Tlehpik Hjalmer Wenstob

Tlehpik Hjalmer Wenstob was raised on Tzartus island in Barkley Sound, in Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s territory, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It was there that his understanding and desire of pursing both his traditional Nuu-chah-nulth and contemporary art practices began. Hjalmer Wenstob is an interdisciplinary artist who specializes in sculpture and carving. He is Nuu-chah-nulth from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations on his father's side, and Norwegian and English on his mother’s side. Hjalmer speaks of three dialects of his work; contemporary, traditional, and community-based. Through his contemporary dialect, Hjalmer completed both an undergraduate and master's degree at the University of Victoria, exploring the relationships between cultures and art, and the balance between traditional and contemporary. His work is at times highly political, and uses humour and irony to pose difficult questions of respect, reconciliation and environmental issues. Recently, Hjalmer and his family opened Cedar House Gallery in Ucluelet, B.C. where Hjalmer is exploring ways of weaving his contemporary/political work with more traditional materials and styles. In 2018, Hjalmer was awarded the national William and Meredith Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists in Canada, from the Hnatyshyn Foundation in Ottawa, Ontario.

Notable Exhibitions:

2020, Masked Heroes (Virtual Exhibition), First American Art Magazine

2020, Humour as Medicine, Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River, BC (Postponed)

2019-2020, The Time is Now and Yesterday and Tomorrow, Indigenous Art Center Gallery, Gatineau, QC

2019, For Ground; Background, Solo Show, Victoria Arts Council, Victoria, BC

2019, Von Wolfen Und Menschen, Markk Museum, Hamburg, Germany

2017-2018, Point of Contact, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C

2017, Pending Approval, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C

2017, Origin Stories, Legacy Art Gallery, Victoria, B.C

2016, Emerging Through the Fog, Legacy Art Gallery, Victoria, B.C

2015, Spaceraisers, Open Space Gallery, Victoria, B.C

2014, Changing the Legacy, Inkwis Arts and Culture Gallery, Tofino, B.C

2012, YVR Art Foundation Final Show, Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, B.C.

Notable Awards/GRants:

2018, William and Meredith Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists, The Hnatyshyn Foundation, Ottawa, Ontario

2017, B.C Museum Association and Heritage BC Grant, Longhouse Project in         collaboration with MediaNet and Pacific Peoples Partnership

2014, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Art award

2014, CBC Indigenous Eye Art Award

2012, Nuu-chah-nulth Artist of the Year

2012, Mungo Martin Memorial Art award

2012, Roy Henry Vickers Art Award

2011, Vancouver International Airport Art Foundation, Bill Reid Award

2011, Judy Bourne Art Award