Alcheringa Gallery
665 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, Canada
TEL: (250) 383-8224
FAX: (250) 383-9399
email alcheringa
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Beau Dick
Kwakwaka'wakw
Beau Dickwas born in 1955 in Alert Bay, BC, just off the Northeast Coast of Vancouver Island in the ancestral land of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. As an infant, Beau was taken by his family to Kingcome Village, at the head of Kingcome Inlet, in the mainland coast of British Columbia, where he spent the first six years of his life. There, only his native language, Kwakwala was spoken. Later, Beau was brought to Vancouver to attend school, but summers were spent with his family in Alert Bay.
Beau Dick began carving at the age of fifteen, after careful instruction from his grandfather, Jimmy Dick. Beau assisted both his grandfather and father, Ben Dick, in the carving and painting of the world's tallest totem pole (173 ft.) which is raised in Alert Bay. He was also taught and influenced by Henry Speck. Through the encouragement of Henry Speck, Beau developed his skill as a Kwakwaka'wakw dancer and singer and joined the Kwak-Kwala Arts and Crafts Society. Beau's uncle, Jimmy Dawson, taught him much of Kwa-Gulth mythology and storytelling. Tony Hunt invited Beau Dick to come to Victoria to work alongside him and Chief Henry Hunt. This proved to be a turning point in his career. Since then, Beau has worked with a number of master carvers including Doug Cranmer, Bill Reid, and Robert Davidson.
Beau Dick is known as an innovator and he is versatile in several media. His work is found in many important private and public collections worldwide.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
1987 Hands of Creation, Inuit Gallery, Victoria, BC
1989 Masks, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1990 Painted Drums of the Northwest Coast, Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1992 Beau Dick, Derek Simpkins Gallery of Tribal Art, Vancouver, BC
1994 Transformation: A Unity of Spirits, Derek Simpkins Gallery of Tribal Art, Vancouver, BC
Life of the Copper: A Commonwealth of Tribal Nations, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC
Tribal Miniatures: Gems of the Northwest Coast, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC
1996 Spirits of the Forest, Sea and Sky: Masks by Mastercarvers of the Northwest Coast, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC
1999 Tribal Miniatures '99, annual exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC
2004-2005 Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewellery Arts of the Northwest and Southwest, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
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