“grunt gallery and the Native Education College (NEC) have partnered together to create two new large-scale, full colour murals in celebration of the NEC’s 30th anniversary at their location in Mount Pleasant.
Mural #1 – Where the People Are Welcome, led by artist Marissa Nahanee (Squamish & Nisga’a) with Jerry Whitehead (Cree), will be painted on the west wall of the NEC’s Longhouse.
Mural #2 – Past and Presence, led by artists Corey Bulpitt (Haida), Sharifah Marsden (Anishinaabe) and Jerry Whitehead (Cree), will be painted on the east wall of the Tsimilano Building, an administrative building located next door to the NEC’s Longhouse.
Both murals recognize the history of the Native Education College and its location on unceded Coast Salish territories. The educational institution has become a meeting place where many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis as well as settler and immigrant students come together for sharing and learning that is grounded in Indigenous cultural knowledges. We honour the land that we call home, the people who have lived here for generations and this rich diversity of contemporary Indigenous existence in Vancouver and the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
We’d like to invite YOU THE COMMUNITY to put on your painting clothes and come join us on Saturday, August 6 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm to GET PAINTING! No experience necessary. Families and kids of all ages are welcome.
EVENT: Community Mural Painting Party #1
DATE: Saturday, August 6
TIME: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LOCATION: Native Education College, 285 East 5th Ave, Vancouver, V5T 1H2
FREE EVENT. Open to the public. Drinking water will be provided.
Drop by the NEC weekdays between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm to watch the artists at work as they prepare the walls for the big community painting party.
And stay tuned for information about Community Mural Painting Party #2 which will be held on August 20 in conjunction with the upcoming Vancouver Mural Festival.
ARTIST BIOS:
Corey Bulpitt: aakeit Aaya or “Gifted Carver” Haida of the Naikun Raven clan was born in Prince Rupert BC in 1978. He is a great-great grandson of the famed Charles Edenshaw and Louis Collison. He is an avid painter, jeweler, wood and argillite carver who enjoys exploring different mediums such as spray paint, which he has used to create large-scale paintings involving urban youth in Vancouver. Through his study Corey creates functional pieces that can be used in the traditional context of song and dance.
Sharifah Marsden is an Anishnaabe artist from Mississauga’s of Scugog Island First Nation. Sharifah draws from her Anishnaabe roots and her knowledge of Woodlands art to create works that include everything from acrylic paintings, murals to beadwork and engraving. She graduated from the Native Education College, Northwest Coast Jeweller Arts program under established Haida/Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Dan Wallace. She has been focusing on her own career as an artist, creating jewellery and designing murals for a number of Vancouver’s non-profit organizations.
Marissa Nahanee is a Squamish and Nisga’a seminal visual artist and public speaker. Since childhood she has seen her father Latash paint and create space where people feel welcomed. Her first public mural is located at the Firehall Arts Centre called “Radius” and another with Greenpeace called “Perseverance.” A graduate of NEC’s Northwest Coast Art Jewellery Program, Nahanee is working with the United States Consulate on another mural project in Vancouver.
Jerry Whitehead is of Cree heritage from the James Smith First Nation in Saskatchewan. Art has been his lifelong passion. Today Jerry resides in Vancouver and he continues to paint within his community and abroad. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree – Indian Art (S.I.F.C) from the University of Regina in 1983. He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1987. You may view Jerry’s artistic projects at jerrywhitehead.com and see the various projects he has been involved with.
More info here: http://grunt.ca/mural-project/
Link to Vancouver Mural Festival: http://www.burrardarts.org/
Link to Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/
-from grunt gallery press release
Read grunt gallery’s profile on ArtBridges’ Community-Engaged Arts Directory and Map
