Listen in as Xwalacktun, James Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry, and Austin Aan'yas Harry discuss how traditional art forms and techniques have been passed across two generations, and how these teachings and methods continue to inform contemporary artistic practices. Throughout the month of June, Xwalacktun, James, and Austin will each have a work on view at The Polygon, highlighting their individual approaches to artmaking. As a family, the Harrys often work closely together, collaborating on projects that reflect both their shared heritage and unique creative perspectives. Join us as they reflect on their processes of working and learning together, while also defining their own visions as artists.

Doors 6:30pm

Talk starts at 7:00pm

Your RSVP will guarantee you a seat at the event

About Xwalacktun
Xwalacktun (born Rick Harry) has decades of experience as a carver and keeper of traditional Coast Salish culture and design principles. Xwalacktun was born and raised in Squamish, BC. He carries with him the rich ancestries of his mother’s and father’s clans from Coast Salish and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nations. His father, Pekultn, carried a hereditary chieftainship from Seymour Creek, North Vancouver. He would like to acknowledge Capilano College and Emily Carr College of Art for teaching him the skills to have a start in his career. His endurance and commitment through trial and error helped propel him forward as an artist.

Healing and growth have become a central theme in Xwalacktun’s work. By focusing on how the traditional stories relate to his own life, he suggests to us how to use this ancient knowledge to help heal ourselves and our community. The giving out of positive energy and seeing it come back through the young people is the reward that continues to feed his spirit so that he can give back to others. Today, Xwalacktun is an accomplished artist in wood, paper, stone, glass, and metals.

His public works are situated throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Outside Canada, Xwalacktun has carved a forty-foot totem pole in New Hampshire for the Kokopelli Gallery and has 30 totem poles throughout Scotland. He collaborated with three artists in Beijing for the Canada Pavilion at the 2008 Olympics. For the 2008 and 2009 Nordic Winter Games, he designed banners and medals as well as elaborate snow boards for the First Nations Snowboarding team. For Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic bid, he contributed the initial Winter Sports Icons for the Bid Book as well as the Bid Box Lid.

In 2012, he received the Order of British Columbia for his diverse contributions to many communities. He is also a recipient of the “FANS” Honor Award from the North Vancouver Arts Council, which acknowledged his commitments both locally and worldwide. Most recently, he won the 2023 Polygon Award for First Nations Art in the Distinction for Lifetime Achievement category.

Xwalacktun: Reflecting

To see the specially-editioned print produced in conjunction with this presentation, visit The Polygon Gallery’s Diane Evans Book Store.

About James Harry
James Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist living and working in shíshálh Nation territory. Raised in a family of artists, he learned Salish design and carving from his father Xwalacktun and later completed his BFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. His practice draws deeply on ancestral knowledge while challenging the systemic structures that have long marginalised Indigenous voices. Through collaborations with cities, developers, architects, and institutions, Harry embeds Indigenous leadership and worldview into contemporary environments by envisioning a bold, immersive, land-based future for Coast Salish art where culture is not simply represented, but actively shapes the world being built.

James Harry: Eye of the Ancestor 

About Austin Harry
For Austin Aan'yas Harry, art is both inheritance and innovation. He belongs to the Wolf Clan of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation and the Thunderbird Clan of the Namgis Nation. Raised in a family of artists and trained in Coast Salish design by his father, Xwalacktun (born Rick Harry), he is part of a lineage that spans generations. His own practice carries that thread, using digital design to extend traditional forms into new mediums and contexts. Harry takes well-known imagery and renders it as modern Sḵwx̱wú7mesh illustrations.

Austin Harry: Seagull, Raven, and The First Light

Generously supported by a Reconciliation Action Grant through Oshki Wupoowane | The Blanket Fund