An art auctioneer and Indigenous art leaders say demand, corporate commissions and digital opportunities are increasing the value and reach of Indigenous art in B.C.
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David Heffel, CEO of Heffel Fine Art Auction House, said Indigenous art values have been rising steadily, with “about a 10 per cent annualized rate of return, or more” over the past decade for many First Nations artists championed by museums.
Heffel said some top Indigenous artists have seen even greater appreciation, adding that there has also been “a stronger focus on curatorial exhibitions” of First Nations artists in major institutions such as the National Gallery of Canada, which he said has been reflected in private collectors’ tastes.
Heffel said artworks often come to auction when collectors die, and he also described major donation activity.
In B.C., he pointed to Michael Audain’s commission of the six-metre bronze sculpture The 3 Watchmen, created by Haida artist Jim Hart, which Audain donated in 2024 to the Plains of Abraham.
In Vancouver, Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art CEO Allison Andrachuk said the gallery shop accounts for 22 per cent of annual revenue, fundraising represents 33 per cent, admissions provide 12 per cent, and venue rentals account for five per cent.
Andrachuk said fundraising includes grants, corporate sponsorships and donations, and she said the gallery hosts Indigenous artist markets twice a year in June and December so artists can sell pieces including jewelry, carving and weaving.
Squamish Nation chairperson and elected chief Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams said Indigenous art is not only valued for aesthetics or investment but is “part of who we are,” describing it as connected to culture, ceremony and “origin stories.”
Williams said depictions of animals and sea life, including salmon and whales, connect with Squamish Nation culture, and he said art carries knowledge that has traditionally been passed down without a written record.
He said he has seen increased corporate demand for Indigenous art and that the Squamish Nation has posted a “call for artists” and job opportunities on its website.
Williams said Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is seeking artwork for a new community health clinic in the city, with artists eligible to charge a fee of up to $9,600 according to the posted call.
He also said that Squamish Nation carver Darren Yelton gifted a totem pole via VCH to Lions Gate Hospital, noting that it was meaningful for Yelton because his mother died of cancer after treatment at that North Vancouver hospital.
Lions Gate Hospital Foundation vice-president Louise Campbell said her organization runs a fundraising campaign in which people can buy a plaque for $250 to be placed on a panel near Yelton’s nearly six-metre totem pole.
Williams said commissioned artwork is more common than a generation ago and that there is a trend toward digital art, including Indigenous theme nights hosted by the Vancouver Canucks twice a year with Indigenous design incorporated into the team logo.
Williams said the demand for digitally delivered work can be lucrative, and described encouraging “versatility” for artists working in a digital environment.
A father-and-daughter team of Tsleil-Waututh artists, Chris Overes and Tamia Overes, said they have capitalized on those opportunities, with Chris focusing more on tangible art such as carving and Tamia producing physical art as well as digital art and design.
They said they won the bid to produce a design for the gold medal at the 2026 HSBC SVNS Series rugby tournament in Vancouver in March, with Chris initially carving the design and Tamia digitizing and formatting it to fit the medal.
The pair said non-disclosure contracts restrict what they can reveal about their compensation, adding they received “an amount that was in the single-digit thousands of dollars.”
They also said FIFA hired them to design metalwork gifts for 2026 World Cup VIPs, describing that they fabricated over 300 metalwork pieces and handled processes including expression-of-interest drawings, fabrication, shipping to Toronto and related logistics.
Tamia said, “We fabricated all of the gifts,” and Chris said FIFA took “two-and-a-half or three months” to reimburse their expenses after they had to cover production costs up front.
The duo said they are now producing a three-metre metal sculpture commissioned through the Vancouver Port Authority for near the Holdom overpass in Burnaby.
Chris said, “This was a new medium for us,” adding that they needed an engineer and a fabricator.
When discussing day jobs and income diversification, Chris said he works as a procurement specialist for the City of Coquitlam, while Tamia said she works full time at art and has cultivated multiple revenue streams.
Tamia said, “It’s definitely no easy feat to make art a full-time job,” and described selling art prints on her website, working with her dad on art projects and doing her own paintings.
She said a gallery at Vancouver International Airport carries some of her work and that she has also been tattooing for a decade, using tattooing to monetize her art and creating a studio that has hired and trained other artists.
Indigenous digital artists also said demand is shifting toward digital products, with artist Calvin Charlie-Dawson saying, “The market for digital art has become progressively more common and that is just what is in demand right now.”
Charlie-Dawson said he produced a logo for the Heather Lands Development that Aquilini Investment Group plans to develop with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, and he said he also produced a design for IATSE Local 891, representing more than 8,000 professional artists and technicians who work in film and television production in B.C.
He said it was “like a two-for-one contract,” adding that the work included redoing the film union’s logo for its Vancouver headquarters and promoting Orange Shirt Day.
Charlie-Dawson also described creating murals, including one for Cedar Leaf Capital, a partner of the Squamish and Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corp.
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