West Coast art thrives in Tofino

Diverse artistic community features traditional and contemporary visual and performance arts.

Spend any time in a Tofino or Ucluelet restaurant, coffee shop or resort and you will see the art. The paintings, carvings, sculptures, statues and prints represent the spectacular, diverse land, people and region in vibrant colour, beautiful woods and coarse, often raw materials.

In a one-block stretch of Campbell St. in Tofino, galleries include Roy Henry Vicker’s Eagle Aerie Gallery, Mark Hobson Gallery and Reflecting Spirit Gallery, an artist owned and operated consignment gallery. Native, contemporary, abstract and everything in between is represented.

Tofino art   Tofino art


The people of the Nuu-chah-nulth nation are very active as artists with a diverse repertoire including carving, weaving, whaling canoes and clothing. In many instances, their art was imbued in everyday items used in nearly every aspect of their daily life.

Native art, contemporary art, abstract art and everything in between is represented.

Meanwhile, the loggers, fishers and miners who first established settlements on this western edge of Vancouver Island developed their own artistic expression. In Tofino and Ucluelet galleries, shops, restaurants and hotels, you will see forms of folk art often employing nautical themes and rustic west coast miens.

Long Beach Lodge Resort Tofino artThe Great Room at Long Beach Lodge Resort is a great starting point for Tofino and Vancouver Island art. Featuring a marvelous collection, including carvings, sculptures, paddles, masks, bowls and totems, by island First Nation artists and contemporary paintings and prints. In many of the highly-valued pieces, warm island cedar and fir captures the spirit of mythical creatures and real animals alike.

Explore the region’s rich artistic tradition.

Each year Tofino artists, residents, visitors and businesses celebrate the region’s rich artistic community with a summer festival. This year the Pacific Rim Arts Society is presenting its 26th Annual Summer Festival which features two weeks of local art, music, film, and dance performances and workshops.

The events, which started June 21, are spread over Tofino and Ucluelet and include a Friday, June 26, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm performance of the Vancouver Island Cello Ensemble at Long Beach Lodge Resort’s SandBar Bistro.

Enjoy a performance by Vancouver Island’s highly respected cellist Helena Jung in front of Cox Bay beach. This will be a memorable experience: Helena has played with the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and since 2007 has had her own recital series, “Cellobration”.

For a full listing of Summer Festival events, visit http://pacificrimarts.ca/




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