2012 BC First Nations' Art Awards Announced

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2012PREM0126-001556 

Oct. 12, 2012

Office of the Premier
BC Achievement Foundation 

VANCOUVER - Premier Christy Clark and British Columbia Achievement Foundation Chair Keith Mitchell announced today 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." 
  
Norman Tait, a Nisga'a artist from Vancouver, was named the recipient of the 2012 Creative Lifetime Achievement Award for First Nations' Art, a prestigious award given to an artist who has made a profound impact on the community and First Nations' culture. 
  
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 

"From carving to jewelry to painting and performance art, these award-winning artists join 45 artists previously recognized with these awards," said Mitchell. "It is the Foundation's great privilege to recognize excellence in First Nations' art." 

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. The BC Creative Achievement Awards for First Nations' Art are presented with the generous support of Polygon Homes Ltd. 

Kathleen Bartels, director of the Vancouver Art Gallery and a director of the BC Achievement Foundation, chaired an independent jury panel that selected the 2012 award recipients. The jurors included Brenda Crabtree, Aboriginal program manager, Emily Carr University of Art and Design; Bill McLennan, curator, Pacific Northwest, UBC Museum of Anthropology, Richard Sumner, Kwakwaka'wakw carver and artist and recipient of a 2010 BC Creative Achievement Award for First Nations' art and Cathi Charles Wherry, art program manager, First People's Heritage, Language and Culture Council. 

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation was established and endowed by the Province of British Columbia in 2003 to celebrate excellence and achievement in the arts, humanities, enterprise and community service. For information on British Columbia Achievement Foundation, visit: www.bcachievement.com 

Contact: 
Nora Newlands 
Executive Director 
BC Achievement Foundation 
604.618.6949 

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