Vancouver’s Crista Dahl
Media Library & Archive
(CDMLA) is home to one of
Canada’s most significant
repositories of video by
artists and independent
producers. It includes over
5000 video titles, an
extensive publication and
textual record collection, a

photo archive, and the
societal records of its
parent organization - the
Satellite Video Exchange
Society (SVES). The Archive
safeguards video collections
chronicling unique B.C.
histories including those of
Metro Media, The Women’s
Labour History Project, The

First Nations Access Program,
Vancouver Status of Women,
GaybleVision, Operation
Solidarity, and Women in
Focus.
   The CDMLA documents the
international alternative
video movement and the rise
of a new art form - Video Art
- following the introduction

of the first portable video
system in the late 1960s.
This new technology released
the medium from the exclusive
grasp of broadcast and put it
into the hands of the
consumer. Its potential
quickly captured the
imaginations of social
activists and artists around