FIRST NATIONS ART AWARD 2014

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BC First Nations Artists Honoured with Awards

VANCOUVER – Hon. John Rustad, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and British Columbia Achievement Foundation Chair Keith Mitchell presented awards to the recipients of the 2014 BC Creative Achievement Awards for First Nations Art, generously sponsored by Polygon Homes. Ltd.

“BC First Nations artists play a significant role in the creative life of British Columbia,” said Mitchell. “These awards today highlight the immense cultural traditions of each recipient. They join 37 First Nations’ artists that the Foundation has had the privilege of recognizing over the past eight years.”

Alvin Mack, a Nuxalk artist from Bella Coola will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, an honour bestowed on individuals who have made a profound contribution to their First Nations’ culture.

The Annual BC Creative Achievement Awards for First Nations’ Art celebrate artistic excellence in traditional, contemporary or media art. The 2014 recipients honoured are:

• Thomas A. Cannell, Coast Salish (Vancouver)
• Ben Davidson, Haida (Skidegate)
• Philip Gray, Tsimshian (West Vancouver)
• Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Wuikinuxw (Gibsons)
• Meghann O’Brien, Haida/Kwak-waka-wakw (Prince Rupert)

The awards were selected by jury members: renowned artist Robert Davidson, international photo-based artist Roy Arden, contemporary visual art curator Tania Willard, MOA’s curator emeritus Bill McLennan, and Kathleen Bartels, Director, Vancouver Art Gallery (non-voting chair).

The BC Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established and endowed by the Province of B.C. in 2003 to celebrate community service, arts, humanities and enterprise. For information on British Columbia Achievement Foundation, visit www.bcachievement.com

2014 Presentation Ceremony