Finding a Voice: The Art of Norman Tait (May 30^th to August 29^th, 2015)

at the Nisga’a Museum

The Nisga’a Museum is proud to present the exhibit Finding a Voice: The Art of Norman Tait on May 30^th, 2015 at 1pm at the Nisga’a Museum in Laxgalt’sap, BC. This exhibit will coincide with the Nisga’a Museum Arts Festival taking place the same day which will include a day of scheduled cultural activities, refreshments, and free tours of the Ancestor’s Collection.

Norman Tait (b. 1941), a highly acclaimed and renowned Nisga’a artist, has been devoted to art since childhood. Imbued with a deep connection to his Nisga’a heritage and family, Tait has utilized his artistic gifts to transcend and create the extraordinary. Self-taught, this self-critical and highly engaged artist has, over the past five decades, researched and explored his Nation’s rich cultural heritage and forged a voice for himself that speaks through his myriad of sculptural and two dimensional works. This voice is driven by a passion to reinvent traditional narratives within a contemporary context and provide ways in which to connect his ancestral heritage to today’s fast paced and changing world.

This solo exhibition of Tait’s work will be held at the Nisga’a Museum from May 30th to August 29th, 2015. The exhibit artwork includes masks, rattles, jewelry, art photographs, and will subsequently be presented at the West Vancouver Museum later this year.

Tait’s works can be found in private collections around the globe. Works in public hands include the Canadian Museum of History, University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Vancouver, Royal Collection, Heard Museum, and the Field Museum to name a few.

The artist has been recognized for his contributions to visual arts through the Distinguished Artist Award - The Fund for the Arts on the North Shore (FANS) and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Columbia Creative Achievement Awards for First Nation’s Art.

This exhibition is made possible through the financial support of the Nisga’a Nation and the British Columbia Arts Council. Additional support has been provided by the Royal British Columbia Museum, Museum of Vancouver, UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, Coastal Peoples Gallery, Spirit Wrestler Gallery, and numerous private collectors. 

The Nisga’a Museum collects, researches, exhibits, publishes, educates and develops programs that honour tradition, foster respect, encourage exploration, respect ideas, and support artistic expression related to contemporary and historic art created by Nisga’a artists and their contemporaries.

For further information please contact:

Zora McMillan, Curator, Nisga’a Museum zoram@nisgaa.net, (250) 633-3050

Darrin Martens darrin.martens@gmail.com