معرفی
Carey Newman (Hayalthkin’geme) serves as the inaugural Impact Chair in Indigenous Art Practices within the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Victoria's Faculty of Fine Arts. A Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist from the Kukwaḵ̓a̱m, Gix̱sa̱m, and Wawałaba’yi clans with Coast Salish heritage from Xwchíyò:m, he examines Indigenous, social, and environmental issues through multi-disciplinary artistic practice to address colonialism and capitalism.
His research centers on Truth and Reconciliation through material truth, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. Projects like the Witness Blanket—now housed at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights—use reclaimed residential school artifacts to trigger emotional responses driving social change, while Earth Drums and The Last Totem explore land relationships and climate crises through Indigenous worldviews.
Recent scholarly output reveals consistent focus on decolonizing aesthetics, Indigenous governance structures, and knowledge systems, demonstrating how artistic practice intersects with political advocacy and cultural memory across diverse media formats.
His major recognitions include:
- Meritorious Service Medal (2017)
- Order of British Columbia (2018)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Royal Roads University (2023)
- Norma Fleck Award for Children’s Non Fiction
Newman leads externally funded initiatives like the Seedling Project (designing a future UVic totem pole), VR Witness Blanket (partnering with Canadian Museum for Human Rights), and Brost Foundation collaborations, securing support from Canada Council for the Arts and National Science Research Council to advance community-centered decolonial practices.
He actively partners with Camosun College, Telus, and T’Sou-ke Nation—engaging students in Totem 2.0 engineering projects and youth in cultural carving—to foster intergenerational knowledge transfer through collaborative artistic processes.
