House of Himwitsa
To continue this tour, walk up First Street a block-and-a-half to the Common Loaf Bakery, just above Campbell Street.
The Gallery’s logo was designed by Ron Hamilton of the Hupacasath Nation, and depicts a Grandmother holding out her hands as her grandchildren look up, listening to her story, which is ongoing. This quite literally depicts what is meant by Himwitsa: the passing of knowledge.
These stories are told every day of our lives in all languages, usually around food as can be seen in the carving on the front of the gallery in the feast dish in the image of a seal bowl. The design was laser cut by the late Richard Krentz (of the Sechelt Nation), who also hand-adzed all the poles around the building.
The late Derek Wilson designed the impression of the whale-hunting scene in the cement wall, which he originally engraved on a silver bracelet.
The House of Himwitsa broke ground in 1994, being the largest First Nations owned and operated Art Gallery on Vancouver Island, evolving over the years to bring together the works of hundreds of artists – carvers of wood and stone, painters, weavers, jewellers and knitters – both locally here on Vancouver Island as well as across Canada – as far north even as Iqaluit.
The Gallery has received many awards – of which include the 2002 Aboriginal Tourism BC Strength in Marketing Award, the 2011 BC Aboriginal Business Awards’ Business of the year, and the TLBCC Business Excellence Award.
