Charlotte Townsend-Gault (professor in the Department of Art History), Jennifer Kramer (associate professor of anthropology and a curator at the Museum of Anthropology), and Ḳi-ḳe-in (Nuuchaanulth), editors of Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas, published by UBC Press, have been awarded the 2015 Canada Prize in the Humanities.
From the jury citation:
Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A History of Changing Ideas represents an outstanding collaborative effort by three editors — a professor of art history, Charlotte Townsend-Gault; an anthropologist and museum curator, Jennifer Kramer; and a Nuuchaanulth historian and creator, Ḳi-ḳe-in — and twenty-eight artists, critics, owners and scholars to bring diverse perspectives to bear on a highly contested subject. Illustrated with artwork and photographs, this book takes the form of a comprehensive ‘archive’ of historical documents illuminated by well-crafted essays and prologues. The result is a treasure trove of information on Northwest Coast Native art. It will be essential reading for all future work on this topic.
The Canada Prizes are awarded annually to the best books by Canadian scholars in the humanities and social sciences that make an exceptional contribution to scholarship, are engagingly written, and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada. Winners are selected from books that have received funding from the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, which is administered by the Federation.
“These books are representative of the best of contemporary scholarship in Canada,” said Stephen Toope, President of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. “Two of this year’s winners examine Canada’s complex relationships with Aboriginal peoples—one from the perspective of art and photography, the other from a rights perspective on treaties and civil liberties. Another looks at how the thought of Jean-Paul Sartre was influenced by the United States, while the final one takes a tough look at the inherent complexities of the Alberta oil industry.”
“Stemming from such different disciplines and perspectives, each of these books contributes in a unique way to a deeper understanding of how we grew to be the nation we are, and where we are heading,” Toope added.
Learn more about and/or order the book from UBC Press
