Aboriginal artists
New magazine focuses on First Nations issues
A new magazine is putting a fresh face on aboriginal life and culture. Face magazine’s premiere issue rolled off the presses in August and is the first high- gloss publication dealing with First Nations issues, art and culture to reach out to a national readership. The magazine has yet to find a national distributor, but [...]
Cultural treasures will be repatriated to B.C. first nation
Nearly 300 historically significant Nisga’a artifacts collected in northwestern B.C. in the early 20th century — some described as “masterpieces” of native art — are to be repatriated next week by officials from two major Canadian museums. At a ceremony titled The Spirit of Our Ancestors Has Returned Home, elaborately carved masks, rattles and other [...]
Victoria: First Peoples Festival returns
After a five-year hiatus, the First Peoples Festival is back, thanks to new $10,000 sponsorship by the City of Victoria. The event features performers and an artists’ market. Under tight timelines, organizers aim to keep the reincarnated festival “humble but memorable,” said Leslie McGarry of the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Gone is the big salmon [...]
Downtown Eastside mural ‘touches a little bit on everybody’, Painting is the largest public mural in Western Canada
The largest public mural in Western Canada depicts ravens, canoes, dancers and even a heartbreaking scene of children being sent off to residential schools. The 7,600-square-foot scene on the wall of a Downtown Eastside hotel celebrates native culture and its history, but it’s also aimed at bringing together natives and non-natives. “It touches a little [...]
Vancouver: Weaving was dismissed as women’s work, Time Warp has works by artists from Alaska, Yukon, B.C. and Washington state
A major exhibition of contemporary textiles and fibre art of the northwest coast at the Bill Reid Gallery is a sign that a major conceptual shift is underway in the acceptance of weaving as an art form on the northwest coast. The works in Time Warp: Contemporary Textiles of the Northwest Coast are made from [...]
Victoria: Coast Salish project takes shape, colour
Bonnie Quaite fine tunes the painted borders of a spirit in the sky, blowing a ship to shore. The idea behind the image, Quaite says, “is that you’re always surrounded, looked over and watched – taken care of in a way.” Quaite is the team leader of a group of six youth spending their summer [...]
B.C. First Nations and Aboriginal Artists and Arts Organizations Awarded AADA Grants
The First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council (the First Peoples’ Council) today announced that the Aboriginal Arts Development Awards (AADA) program has this year awarded 47 grants totaling $540,000 to Aboriginal and First Nations artists and organizations working in all artistic disciplines across the province. Proposals are accepted annually from First Nations and Aboriginal [...]
Vancouver: Aboriginal artists painting what may be Vancouver’s largest mural
Urban aboriginal artists in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are creating what may be the city’s largest mural. The giant 743-square-metre mural is a labour of love for five Aboriginal artists who have been working for a month on the west wall of the Orwell Hotel on Hastings street. The colourful mural is a mix of Aboriginal [...]
Sculpture in Parksville
Parksville city council will install Nuu-chah-nulth artist Connie Watts’ 4.4 metre Circus sculpture at the corner of McMillian Street and Highway 19A. It will be erected as part of the Downtown Business Association’s (PDBA) public art program. Council approved the location and committed $15,000 for the installation of the metal sculpture. That was always the [...]
Penticton: Filmmakers focus on First Voices
Two graduates from the En’owkin Centre are part of a major documentary film project, exploring the creative efforts B.C. First Nations communities are making to preserve their languages for the future. Megan Fortier and Bracken Hanuse Corlett helped produce the first segment for a new series on the Knowledge Network. Our First Voices is a [...]
Victoria: Unknown thief targets Salish pair’s carvings, Separate break-ins net two valuable pieces
Coast Salish artists Luke and John Marston complete every one of their carvings with steady precision and careful attention to the traditions of their ancestors. Which is why the theft of two of their valuable pieces — collectively worth more than $60,000 — from two downtown Victoria art galleries in the last four months feels [...]
Sechelt artist revamps Stanley Park for First Nations’ future
When visitors from around the world trek through Stanley Park in Vancouver this summer, chances are they will find themselves in the Klahowya Village, a brand new cultural exhibit featuring First Nations art, carving, stories, cuisine, performances and history. The man behind the design and handiwork of the village is Sechelt Nation artist Richard Krentz. [...]
Christina Lake: Story Pole Raised in Traditional Way at Christina Living Arts Centre
Every community has a story. For Christina Lake the story dates back to the times before even the First Nations story began, back to the time that only exists in the legends of the S’nixit people who lived in the area. Marilyn James, of the S’nixit nation, explained that the story of Christina Lake is [...]
Hope: Artists rally in support of Trails Crossing
The first Trails Crossing Friendship Centre Aboriginal Day celebration in Memorial Park was a chance for First Nations artists to showcase their talents locally. The fledging Friendship Centre, headed by Bonnie Millward and a board of directors, hopes to provide services to aboriginal and the Metis communities through support, referrals and cultural revival. Despite a [...]
Cranbrook: Sculpture symbolizes reconciliation
Just one week after signing an historic agreement with the Royal BC Museum on the maintenance of Ktunaxa artifacts, the Ktunaxa Nation celebrated another significant milestone on Monday, June 21. Members of the Nation joined representatives from the City of Cranbrook as well as the artists, residents, dignitaries and business sponsors for the unveiling of [...]
