Rebecca Baker-Grenier and Gordon Dick receive this year's Polygon Award in First Nations Art
BC Achievement Foundation also named Kari Morgan the Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist and presented the Award of Distinction to Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun
SPONSORED POST BY BC Achievement Foundation
Gwiis Gaak feather cloak and beadwork by Rebecca Baker-Grenier, 2025 recipient of the Polygon Award in First Nations Art.
The BC Achievement Foundation has announced the winners of this year’s Polygon Award in First Nations Art, which honours the excellence of Indigenous artists in British Columbia.
The 2025 recipients are Rebecca Baker-Grenier, who is of Kwakiutl and Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw ancestry and is based in Chilliwack, and Gordon Dick, who is of Tseshaht ancestry and is based in Port Alberni. The title of Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist goes to Kari Morgan, who is of Nisga’a ancestry and is based in Terrace; and the Award of Distinction goes to Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun, who is based in Vancouver and has both Hul’q’umi’num Coast Salish and Syilx roots.
Presented annually, BC Achievement’s Polygon Award celebrates creativity, cultural knowledge, and contributions to community across traditional, contemporary, and media art. For more than 16 years, several exceptional First Nations artists have been honoured for their respective practices, whether that’s carving, painting, beading, or basket weaving.
Gordon Dick, 2025 recipient of the Polygon Award in First Nations Art.
The 2025 Polygon Award recipients were selected by an independent jury of past awardees, all of whom are accomplished First Nations artists. They include 2010 awardee Lisa Hageman Yahgulanaas, who is of Haida ancestry; 2014 awardee Thomas Cannell, who is of Musqueam ancestry; and 2021 awardee James Harry, who is of Squamish ancestry.
“This year’s recipients carry forward tradition while shaping new ways of seeing, reminding us of the strength, courage, and vitality of First Nations art today,” said Walter Pela, chair of the BC Achievement Foundation, in a release.
An award ceremony and dinner will be held on November 19 from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre. The event will feature short films that honour each awardee’s artistic journey. Tickets cost $150 and can be purchased online. A public exhibition highlighting works by winners of both the Polygon Award and the Sam Carter Award in Applied Art + Design will run from November 18 to 25 at the same venue; admission is free and walk-ins are welcome.
To learn more about the BC Achievement Foundation, visit the organization’s website and YouTube channel, where many of the awardees’ stories are shared.
Post sponsored by BC Achievement Foundation.
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