Bill Reid Gallery launches new book on May 8, extends To Speak With a Golden Voice to September
New works added to the Haida artist’s legacy exhibition
Bill Reid with his sculpture, Raven and the First Men, c.1980. Photo by Bill McLennan. Courtesy UBC Museum of Anthropology.
IN ANNOUNCING THE extension of To Speak With a Golden Voice, the Bill Reid Gallery is also adding new works to the milestone exhibition and releasing a new book.
On May 8 at 1 pm PDT, the Bill Reid Gallery will host an online launch of the new commemorative book, Bill Reid, To Speak With a Golden Voice. It compliments the milestone exhibition, which was initially scheduled to close in April but will now run to September 6 due to popular demand.
Published by the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, the book is written by Gwaai Edenshaw and Beth Carter with contributions from Tyson Brown, Jisgang Nika Collison, and Martine Reid. The 84-page, full-colour publication features a selection of Reid’s works and photographs with family, colleagues, and friends.
The exhibition extension, meanwhile, includes the addition of two new artworks from 1980. The Eagle and Beaver Pole was made of red cedar by Haida carver Reg Davidson (donated by Toni and Hildegard Cavelti). There’s also an exquisite cedar door Reid designed that was carved by James Hart. Standing approximately three metres tall, it depicts the ancient story of Nanasimgit and the Whale.
Edenshaw, who is considered to be Reid’s last apprentice, guest-curated To Speak With a Golden Voice, which celebrates the centennial birthday of Bill Reid (1920-1998) and his remarkable life and legacy. The sweeping exhibition includes rarely seen treasures by Reid and works from artists such as Robert Davidson and Beau Dick, alongside new pieces created for the exhibition by contemporary Haida artist Cori Savard and singer-songwriter Kinnie Starr, who’s of Dutch/German/Mohawk/Irish ancestry).
“Bill Reid was a master goldsmith, sculptor, community activist, and mentor whose lasting legacy and influence has been cemented by his fusion of Haida traditions with his own modernist aesthetic,” Edenshaw said in a release. “Just about every Northwest Coast artist working today has a connection or link to Reid. Before he became renowned for his artwork, he was a CBC radio announcer recognized for his memorable voice — in fact, one of Reid’s many Haida names was Kihlguulins, or ‘golden voice.’ His role as a public figure helped him become a pivotal force in the resurgence of Northwest Coast art, introducing the world to its importance and empowering generations of artists.”
Eagle and Beaver Totem Pole, by Reg Davidson, 1980. Bill Reid Foundation. Gift of Anton and Hildegard Cavelti.
To Speak With a Golden Voice has four key themes, beginning with Voice, which delves into Reid’s career at CBC and includes archival recordings of his thoughts on Northwest Coast art. In addition to audio narratives and literary excerpts, this section features Starr’s commissioned sound-based artwork incorporating Reid’s voice.
Process looks at Reid’s creative journey, which was affected by colonial policies in place during the 1950s when he began exploring his heritage. This is where you’ll find rarely seen drawings, sketchbooks, paper maquettes, casting molds, and works in progress from private and public collections.
The third thread, Lineage, places Reid within a continuum of Haida artists. It showcases works by Reid’s contemporaries and the successors who considered him an influence, including Robert Davidson, Beau Dick, and Patrick McGuire, as well as others who never met Reid but were inspired by him. Savard created a new piece based on Reid’s impact on Indigenous and Haida art.
Legacy gives fresh perspective to Reid’s multi-faceted and sometimes controversial life through short films featuring interviews with George Rammell, Don Yeomans, Rick Adkins, Chief 7idansuu James Hart, and others who knew him.
“We’re delighted that To Speak With a Golden Voice will have a longer life span — extended through the summer months ensuring increased access to this hugely popular exhibition in honour of our beloved namesake,” Beth Carter, Bill Reid Gallery curator, said in a release. “We look forward to welcoming new visitors and to welcoming back those patrons who experienced the exhibition but are keen for a second visit and to view the newly added artworks as part of the exhibition’s extension.”
Reid was born in Victoria to a Haida mother and an American father with Scottish-German roots. He began exploring his Haida heritage when he was 23. During a trip to Haida Gwaii in 1954, he discovered the work of his great-great-uncle Charles Edenshaw (no relation to Gwaai Edenshaw), inspiring him to create new works out of his ancestor’s sketches. Some of his most iconic works today include Chief of the Undersea World, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, and The Raven and the First Men.
For more information, visit Bill Reid Gallery.
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