'They call it progress, we call it destruction': Memory and the construction of the W.A.C Bennett Dam

This thesis discusses the W.A.C Bennett Dam Visitor Centre and how memory is presented and re-presented in visual form through exhibition and film. In this thesis, I offer the W.A.C Bennett Dam as a case study. Prior to 2015, the Visitor Centre presented a ‘high modernist’ story of ‘progress’ when describing the construction of the W.A.C Bennett Dam. This thesis explores the expansion of this narrative through collaborative efforts between designers, filmmakers, BC Hydro and First Nations communities. It places emphasis on the creation of the film ‘Kwadacha by the River’ (2017) as a focal point of the expression of memory, comparing and contrasting this with the former featured film at the facility – ‘Canyon of Destiny’ (1968).