The Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory extends our sincere congratulations to faculty member Dana Claxton, whose book Curve!: Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast by Dana Claxton and Dr. Curtis Collins, (with Dr. Curtis Collins, published by Figure 1 Publishing) is the winner of the BC and Yukon Book Prize, receiving the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award. The book was published in conjunction with an exhibition of 127 carved works presented at the Audain Museum, Whistler, in 2024–25 (and travelling to the National Gallery of Canada in 2026).
Though women of the Northwest Coast have long carved poles, canoes, panels, and masks, many of these artists have not become as well known outside their communities as their male counterparts. These artists are cherished within their communities for helping to keep traditional carving practices alive, and for maintaining the dances, songs, and ceremonies that are intertwined with visual art production. This book gathers a range of sculptural formats by Indigenous women in order to expand the discourse of carving in the region.
