Art For an Oil-Free Coast

Fifty artists — some of the country’s most celebrated and many who are First Nations — have taken up paintbrushes and carving tools to portray Canada’s fragile “raincoast” — one they feel is threatened by Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline and supertanker project.

A network of coastal lodges, tour boat operators and businesses donated or discounted their services enabling the artists to explore some of the most spectacular and remote locations of British Columbia’s central and north coast. Over a two-week expedition in June they depicted the rich biodiversity and ecological elements of the forest, intertidal, and ocean zones, and the people, flora and fauna that have lived there for thousands of years.

A version of this article was first published in the Seaside Times July 2012 Issue.

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