Nuu-chah-nulth artist Gordon Dick opened his Ahtsik Gallery for a Creative Sector Conversation Café event in the Alberni Valley on Nov. 3.
The Conversation Cafés are dialogue and activity sessions bringing together Alberni Valley creatives and supporters in a casual setting. Facilitator Theresa Kingston, presenters and others give voice to key issues in the creative sector, share opportunities and challenges in the art world and find ways to move forward. The Conversation Café is a collaboration between Alberni Art Rave, Community Futures Alberni-Clayoquot, the Community Arts Council of the Alberni Valley and Kingston.
Dick gave a presentation on different visual styles of Indigenous artists from Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakiutl and Coast Salish nations as well as a carving demonstration using traditional hand tools. A dialogue about Port Alberni as a Vancouver Island arts hub followed.
The cafés are free and open to the public.
The next Conversation Café will feature Jenny Farkas, co-chair of Creative Coast, a collaboration of artists and arts organizations actively forging connections with sectors such as economic development and tourism. Conversation Café: Creative Spark– Success and Struggle in Creative Communities will take place via Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 7–9 p.m. A Zoom link is available on the Alberni Art Rave website, https://alberniartrave.org.
