Creativity has the power to enrich our culture.
Luke Parnell is an artist of Haida and Nisga’a heritage. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Art and a Master of Applied Art from Emily Carr University where he is now an instructor. Through the use of traditional techniques from the Northwest Coast, he investigates contemporary social issues. Traditional Northwest Coast art was centred on the convergence of intangible and material wealth: an individual’s rights and privileges and the objects that represented them. Luke’s work continues to address ideas of rights, ownership, and privilege in the context of his own experience. He has exhibited work across Canada, with recent exhibitions that include: “Not So Fast” at the Harbourfront Center in Ontario in 2012; “Transportation and Renewal” at the Seymour Gallery in 2013, Vancouver; and a feature at Winsor Gallery in 2014, entitled “Re-contextualizing the De-consecrated”. Luke is a recipient of the Winsor Gallery Graduate Student Award, 2012.