2012 B.C. First Nations’ Art Awards Announced

 VANCOUVER– Premier Christy Clark and British Columbia Achievement Foundation Chair Keith Mitchell today announced the 2012 BC Creative Achievement Award recipients for First Nations’ Art. “We are honored to recognize the six artists named today for their creative excellence and cultural contributions,” said Premier Clark. “We all celebrate the traditional and contemporary interpretations of the stories of the First Nations from across the Province.

The 2012 award recipients of the Annual BC Creative Achievement Awards for First Nations’ Art, a juried competition celebrating artistic excellence in traditional, contemporary or media art are:

·         Wayne Alfred, Kwakwaka'wakw, Alert Bay

·         Morgan Green, Tsimshian, Vancouver

·         Philip Janze, Gitxsan, Hazelton

·         Skeena Reece, Tsimshian/Gitxsan/Cree, Ucluelet

·         David Wilson, Okanagan, Vernon

The five juried award recipients will each receive $5,000 and the seal of the British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for First Nations’ Art. Premier Clark will present the awards at a ceremony to be held on Nov. 19, 2012 in Vancouver.

David Lloyd Wilson, Okanagan
David Wilson’s beautiful and complex paintings have evolved from his childhood fascination with ancient Interior Salish pictographs. He studied the styles and principles of Haida and Coast Salish art, but his preoccupation has always been with the art of the Interior Salish. His work is inspired by the same stories of the natural and spiritual world depicted in the rock paintings of his ancestors. He’s not only created the work; he’s worked hard to share it, with public displays in Vernon’s Spirit Square, Performing Arts Centre and Jubilee Hospital.