Evelyn Vanderhoop – Award of Distinction Laureate 2020

The Fulmer Award celebrates the intersection of art and culture, while honouring First Nations artistic traditions from throughout the province. Amongst the 80 individuals who have been honoured as awardees of this program since its inception, there is one each year who is recognized for their lifetime of artistic achievement through the Award of Distinction. This acknowledgement is presented for extraordinary and sustained accomplishment in First Nations Art in BC.  

The Award of Distinction is also a commemorative reflection on how these artistic leaders contribute to their communities, how they respect tradition, how they mentor the next generation, and how they transform reality. They ensure that BC is a place filled with astonishing craft, with unique and immensely expressive power, and continuous wonder.  

In keeping with all those who have been recognized as remarkable artists with this designation, BC Achievement is privileged to honour Evelyn Vanderhoop of Masset as the 2020 Award of Distinction laureate. Evelyn is a respected Haida traditional textile weaver in the Naaxiin (more commonly called Chilkat) tradition. Coming from a family of weavers, Evelyn delved into the origin of this technique by reading journals of the early explorers, learning from the stories of her ancestors and studying the old robes in museums around the world. Evelyn has shared her knowledge through her contributions to books on Northwest Coast Art, and lectures at universities and museums. She is now teaching others how to weave in this tradition, and has been making and posting weaving demonstration videos online to make it accessible to all. Parallel careers as a weaver and watercolour artist have marked Evelyn’s success in BC and internationally. 

Past recipients of the Award of Distinction in First Nations Art are:  

2007 Robert Davidson & Dempsey Bob  
2008 Mary Michell  
2009 Earl Muldon  
2010 Rena Point Bolton  
2011 Primrose Adams  
2012 Norman Tait  
2013 Mandy Brown  
2014 Alvin Mack  
2015 Joe David  
2016 Susan Point  
2017 Delores Purdaby
2018 Henry (Hank) Speck Jr.  
2019 Marianne Nicolson