Catalog - First Nations : Art and Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

Description

The First Nations of the Northwest Coast of North America reveal, through their artworks and artefacts, a world where art, spirituality, history and memory intertwine. Articulated masks, carved poles, woven Chilkat robes and argillite pipes: each object tells the story of an age-old tradition, shaped by symbolic motifs, ancestral narratives and a complex social organisation.

During the colonial period, these peoples saw their ceremonial practices-including the essential potlatch-prohibited; their sacred objects were looted and their social structures disrupted. Yet, for more than half a century, an artistic and cultural revival has been taking place. The Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw and other nations are reclaiming their heritage, blending tradition and modernity. Once collected by Surrealists in exile in the United States, their art continues more than ever to inspire and captivate.