Pacific Peoples’ Partnership and MediaNet are pleased to present the Longhouse Project!
Through this project, four youth are working with Nuu-chah-nulth artist Hjalmer Wenstob to create four temporary structures resembling West Coast Longhouses on the front lawn of the BC Legislature Building, the historical village site of the Kosapsum or Shweng’xwung peoples.
These structures are being erected for one weekend with the consent and support of the leadership of Esquimalt Nation, Songhees Nation, the Province of British Columbia and the City of Victoria. They will be part of an annual international Indigenous arts and culture event: the 10th annual One Wave Gathering. The structures will be available for ongoing community use afterward.
Experience the Longhouse Project art installation and enjoy free cultural celebrations at One Wave Gathering on September 16. Learn more
This gathering is an opportunity to celebrate the history and future of the people of this area, as well as to share culture, songs, dances, histories, art and stories as we move forward together.
The longhouses will consist of cedar fronts attached to canvas bodies. In celebration of the main cultural groups on Vancouver Island, as well as international Indigenous communities from across the South Pacific, youth artists will design either a Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw and South Pacific design, which will be painted on the Longhouse fronts.
Read more about South Pacific structures
APPLICATIONS CLOSED
Successful youth artists will receive the following:
- A $500 honorarium for participating;
- Opportunities to develop and refine their design based on historical archives, cultural, community and artistic mentorship, and to work with the artist in the production of the longhouses between August 9th and September 17th;
- Supported opportunities to work with elders and communities to program the inside of the temporary Longhouses as part of the Festival.
For more information, email deputy@pacificpeoplespartnership.org
Made possible with the generous support of: 
