Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

Location: 639 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC V6C 2G3

Located in Vancouver’s city centre at 639 Hornby St, the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art is a space that showcases work from a wide variety of Indigenous artists. It is the only public gallery of its kind that is dedicated to contemporary Indigenous art from Canada’s West Coast.

The gallery is named after Haida artist Bill Reid who is internationally recognized for his artistic activism in a variety of mediums such as carving, sculpting, metalworking, and literary writing. Reid's artistic style is seen to infuse the cultural traditions of the Haida people with contemporary features of 'modern art'. Throughout his career, Reid played a vital role in the construction of Indigenous knowledge through his work as an artist, activist, curator, and cultural commentator; the many dimensions of his career are reflected throughout the gallery and its exhibits. Reid understood his art to be a platform that allowed him to not only engage with but shape and challenge the contemporary discourse on Indigenous peoples. All too often, non-Indigenous actors feel they are entitled to a stake in the construction of the ‘authentic’ Indigenous identity which is something Reid’s works spoke out against. In the context of Indigeneity, authenticity should not be equated to traditionalism and Reid's art took a position against this discourse by implementing the visual trope of ‘cultural salvage’ throughout his works. Understanding Indigenous identities through a singular lens of traditionalism ignores the hybrid identities of Indigenous peoples and relegates their cultures and languages to dimensions of the past. Reid’s portfolio of artwork and the legacy it created continues to play a critical role in the promotion of contemporary Indigenous language culture and identity.

Language operates as a mediating force toward one's experiences of culture and identity. As a communicative vessel, all forms of language, whether they be written, oral or visual, enables the individual creator to shape the discourse surrounding their cultural identity. Indigenous-centered and operated spaces like the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art are critical toward the protection and promotion of Indigenous individual's rights to sovereign cultural expression. Throughout the gallery, the medium of visual art acts as a universal language in which the creators communicate to visitors on topics like land dispossession, contemporary indigeneity, cultural activism, and much more. Gallery programs such as the "Chief 7idansuu James Hart Emerging Artist Program" continues Bill's vision and legacy by providing emerging artists with the platforms they need to not only jumpstart their careers but to also use their art as a means to contribute to contemporary Indigenous discourse.

As the work of Indigenous artists continues to shape discourse surrounding Indigenous languages, culture, and identities, this growing body of scholarship must be shared through realms of public education. The gallery reflects this by offering several educational experiences for both child and adult visitors. Instillations throughout the gallery are used to engage visitors on topics such as Indigenous storytelling, reconciliation, oral traditions, and contemporary challenges of sovereignty and repatriation. The gallery sees public education as a necessary step toward protecting Indigenous language, culture, and identity through non-indigenous allyship.

References

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art (n.d.).Retrieved from.www.billreidgallery.ca/.

Remillard, C. (2011). Framing Reid: Agency, discourse, and the meaning of Bill Reid's artistic identity and works. Journal of Canadian Studies, 45(2), 162-181. doi:10.3138/jcs.45.2.162