About the Artist

Coast Salish Artist: Charlene Johnny, Quw’utsun' Tribes

Charlene Johnny is a Coast Salish artist from the Quw’utsun Tribes of Duncan, B.C. residing on the unceded territory of her relatives the xwməθkwəy̓ əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations. She began her career in 2012 when she won two artist grants from the YVR Art Foundation working with business, graphic design, photography, glass, and textiles. She has apprenticed under well-known artists and has formal art training from Native Education College. She graduated from the silver and copper carving program in 2018. She became a full time artist in 2020, with her main practice in graphic design and mural art. With her interdisciplinary approach to art, she will continue to work in various mediums to explore and express her ancestral artwork through a number of contemporary ways.