to gather, research, document and preserve the collection.

Contact

Louisa Smith, Acting Curator of Collections
heritagecollections@surrey.ca