Bright Futures, Bill Reid Gallery
Bright Futures brings together the innovative art of Bill Reid with new works by contemporary emerging and established Indigenous artists of the Northwest Coast. To celebrate the life of Bill Reid 25 years after his death, contributing artists were invited to ponder and critique the question: How is Bill Reid continuously inspiring contemporary Northwest Coast artists?
Over 50 years ago, Bill Reid wrote an eloquent essay in which he celebrated the traditions of Northwest Coast art in the past and into the future. He recognized art as “objects of bright pride” which “told the completeness of their culture (…) and their closeness to the magical world of universal myth and legend.”
Along with Bill Reid, the exhibition features: Rebecca Baker Grenier (Kwag’ul/Squamish), Tamara Bell (Haida), Sherri Dick (Haida), Shoshannah Greene (Haida), Maynard Johnny Jr. (Kwakwaka’wakw/Salish), Keith Kerrigan (Haida), Cody Lecoy (Sylix/Lekwungen), Latham Mack (Nuxalk), Calvin Morberg (Teslin Tlingit), Kelly Robinson (Nuxalk), Natasha Seymour (Tahltan/Tsimshian/Nisga’a), Dustin Sheldon (Teslin Tlingit), Krystle Silverfox (Selkirk & Northern Tutchone), and Yolonda Skelton (Gitxsan).
Bright Futures is both a retrospective on how Northwest Coast art has evolved over the past 25 years and an invitation for the next generation of Indigenous artists to continue to create bright futures for Northwest Coast art.
Bright Futures
April 26, 2023 - January 14, 2024
Against the Current, acrylic on canvas, 6’x3’, 2023
“Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?”, this quote by Gabrielle Roy accompanies Bill Reid’s art “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” as it was featured on the $20 note, issued in 2004. I chose to commemorate this banknote because, for me, it represents a triumph of the human spirit because, for a time in this nation, arts and cultural practices for indigenous peoples were banned. Expressions of the spirit through song, dance, story and art have been carried forward through the generations. This painting is a celebration of resilience, innovation, creativity and joy that has persevered beyond the forces of control, oppression and assimilation.
Join Kelly Robinson, Latham Mack, Cody Lecoy, and Keith Kerrigan as they discuss their work, their creative processes, and the influence of Bill Reid’s legacy on Northwest Coast art.
Highlights include:
Artists sharing the concepts and processes behind their works.
An exploration of how storytelling weaves into their artistry.
A conversation on the impact of Bill Reid's art.
For those interested in the convergence of tradition and innovation in art, this discussion sheds light on contemporary practices rooted in cultural heritage.