Opening Doors Exhibition

Opening Doors At the Roundhouse Community Centre
October 5-10th, 2015
Panel Discussion October 7th, 5:30-7:00 pm
Opening Doors Project
IMG_6118FPInnovations, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Aboriginal Art (NWCC), are collaborating on a unique educational carving project that embraces the culture and story-telling nature of BC coastal Aboriginal art and, at the same time, explores new technology and promotes Aboriginal communities and their unique artistic talents.
The Opening Doors Project, a 4-week intensive program for Aboriginal artists, was held at Emily Carr University of Art + Design Aboriginal Gathering Place in Vancouver and Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Aboriginal Art in Terrace. The participants, representing 10 Aboriginal BC/Yukon communities, had different levels of carving experience and were offered instruction and mentorship including tool use, form line and design, scale drawn design, and finishing techniques from senior Aboriginal carvers.
The project focused on carving panels from BC coastal red and yellow cedar harvested primarily from Aboriginal lands. The panels were designed to be set in custom door frames.
A key component of the project was that participants
were offered the opportunity to explore new ways of
working by producing a limited edition of the panels through the use of computer numerical control (CNC) technology. The carved originals and the CNC limited editions will be offered for sale domestically and internationally for high-end housing and commercial buildings.
The project outcomes include skill development, exploration of new technology, sales of Aboriginal art and design, manufacturer partnerships, and targeting of possible new markets.
The red and yellow cedar was harvested by the Nuxalk Smayusta First Nation and Teal Cedar Products; the doors were produced by Mountainview Fine Wood Windows and Doors; and the CNC technology provided by the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at UBC.
Project managers:
Dr Chris Gaston, FPInnovations/UBC chris.gaston@ubc.ca

Brenda Crabtree, Emily Carr University of Art and Design. bcrab@ecuad.ca

Features the work of Emily Carr grads Xwalaktun (Rick Harry) and James Harry, and current Emily Carr students William Callaghan and Edwin Neel.