Sonny Assu

Sonny Assu was born in 1975 in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Raised by his grandparents in in a suburban setting in North Delta, BC, he did not learn about his Kwakwaka'wakw heritage until he was eight years old. Assu received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Emily Carr University and a Masters in Fine Arts degree from Concordia University. His work is in the collection of many museums, including the National Gallery of Canada, Vancouver Art Gallery, University of Washington’s Burke Museum, and the Seattle Art Museum. He received the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations art in 2011 and was thrice longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. Assu currently lives and works from his ancestral homeland of Vancouver Island.

"The impetus behind my work is to bring to light the dark, hidden history of Canada’s actions/inactions against the Indigenous people. I often infuse my work with wry humor in an attempt to foster a dialogue; to speak to the realities of being an Indigenous person in the colonial state of Canada. Within this, my work deals with the loss of language, loss of cultural resources and the effects of colonization upon the Indigenous people of North America."— Sonny Assu (Ligwiłda’xw Kwakwaka’wakw We Wai Kai First Nation)