The seventh annual Skeena Salmon Art Show beginning from August 2 will be showcasing over 100 pieces. With a theme of "Where Salmon and People Meet', the show will be featuring artists from across the region who will be using varied techniques like carving, painting, sculpture, photography, clay, jewellery, fabric and more, also reflecting on the future of salmon populations.
Isabelle Chernish
In her final year of biology degree and forensics certificate, Chernish is a 24 year old disabled fibre artist from Smithers. While needle felting is her primary medium, she likes to combine it with free motion embroidery, needle punch and hand embroidery. "As a biologist, I'm constantly amazed by the ecological diversity of the Skeena watershed, and I love highlighting the beauty of overlooked species" she noted. She likes to use fibre art as a medium of merging her creativity and ingenuity with an added love for science.
Maureen Wheeler
Hailing from Quesnel, B.C., Wheeler exhibits a natural talent for painting, murals, sculpture and photography. She is the founder and manager of Spirit Square Gallery in downtown Quesnel and an active member of Central Interior chapter of the FCA. Maureen has been a participant in the Skeena Salmon Art Show since 2019 when her painting of Grizzly and Salmon won the People’s Choice Award.
Veronica Walker
After moving to northern B.C. in her childhood years, Walker never left. She now works as a forester and an artist, two things she finds very interconnected. She recently also had a successful show at the Terrace Art Gallery.
Sabrina Williams
An emerging Gitxsan and Nisga’a artist, Williams was born in the Ty’msyen territory in what is currently known as Terrace, B.C. She grew up between the two villages of Gitwangak and Gitanyow, Gitxsan on her fathers side and Nisga’a on her mothers side. She finds passion in the traditional three dimensional art form of carving and takes pride in the traditional 2D paintings while trying to incorporate her own modern style with her traditional fromalin to make her own.
Marie-Christine Claveau
Growing up in Saguenay Lac St-Jean, Québec, Claveau developed a great appreciation and love for nature. She moved to B.C. after earning a university and worked in the forestry industry for years. Now painting primarily from her home studio in Rosswood, B.C., her vibrant acrylic paintings capture the simple dynamic beauty of the natural world, blending realism with abstraction. Marie-Christine has been exhibiting at the Skeena Salmon Art Show since its first year, and has won several awards over the years.
Danielle Consitt
Originally from treaty 13 Territory now known as Ontario, Consitt now happily lives near Lake Ontario which is a constant source of inspiration for her art. However, she developed interest in the complexity of Salmon during her years in Prince Rupert, B.C. "While navigating through a crisis, I could only paint one dot at a time, and so that is what I did. I was surrounded by beauty and salmon was a constant theme in my life at that time," she noted. "I have been wanting to submit my work to the Skeena Salmon Art show ever since I began painting in 2021."
Jamie Nole
Nole is a Nisga’a and Tahltan Nations artist, mom and a neurodivergent who creates work around mental health, environmental awareness, and other life events. Nole also designed this year's logo of the festival. "Salmon has always stuck out in my core memory; net fishing with my grandma Bertha L, cleaning fish with my mom, and recently helping my brothers set up our urban smokehouse.," she said.
"Protect the waters, protect the fish, protect the culture."
The selection committee comprising Marie Blouin, Tanya Gregoire, and Taalrumiq, will select the 30 artists who will be taking their creations to Bella Coola in collaboration with the Bella Coola Valley Arts Council.
The winner of People's Choice Award will win an award of $750.
