Ellen Neel and Beau Dick Award in Art History, Visual Art and Theory

Award descriptionAwards totalling $2,000 have been made available through an endowment established by the Audain Foundation, the Faculty of Arts, friends and family in memory of Ellen Neel and Beau Dick, for Indigenous students enrolled in a major, minor or graduate program in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory (AHVA) who are in good academic standing. Ellen Neel (1916-1966) was a Kwakwaka'wakw artist and the first woman recognized for carving poles on the Northwest Coast. In 1948 Neel presented the Victory Through Honour pole to the UBC Alma Mater Society in front of a crowd of six thousand people. Chief Beau Dick, Walas Gwy Um (1955-2017) was an expert carver and knowledge keeper of Kwakwaka'wakw ceremonial tradition who activated ceremony as a way to engage contemporary politics. He was AHVA Artist in Residence from 2013-2017. Neel and Dick were known for their powerful advocacy on behalf of their communities. The awards are made on the recommendation of the Department of Art History, Visual Art, and Theory, and in the case of graduate students, in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.