Award Category: First Nations Art Award

Corey Moraes is of Tsimshian heritage (Lax Kw’alaams Band) and belongs to the Raven Clan. His work can be seen in many publications, museums, galleries and private collections in North America, England and Japan and his designs have gained international recognition. In 2010, Moraes was the recipient of the Aboriginal Traditional Visual Art Award from the Canada Council for the Arts. A largely self-taught artist, he explains, in his own words: “As far as I know, there weren’t any artists in my family. When I was about twenty-five, I started to look back at my own culture, in an exploration of who I was. So I did research in museums, galleries, and books and I had a moment of epiphany — the old pieces spoke to me in a certain way. It’s my hope that every time I create a piece, it will live on long after I’m gone from this earth.”

Born in Alert Bay, Corrine Hunt has been creating contemporary art that reflects the themes and traditions of her First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage for more than 24 years. Corrine’s works include engraved gold and sterling silver jewellery and accessories, custom furnishings in carved stainless steel and reclaimed wood, modern totem poles, and other sculptural installations. A member of the Raven Gwa’wina clan from Ts’akis, a Komoyue village on Vancouver Island, Corrine’s rich family history includes internationally renowned First Nations artists Henry, Richard and Tony Hunt, all of whom have influenced her art. Uncle Norman Brotchie was also an early teacher and mentor. Corrine too has mentored First Nations and other artists and continues to be a strong and vocal supporter of the arts in British Columbia.

Luke Parnell is an artist of Haida and Nisga’a heritage who, through the use of traditional techniques from the Northwest Coast, investigates contemporary social issues. Traditional Northwest Coast art was centred on the convergence of intangible and material wealth: an individual’s rights and privileges and the objects that represented them. Parnell’s work continues to address ideas of rights, ownership, and privilege in the context of his own experience. Graduating with a bachelors degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and later gaining a masters from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (graduating with distinction), Parnell was the recipient of the 2012 Winsor Gallery Graduate Student Award. The National Gallery of Canada has collected Parnell’s work and he has exhibited in various galleries across the country.

Maxine Matilpi (Hamasuwidi – meaning “something to eat”), spent her early life in her home village Kalugwis, located in the very centre of Kwakwaka’wakw territory. Here she learned her first language, Kwak’wala, and was formally trained and educated in many aspects of traditional culture. As a child, Maxine was encouraged to assist her mother – Jesse Matilpi (Wadidi), the daughter of Chief Henry Speck (Ozistalis) – and other elders in the community with blanket and regalia making projects. This teaching represented the unbroken line of elders mentoring and passing knowledge to the next generation. Over the last four decades, Maxine has created a huge collection of regalia, which continues to be used for both traditional potlatches and public dance performances. This sharing of wealth amongst her people, a relational art practice, is very important to Maxine. Her regalia has been exhibited worldwide and recently joined the permanent collections of the Stanford University Museum of Art, the McCord Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Seattle Art Museum.

Xwalacktun’s work has changed the artistic and physical landscape both within Canada and internationally through a range of commissions, community endeavors, and exhibitions. In Scotland, poles stand as a symbol of friendship between Europe and Canada. Throughout Salish territory, Xwalacktun’s pieces – created in a variety of mediums: wood, concrete, metal, rock – can be found on top of mountains, in parks, at elementary, secondary and post-secondary institutions, in communities and in museums. Lovingly referred to as “The Boss”, this Master artist has influenced thousands of emerging artists through the school systems inspiring them to connect with their creative spirit. Fluent in multiple forms of First Nation’s design, Xwalacktun shares both his cultural knowledge and innovation while ensuring each piece speaks to important themes such as interconnectedness, community, and environmental awareness. His relaxed teaching approach, combined with his commitment to excellence, both inspires and stretches students to experiment, communicate, and connect with their audiences.

Arlene Ness describes her work as an exploration of new and old techniques”. When carving her pieces she captures a moment in time and interprets experiences, history and legend while keeping the core of the art’s creation true to her Gitxsan ancestry. Arlene’s formative years were spent doing portraiture in pencil and pen and ink. Her years of studying faces led her to focus on the creation of portrait masks, crest masks and moon masks; which she describes as her comfort zone”. When designing a mask, Arlene takes inspiration from old Gitxsan and Tsimshian portrait masks. Ness credits her lifetime of exposure to, and exploration of, mainstream native art to her love of, and career in First Nations’ fine art.

Clay artist Laura Wee Lay Laq believes working with clay stops her internal dialogue giving her a sense of harmony and peace”. Each of Laura’s clay pots are hand-built, burnished and sawdust fired. In the artist’s words, To take earth, give it personal expression, smooth it with a stone, give it to the fire by embedding the clay into the dust of trees and making it vulnerable to the natural elements completes a cycle on which I am proud to play a part”. Wee Lay Laq is recognized as a cultural leader within her community and serves as a role model for all Aboriginal artists in her capacity to create quality work both in traditional and contemporary forms.

The work of Tahltan – Tlingit artist Linda Bob encompasses ceremonial regalia and beadwork. Acknowledging that her history and culture is at the heart of her work, Linda has a deep passion to merge Tahltan and Tlingit traditions with contemporary style. While guided and inspired by traditional concepts, Linda moves outside Tahltan motifs into more fluid forms found in other Pacific Northwest traditions. Linda Bob’s work can be found in the National Museum of the American Indian, the Royal Ontario Museum, and has been exhibited at the Museum of Anthropology and the Spirit Wrestler Gallery.