Chilliwack art exhibit highlights evolution of beaded loom tapestries

CHILLIWACK — A new exhibit is looking to weave some more colour into Chilliwack this winter month.

“Evolution of Beadwork” is the latest collection to be presented by the Chilliwack Visual Artists Association (CVAA) and Odlum Brown Art Gallery.

The exhibit features a collection of loom-beaded tapestries created by Chowéthel visual artist Speplól Tanya Zilinski over the last five years, slowly shifting from a focus on preserving language and culture to a merger of Indigenous knowledge and Western science.

According to the Indigenous Arts Collective, Zilinski was taught to loom-bead at age 15 by a Stó:lō Elder at Chawathil First Nation, near Hope, and has since used beadwork as a way to pass on cultural knowledge and stories from their ancestors.