Perpetual Salish: Coast Salish Art in the Classroom is an online resource centre for teachers, offering cross-curricular lesson plans to engage students and facilitate their understanding of Coast Salish culture and art.
wHOLE W(((h)))orl(((d))), lessLIE, Serigraph on paper, 2014, 55.88 cm x 55.88 cm
This site is based on the exhibition Perpetual Salish: Contemporary Coast Salish Art from the Salish Weave Collection, curated by Coast Salish artist lessLIE, and originally presented at the University of Victoria’s Legacy Art Gallery Downtown (August 15, 2014 – January 10, 2015). The Legacy presented tours of the exhibition for grade four classes to educate the students about Coast Salish art and culture. Coast Salish Art in the Classroom aims to bring this educational initiative to a broader audience.
On the site you will find:
- Artwork to discuss with your class along with suggested questions
- Guidelines and videos to facilitate art gallery style conversations
- In-depth explanations of Coast Salish design elements and the significance of spindle whorls
- An art project for your class, with a Coast Salish creation story and design templates
- Artist biographies
- Coast Salish Territories maps and a guide to acknowledging traditional territories
- Additional information about the exhibition
The Perpetual Salish exhibition curated by artist lessLIE presented the work of contemporary Coast Salish artists who are actively moving forward practices that are rooted dually in their traditions and the issues of the present world. This exhibition enabled our students and visitors to recognize the rich wealth of tradition inherent in the art of this region and to gain an understanding that, alongside its perpetuation, there are new ideas, inspirations, and contexts to which these artists respond and address.
– Mary Jo Hughes, Director, Legacy Art Galleries
We would like to thank:
Alannah Pohorecky, Art Education Programmer, for creating the Perpetual Salish: Coast Salish Art in the Classroom curriculum.
Justine Auben Drummond, Salish Weave Collection Manager, for building the website.
George and Christiane Smyth for generously supporting the exhibition and curriculum.
The artists for generously offering their work and cultural knowledge.