Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun on Coast Salish Art

News and Events
“Sacred is every part of our being, and every part of our lives in our existence here. That’s been the central point of my work here,” says Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun, of his work in the 2023 ECU MFA exhibition. (Image courtesy Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun)

By Perrin Grauer, originally posted on ECU News

Recent MFA grad Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun (MFA 2023) was the subject of a feature article in The Discourse. The interview was also republished via Indiginews.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Snuneyumxw artist and storyteller spoke about sculpture, history, his work in the 2023 MFA exhibition and the meaning of the sacred.

“A lot of my work has been centered around a quote from elder Bill White, that Coast Salish art is to make the sacred visible,” he tells The Discourse. “I’ve been thinking about that and unpacking that. What does that mean to me? There’s certain kinds of sacred that aren’t meant for the public. And when we work as Salish artists, we don’t represent that in public.

“But there’s a lot of stuff that my great grandmother would talk about, that sacred is all around us. Sacred is every part of our being, and every part of our lives in our existence here. And so what does it mean to make art in light of that? That’s been the central point of my work here.”

Eliot also spoke with Indiginews in 2022 about his journey to becoming an artist.

Visit Eliot’s website and follow him on Instagram to learn more about his work. Watch Eliot speak about his 2021 public art project, at Beban Park Swimming Pool in Nanaimo, Xe’xe’ Squpastul u tu Thewum Qa’ ‘i’ Kwatlkwa, via YouTube.