Young Nuxalk artist Sesyaz Saunders’ latest work will be on display at Vancouver International Airport. Saunders, who was the youngest recipient of the 2018 YVR Art Foundation Youth Art Scholarship, worked with Robert Davidson on a large panel, which was unvelied on May 31 and will remain there for one year.
Davidson, who is of Haida and Tlingit, is one of Canada’s most respected and important contemporary visual artists and holds numerous honourary degrees. He is the recipient of over a dozen awards including the Order of Canada.
This is the second time Saunders has received the scholarship – he also won in 2016 – and he is one of more than six Nuxalk artists to receive the honour over the past decade. Saunders worked on the panel for a year under the mentorship of Davidson, who helped him through the process.
A graduate of Acwsalcta School, Saunders currently resides in Bella Coola where he dedicates himself full-time to his art. Saunders comes from a lineage of artists including his father, Robert “Skip” Saunders, a renowned local carver.
