Martine Reid Discusses Haida Art at the Bill Reid Gallery

Martine Reid at the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Photo courtesy of the Bill Reid Gallery.

“Bill [Reid] is taking you by the hand and taking you through his gallery,” Martine Reid tells us as we step into the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver. She was the wife of Bill, celebrated Haida artist and CBC radio announcer (1920-1998), who describes herself as Bill’s “wife, partner and best critic.”

What follows is a touching tour of the approximately 5,000 square foot space through the voice of Martine Reid, filled with quiet pride and affection. She has curated a stunning collection of Bill’s early jewellery (“I follow his lady friends to create the catalogue!”), explaining how the knowledge of his Haida culture shaped and changed his work as he aged.

Martine quotes him as saying, “I try to see what my ancestors would do with my technology.”

Shawn Hunt's Trickster at the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Photo by Kenji Nagai.

Once outside the jewellery room (which is locked behind vaulted doors at night), there is a temporary exhibit space, right now filled with young Haida artists’ work deconstructing the notion of being Haida (Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast) and permanent collections with a totem pole carved by James Hart of Haida Gwaii, some of Bill Reid’s work featured on the Canadian $20 bill and historical CBC footage of Bill from 1954 to 1998.

What I Liked:

• The Bill Reid Gallery is a fantastic space filled with an important artist. Haida art is given its due, not only through exhibits of Bill Reid’s work, but by commissioning young artists to create contemporary works of their own.
• Located centrally (639 Hornby Street, 604-682-3455), it’s a great stop while exploring the downtown core.