YVR Art Foundation at a glance

YVR Art Foundation supports BC and Yukon First Nations artists through funding programs that provide opportunities for artists to explore and carry forward their cultural and ancestral traditions.

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Number of awards for First Nations artists since 2005

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Total funding awarded to artists

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Museum and Indigenous cultural partners

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BC and Yukon First Nations communities supported

YVRAF Masterpiece Study Program Travel Grant recipient story
2019 YVRAF Scholarship Awards Event at YVR

Program Impacts

Aspiring Artist Awards

“Being selected for an award like this is a real game-changer and confidence builder for young artists. Thank you for supporting creative, Indigenous youth!”

– Indigenous Support Teacher, Vancouver Island
Aspiring Artist Awards

Emerging Artist Scholarship Awards

“This Scholarship has been life-changing. It has helped me get exposure and other commissions; it has allowed for me to attack awesome projects with financial support. It has also allowed me to connect to other artists my age, who are doing great work.”

– Marlo Wylie Brillon, 2019 & 2022 Emerging Artist Scholarship recipient

Mid-Career Artist Scholarship Awards

“The award money allowed me to break out time in my schedule to create in a way I would not have had the time to do otherwise. It showed me just how much I love to sculpt and will continue to create in this artistic space. Having my work displayed at YVR is amazing, it will be one of the biggest highlights of my artistic career to date. ”

– Christopher Auchter, 2020 Mid-Career Artist Scholarship recipient

Bill McLennan Masterpiece Study Program

“My research [at Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum] reminded me how masterful the ancestral Haida artists were and the high standard they set for those of us that follow in their footsteps…until this research visit, I had no idea how a Chief’s headdress was constructed. It made me pause to think about how many others do not…we lost a formidable amount of knowledge. Each piece that I studied, from weavings to bentwood boxes to a helmet and totem poles, reinforced in me the desire to always be striving for the excellence that those artists attained.”

– Lisa Hageman, 2017 Masterpiece Study Program Travel Grant recipient

Award Recipient Stories

YVR Art Foundation’s programs have a positive impact on First Nations artists and communities throughout BC and Yukon. Read about previous YVR Art Foundation award recipients below.