Major new sculpture by Indigenous artist James Harry installed in Squamish

Welcome Gate is made of fibreglass, stainless steel, copper guilding, and LED lighting

*Welcome Gate*. Photo courtesy James Harry

A SIGNIFICANT NEW sculpture by a local Indigenous artist has been installed in Squamish.

Welcome Gate is by Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw artist James Harry, whose father, Xwalacktun, is a well-known master carver of the Squamish Nation. Having grown up deeply immersed in Squamish Nation culture, Harry attended Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where he focused on fusing traditional Coast Salish artforms with contemporary concepts and materials, including wood, metal, and glass.

James Harry. Photo courtesy @jamesharryart, Instagram

Harry’s new Welcome Gate is made of fibreglass, stainless steel, copper guilding, and LED lighting. One of the pillars measures 40 feet by eight feet by two feet; the other is 35 feet by eight feet by six feet.

It’s situated at Sp’akw’us Feather Park, a new oceanfront 11-acre park that features a public beach, a windsports beach, a meadow, crushed-rock and paved pathways, a boardwalk, and more. It’s part of a 60-acre new community development called Oceanfront Squamish.

The grand opening of the site’s 11-acre Sp’akw’us Feather Park will take place on August 17, with the annual Sp’akw’us Feather Shakedown and Squamish Arts Festival. The site features multiple art pieces by local artists, including Maskull Lassere.

The waterfront sculpture overlooks the head of Howe Sound, fittingly symbolizing a point of welcome for visitors approaching the park from the south.

Rendering of Sp’akw’us Feather Park. Photo courtesy Oceanfront Squamish

Featured

Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

Articles

Epic Tom Thomson exhibition comes to Whistler's Audain Art Museum

The largest retrospective of the iconic Canadian artist’s works to date features 133 paintings

Paradise and disaster collide in new Surrey Art Gallery exhibition Future Memoria, opening June 22

Selections from the gallery’s permanent collection and loaned artworks explore the concept of the future through dystopian and utopian ideals

At Indian Summer Festival, a utopian village and driftwood installation offer reflections on life's paradoxes

At Ocean Artworks, artist Kimira Reddy unveils her ceiling-suspended work Drift and curator Nhylar hosts Jugalbandhi: Village Dreamscapes

Indigeneity and Blackness intersect in jewellery, performance, and more, at Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art to September 8

Jewellery, film, dance regalia, and more as local artists explore their multifaceted heritage

Declaration of the Lillooet Tribes explores a historic moment, at Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre

The new feature exhibition shares the story of how the Chiefs of 11 communities joined forces in 1911

Kelly Lycan brings site-specific art to the Burnaby Art Gallery with The Fireplace

New exhibition sheds fresh light on different rooms in the 1911 Edwardian building

Major new sculpture by Indigenous artist James Harry installed in Squamish

Welcome Gate is made of fibreglass, stainless steel, copper guilding, and LED lighting

Burnaby Art Gallery launches contemplative new Kelly Lycan exhibition The Fireplace, June 21

Installation explores the powerful confluence of art and domestic space, referencing the once-residential gallery’s previous furniture, decorations, and styles

UBC Museum of Anthropology reopens after completion of challenging $30.5-million seismic upgrades

Years in the making, project led by Nick Milkovich Architects Inc. includes full rebuild of the glass-panelled Great Hall, plus the new permanent Pacific Northwest Galleries