Curve!
Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast
Story by Katherine Fawcett
Freda Diesing, Old Woman with Labret, 1973
Alder, cedar bark, hair, abalone shell and paint, 20.3 x 22.9 x 15.2 cm.
Audain Art Museum Collection
Purchased with funds from the Audain Foundation - Catalogue Number: 2020.005
Cherish Alexander, Snake Woman from Snake Hill, 2014
wood and pigment, 24 x 24 x 13 cm.
Collection of Dana Claxton
Photo: Kenji Nagai
Indigenous women have long been the keepers of stories and cultural practices in their communities through beautiful weavings, beadwork, dances, and song.
Although carving has primarily been dominated by men, over the past 75 years, many First Nations women have taken up new tools and created incredible wood and stone carvings.
Curve! Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast, an upcoming exhibition at the Audain Art Museum (AAM) from Nov. 25, 2024 to May 5, 2025, is a groundbreaking celebration of female carvers from the Northwest Coast of Canada. The exhibition, a first of its kind, features more than 120 carvings by 14 different artists.
One inspiring example is Old Woman with Labret, 1973, from the AAM’s collection, a mask made of alder, cedar bark, hair, abalone shell and paint, created by Freda Diesing. Diesing and artists such as Ellen Neel and Susan Point paved the way for a new generation of carvers whose work draws on historical, cultural and mythological elements.
“It’s a multi-generational body of work,” said Curtis Collins, Audain Art Museum director and chief curator, who co-curated this significant exhibition with Dana Claxton.
The show features masks, panel pieces, monumental wall works and a 10-foot totem. With this exhibit and the hardcover book being produced to coincide with the show, Collins said the AAM is “giving a voice to an important artistic movement in B.C., and I think that’s really valuable.”