First Nations artists gain worldwide exposure from cultural centre online gallery

Products now available to view and purchase online

Suggested tweet:  First Nations artists have new online gallery; art available to view and purchase online at http://www.shop.slcc.ca

WHISTLER, BC, Dec. 1, 2011 /CNW/ - The ongoing efforts of local First Nations to share their cultures with their communities and the world at large has resulted in a venture that will not only enhance that mandate, but also provide a viable business opportunity for local and regional indigenous artists to gain valuable marketing and sales support for their art and their livelihood.

The Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) in Whistler provides guests the unique opportunity to experience the distinctive living cultures of the two First Nations. The spectacular building, set among the forest and mountains, has provided the physical conduit for renewal and revival of the Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations and now, that process has evolved into the virtual world with the addition of an online shopping portal featuring authentic First Nations' products for sale.

The SLCC houses a successful gift store onsite and has now launched the shop.slcc.ca site featuring a variety of works from a mix of local and regional artists available for viewing and purchase online. The site provides important access to the worldwide marketplace for both established and developing First Nations' artists.

"We sell authentic First Nations art to customers from around the world who visit our gift shop and gallery in person here in Whistler," said Casey Vanden Heuvel, SLCC executive director. "This site is an exciting opportunity to expand access and to further revitalize local First Nations culture allowing established and developing artists to display and sell their work to customers shopping from home from anywhere in the world."

"Many of the artists profiled would not otherwise have access to a worldwide audience through a professionally developed and marketed online gallery." Vanden Heuvel added. "The site therefore is purposeful on a number of levels: it will help increase the visibility and awareness of our First Nations cultures and remarkable artists, and will also be a valuable commercial tool for their artistic profession."

Many of the one-of-a-kind hand-crafted pieces featured are on consignment in partnership with the artist with 75 per cent of the purchase price going directly back to the artist (the typical percentage received by artists for consignment sales is between 50 and 60 per cent).

Customers can purchase a variety of items, like the hand-carved yellow Cedar Grizzly Bear Totem, carved by Tom Harry of the Squamish Nation, the hand-carved and painted red Cedar Dzunakwa Mask (Wild Woman of the Woods) by Matthew Baker, also of the Squamish Nation and the hand-crafted porcelain pictograph and basket weave pottery by Patrick Leach, of the St'at'imc Nation.

In First Nations culture, animals are sacred and in representing the relationship between animal and man; many artists utilize animal symbolism in their artwork. More information about the First Nations' animal symbolism can be found here on the shop.slcc.ca site.

Carvings (boxes, feast dishes, masks, paddles, totems, rattles, talking sticks, wood and stone sculptures), cultural products (drums, leather and hide products and smudging products), textiles (baskets, blankets and regalia) and prints and paintings are all available to purchase on the site. In addition, clothing and accessories, home furnishings, DVDs and CDs, pottery, moccasins and mukluks, corporate gifts and children's toys are also available. To view, visit the website at shop.slcc.ca

The development of the online gift shop was made possible through Cultural Journey funding support provided by Western Economic Diversification Canada.

INTERVIEWS:

Local First Nation artists will be made available for phone or in-person interviews by request. The SLCC Executive Director is also available for interviews.

PHOTOS AND ADDITIONAL MEDIA RESOURCES:

Feature photo specific to this release of Squamish Nation Master Carver Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) can be found at www.slcc.ca/media/image-gallery/master-carver

For additional downloadable high-res images, additional storylines and background information please visit the media section of our website: www.slcc.ca/media/.

About the SLCC:

The Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler is a three-storey, 30,400-square foot complex located on a 1.76 hectare (4.35 acre) of forested land near Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. It is designed to evoke a traditional Squamish longhouse and a Lil'wat Istken (pit house), with pictograph-adorned boulders and hand-carved welcome figures gracing the walkways along the approach to the carved cedar entry doors.

The core objectives of the SLCC: revive and renew local First Nation culture, provide positive, meaningful awareness of local First Nations and to operate as a self-sustaining business.

The Cultural Centre, winner of the 2010 National Tourism Award for Cultural Tourism Excellence, showcases the art and heritage of the Squamish and Lil'wat Aboriginal people in an experiential format.  The spectacular Centre features a museum, modern gallery, exhibits, gift shop, café, theatre as well as hourly cultural performances and guided tours with local First Nation Ambassadors.

For further information:

Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre Media Contact:
Gwen Baudisch, Marketing Manager
TEL: [phone] E-MAIL: [e-mail] WEBSITE: www.slcc.ca and www.shop.slcc.ca
FACEBOOK: Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler
TWITTER: @SLCCWhistler