Aboriginal artists

White Rock: Native jewelry stolen from gallery

White Rock RCMP are asking for public help in recovering more than $10,000 worth of unique native-art jewelry stolen during a May 13 robbery at Neo Concept Gallery. The 15787 Marine Dr. gallery was targeted just after 4:30 a.m. Police say a lone culprit kicked in the front glass door and smashed two display cases [...]

Vancouver: Felled cedar will rise again in Stanley Park this summer

A 15-metre eagle with a belly big enough for people to walk through will be part of Klahowya Village in Stanley Park this summer. The village is being made out of an ancient cedar tree that was removed Friday from Stanley Park for safety reasons. Artist Richard Krentz is one of the artists awarded a [...]

Duncan: Museum-quality Native art featured downtown

The arts council’s first exhibit of all-Native work opens Thursday in downtown Duncan. “Part of our mandate is inclusive of Native art,” said Jeffrey Birkin of the Cowichan Valley Arts Council. He’s tanked up about some three-dozen multi-media pieces being displayed under heavy security in CVAC’s storefront gallery on Station Street. The exhibit dubbed Aboriginal [...]

Indigenous Artist takes Off

Following a whirlwind of 2010 Olympic activity, Tsimshian artist Bill Helin continues to break new ground. Bill’s 12-metre war canoe, Ravensong, carved from a 540-year-old cedar tree from the Stikine Valley, was the centerpiece of the the Klahow-ya Village at the Pan Pacific Hotel during the 2010 Olympics. The Klahow-ya exhibit was organized by the [...]

Haida artist Davidson wins B.C.’s Audain Prize

Robert Davidson, a renowned Haida artist, has been named winner of the Audain Prize for lifetime achievement, B.C.’s largest visual arts award. The prize from the Audain Foundation grants $30,000 annually to a senior British Columbia artist, selected by an independent jury. Davidson is known for combining traditional imagery with modern techniques in his masks [...]

Vancouver curator to take part in Sydney Biennale: Tania Willard is one of six curators to participate in Canada Council initiative to expand skills and raise profile of first nations artists

Vancouver curator Tania Willard is one of a group of Canadian aboriginal curators being sent by the Canada Council to take part in the 17th Sydney Biennale. Before Willard arrives in Australia for the opening on May 12, she’ll be going to New Zealand to visit several of that country’s major art galleries and Maori [...]

Duncan: Grateful festival-goers revel in aboriginal arts and film

Huy ch q’u. The Hul’quimi’num word for thank-you resonated through the Cowichan Theatre during last week’s perennially successful Cowichan International Aboriginal Festival of Film & Art. Comically understated main emcees Ray Peter and Tousilum (Ron George) led viewers in repeatedly giving thanks to elders, patrons, teachers, filmmakers and artists during the AFF that’s enjoyed steady [...]

Native art comes to life in Summerland

Professional and amateur artists from around BC have travelled to the Okanagan to learn how to turn a block of wood into something beautiful and spiritual. Master Carver Aaron Nelson-Moody, more commonly known as Splash, is an expert on creating decorative wood masks. A member of the Squamish First Nation, he became interested in traditional [...]

Nelson Moody carving out a niche Coast Salish carver showcases craft to the world, and Sea to Sky, during Olympic and Paralympic Games

Canada’s First Nations people made it pretty clear at the Olympic opening ceremonies that they welcome other cultures onto their territory. And during the Paralympic Games, Squamish Nation carver Aaron Nelson Moody will continue to welcome people to his traditional territory, while teaching them about his people’s history and culture. The 43-year-old artist began training [...]

B.C. Haida artist Robert Davidson gets Governor General’s visual-arts award

Eight Canadian artists, were named winners of the 2010 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts Tuesday at the Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montreal. They are: Haida sculptor Robert Davidson Filmmaker André Forcier Painter Rita Letendre Video artist Tom Sherman Photographer Gabor Szilasi Painter and sculptor Claude Tousignant Artist Terry Ryan, for outstanding contribution Glass [...]

North Vancouver: Carving out a city welcome

North Vancouver city hall could one day feature a traditional Coast Salish welcome figure created by local students under the guidance of a master carver. Tsnomot-Brad Baker, North Vancouver school district vice-principal and a member of the Squamish Nation, presented his proposal to city council Monday. “Carson Graham is one of the very few schools [...]

Festival of aboriginal artists at local libraries in March

Aboriginal artists from a variety of disciplines will showcase their talents and cultures through multiple performances and workshops taking place in March at various Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) and Surrey Public Library (SPL) locations. “Our library systems have joined forces and worked together to create cooperative programming to promote aboriginal arts as a way [...]

Yuxweluptun draws the line: The art establishment’s embrace of the aboriginal artist hasn’t blunted his rhetorical hatchet

You don’t really have a revolution until someone draws a line, and thanks to the line-drawing prowess of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Canada is in the midst of a full-on aboriginal siege. This time, there’s no need to circle the wagons. Just open your eyes to the work of Yuxweluptun and a new generation of young [...]

Andy Everson Gifts Hockey “Bear” Print to CNN President at 2010 Winter Games

Andy Everson gifts “Bear” print, a silhouette of a goalie with an Aboriginal background bear design to CNN President. He has been invited by CNN to interview nightly for a different art print from his “Spirits of Snow & Ice Collection” to feature the various Olympics winter sports at Canvas Lounge, located at 99 Powell Street. [...]

‘We Are Here’

There were no nosebleed seats at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Games, says Jody Broomfield, not from where he was sitting. “I was four rows from the top of the roof, but it was the best seat in the house.” The Squamish Nation artist created the crest for the Four Host First Nations [...]