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        • City of Rocks Camping
        • City of Rocks National Reserve
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      • Henrys Lake State Park
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    • Oregon
      • Clyde Holliday State Park
      • Kam Wah Chung & Company
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      • Opal Creek Hike
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      • Gifford Pinchot National Forest Hikes – Lava Canyon Trail #184
      • Run the Spokane River and the Centennial Trail
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      • Water Taxis in Venice – How to Get Around
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      • Cobá Ruins
      • Ek’ Balam and Chichén Itzá Ruins
      • Mayan Palace and the Grand Mayan Resorts
      • Puerto Morelos
      • Tulum Beaches: Playa Paraíso
      • Tulum Ruins
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      • Top 10 New Zealand Activities
      • Abel Tasman Coast Track
      • Arrowtown
      • Blue Pools
      • Brunner, Waiuta, and Motueka
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      • Fox Glacier
      • Haast and Bruce Bay
      • Hokitika
      • Makarora West
      • Moeraki Boulders
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        • Napa Valley Wine Tasting Tours
  • Download FREE Stock Photos
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      • Starfish & Other Sea Creatures
      • Wasps, Bees, & Other Insects
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      • Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn
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Welcome Figures by Joe David, 1986, at the Vancouver International Airport.
Written by Mod Fam on August 4, 2019

Vancouver Airport First Nations Art

British Columbia . Canada . Travel . Worldwide Travel
Vancouver Airport First Nations Art - The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. A large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994

Contents of this Post

  • Stuck in Transit? Check out the Vancouver Airport First Nations Art
    • Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994)
    • Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Joe David’s Welcome Figures (1986)
    • Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Susan A. Point’s Land, Sea, and Sky
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Stuck in Transit? Check out the Vancouver Airport First Nations Art

Vancouver Airport First Nations Art. The Vancouver, British Columbia Airport (YVR), contains an impressive collection of regional First Nations art. Divided into pieces that represent land, sea, and sky, the YVR art collection reflects not only the ancient Haida and other first nation traditions throughout British Columbia, but also the prominence of indigenous culture and experience here and elsewhere in Canada. From Bill Reid’s Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994) to Joe David’s Welcome Figures carved in the Clayoquot tradition of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, First Nations Art transforms the otherwise typical contemporary airport facility into a remarkable collection of national importance. The diverse and visually interesting collection is a welcomed break from usual airport fare consisting of a predictable combination of restaurants, souvenir shops, and uncomfortable terminal waiting areas.


The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. Detail of a large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Detail of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994
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Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994)

Detail of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. A large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Detail of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994
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Bill Reid’s Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994) sits surrounded by a curved seating area that allows visitors to enjoy the many Haida designs atop a bronze canoe covered in a jade patina. Even if you are not traveling, you can view this piece in the international terminal, level 3, before security. The artist found inspiration for the Jade Canoe in nineteenth-century miniature canoes carved by the Haida of the Vancouver area. Reid designed the sculpture for the new Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.


Vancouver Airport First Nations Art - The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. A large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994
Vancouver Airport First Nations Art - The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. Detail of a large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Detail, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994

Spirit of the Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe (1994)

“This acclaimed sculpture was inspired by nineteenth-century miniature canoes carved in argillite, a soft sedimentary rock that is found near Skidegate on Haida Gwaii. As with many historic examples of miniature canoes, this vessel is crowded with creatures and beings, their identities drawn from legends and oral histories of the Haida, and their forms energetically and sometimes fiercely interacting with each other in the manner of rivalrous siblings.”

– Vancouver International Airport
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. Detail of a large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Detail, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994. Detail of a large bronze casting covered in a jade green patina sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Detail, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid, 1994

Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Joe David’s Welcome Figures (1986)

Vancouver Airport First Nations Art - Welcome Figure by Nuu-chah-nulth Artist Joe David, 1986. One of two large, wooden carved figures sits in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Nuu-chah-nulth Welcome Figure by Joe David, 1986

Just below The Spirit of Haida Gwaii sit two imposing wooden sculptures, welcoming travelers through the entrances of the international terminal. Created by Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David for the Vancouver Expo 86, the Clayoquot traditional carvings are the same as those that would welcome invited guests to special events. Clayoquot Welcome Figures would traditionally be placed on the beach in front of a village in order to welcome arriving guests.


Welcome Figures by Nuu-chah-nulth Artist Joe David, 1986. Two large, wooden carved figures sit in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Nuu-chah-nulth Welcome Figures by Joe David, 1986

Welcome Figures (1986)

“Each figure is designed to look out to sea, arms raised, palms facing upward. The male figure wears the traditional knobbed hat denoting a high-ranking personage, possibly a whaling chief. The female figure wears the common domed hat. Both wear an apron-like garment traditionally made from the shredded, beaten and woven inner bark of the cedar tree.”

– Vancouver International Airport
Welcome Figures by Nuu-chah-nulth Artist Joe David, 1986. Two large, wooden carved figures sit in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR.
Nuu-chah-nulth Welcome Figures by Joe David, 1986

Vancouver Airport First Nations Art: Susan A. Point’s Land, Sea, and Sky

Land, Sea, and Sky by Susan A. Point. Haida-inspired paintings hang in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR, near gate 90-99.
Land, Sea, and Sky by Susan A. Point
Read moreNew Zealand South Island Tour - Makarora West

Near the Alaska Airlines Gates 90-99 of the international terminal, you’ll find a series of Haida-inspired etchings that reflect each of the airport’s art collection themes of land, sea, and sky. Using what the artist refers to as “Intaglio aqua tint,” Point depicts wolf, salmon, and eagle motifs in these bold, high-contrast etchings. Closer to gates 90-99, the same designs can be seen in carved glass and etched copper. In “Serpent Forms,” a repeating pattern gradually turns from shades of red to amber. The two-headed serpent adapts a traditional comb design.


Land, Sea, and Sky by Susan A. Point. Haida-inspired paintings hang in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR, near gate 90-99.
Land, Sea, and Sky by Susan A. Point
Serpent Forms by Susan A. Point. Haida-inspired paintings hang in the Vancouver, British Columbia International Airport, YVR, near gate 90-99.
Serpent Forms by Susan A. Point

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Tags: Air Canada, Canadian, Global Travel, International Terminal, International Travel, Things to do in Vancouver Airport, Travel, Vancouver, Vancouver Airport, Vancouver Airport First Nations Art, What to do in Vancouver Airport, Worldwide Travel
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