BC Achievement Foundation announces recipients of this year's Polygon Award in First Nations Art
Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) receives Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement

Clockwise from top left: Shawna Kiesman, Xwalacktun (Rick Harry), Klatle-bhi Charles Sam, and Brent Sparrow.
BC ACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATION announced the recipients of the 17th annual Polygon Award in First Nations Art this morning: Brent Sparrow, Klatle-bhi Charles Sam, Shawna Kiesman, and Xwalacktun (Rick Harry), who also receives the Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement.
The Polygon Award in First Nations Art recognizes artists with portfolios built from committed, community-rooted practice that honours First Nations art traditions. The Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement, given out in tandem with the Polygon Award, goes to an established artist who has demonstrated long-term accomplishments and exceptional contributions to B.C.’s art scene.
“The recognition is a testament to your artistic brilliance in traditional and contemporary art,” says Walter Pela, chair of the BC Achievement Foundation, in a release. “The commitment to your craft, impressive body of work, and the recognition you receive within your communities showcases the profound impact of your creativity and dedication to preserving and advancing First Nations art.”
A master carver of Kwakwaka’wakw and Squamish ancestry, Xwalacktun’s practice spans metalwork, jewelry, glasswork, drawing, and printmaking, with a focus on public art and sculpture. This summer, he crafted a house post live for visitors at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler with apprentice Brandon Hall.
From carving double doors for the West Vancouver school-board office and B.C. Hydro, to touring Scotland in demonstration of traditional totem pole carving skills, to working on Simon Fraser University’s major 2009 digital project honouring Sto:lo culture called A Journey into Time Immemorial, Xwalacktun’s achievements are numerous. This new award joins his list of impressive distinctions, which include a 2012 Order of British Columbia appointment, 2016 First Nations Art Award, and 2022 Honourary Doctorate from Emily Carr University.

Klatle-bhi Charles Sam’s Moon Mask.
Sam is also a master carver from the Kwakwaka’wakw and Squamish Nations. His works, which include red cedar masks, panels, and totem poles, are on display in New York City’s Museum of Arts and Design, and Seattle’s Burke Memorial Museum of Natural History.
Victoria-based artist Kiesman is of Nisga’a, Ts’msyen, and Haida descent. Exploring her Indigenous heritage through textiles, drawing, painting, and digital art has led her creations to become part of permanent collections at the Nisga’a Museum and Coast Mountain College. She is also being recognized with BC Achievement Foundation’s Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist designation in First Nations Art this year, for her accomplishments as an early-career artist.
Sparrow, who’s of Musqueam roots, has a portfolio that spans large-scale bronze, glass, and cedar public art. In collaboration with his mother Susan A. Point, Sparrow has established art installations in the likes of the Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Children's Hospital, as well as for the cities of Vancouver and Richmond.
All four recipients will be honoured at a ticketed awards ceremony on November 15 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. Afterward, a free exhibition for both the Polygon Award in First Nations Art and Applied Art + Design Award will be open to the public from November 16 to 22.
Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.
Related Articles
Both artists recognized for addressing land, politics, and economies
Surrey Art Gallery is launching its 50th anniversary with the touring exhibition Rajni Perera: Futures
The artist’s work draws equal inspiration from Sinclair Lewis’s 1920s novels and ’90s dystopian sci-fi flicks
Programs include the Community Award, BC Reconciliation Award, Indigenous Business Award, Polygon Award, and Sam Carter Award
Family photos, pictographs, and landscapes interweave in xʷəlməxʷ child
Copresented by PuSh Festival and Vancouver Art Gallery, the genre-bending work merges dance, new media, and video with immersive sound resonators
Solo exhibition centres the artist’s fascination with 20th-century popular culture using found objects and craft techniques
The organization cites financial challenges as the reason it’s ending after nine years
The country’s largest accolade for emerging visual artists comes with a $25,000 cash prize
Craft Council of BC exhibition centres vicarious trauma in response to the iMPACTS research project at McGill University
Works by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, William Kentridge, Beau Dick, Stan Douglas, and Jeff Wall amid $10-million collection
Krystle Silverfox, Natasha Katedralis, Fred Herzog amid the names showing at galleries and venues across Metro Vancouver
Transfixing acting and big ideas as film tracks an architect-refugee trying to rebuild in the U.S.
Five annual programs celebrate community leadership, applied art and design, First Nations art, Indigenous entrepreneurship, and reconciliation
Exhibition brings together works by Vancouver-based artist Katayoon Yousefbigloo and Portuguese collective A Maior
Event features launch of publication accompanying the exhibition Formline: Calligraphy, The Creative Synergy of Bill Reid and Bob Reid
The creator of murals, coins, stamps, and much more gave a human face to HIV, tirelessly raised money for charity, and brought vivid imagery to the city
Works by collective A Maior and multidisciplinary artist Katayoon Yousefbigloo draw inspiration from the myth-making potential of playing dress-up
The colourful artworks with sound capture the movement of water, light, wind, and air from seven key geographic sites in the city
Alternately chilling and humorous, experimental art from the Eastern Bloc spans installations, photography, and eerie ice blocks at Vancouver Art Gallery
Other members of the local arts community to be named include Emily Carr University president emeritus Ron Burnett and guitarist-educator Donald Alder
Tempered optimism from artists and others as VAG scraps old plans for a scaled-back building
At the Art Gallery at Evergreen and Burnaby Art Gallery, resource extraction is explored through large-scale copper weavings
Vancouver City Council approves a motion to relocate Ken Lum’s Monument to East Vancouver to a more accessible and visible spot
The local artist explores issues of identity, culture, and memory through photography
Amid surging construction costs, CEO and executive director Anthony Kiendl has announced the VAG is now exploring new options
Mail art and performance-art pioneer’s works will live on at Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery collection at UBC
Artists remain unknown until after their work sells at the North Van Arts’ fundraiser
Beer’s interdisciplinary exhibition highlights her research on humankind and its industries at two galleries until February 9, 2025
The West Vancouver resident is also curator in residence at Vancouver Art Gallery