LaTiesha Fazakas (born 1971) is a Canadian curator, filmmaker, and art dealer with a specialization in Northwest Coast Indigenous Art. She is the owner and director of Fazakas Gallery, a contemporary Indigenous gallery located in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Career

After graduating with a B.A. in Art History from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

, Fazakas worked at a retail-oriented traditional Indigenous gallery in Vancouver for nearly 11 years before she founded Fazakas Gallery.

Fazakas Gallery

In 2013, she established Fazakas Gallery, an art space that focuses on Contemporary Indigenous art and takes a curatorial approach to exploring cross-cultural works. Fazakas Gallery has represented many contemporary Indigenous artist, such as Northwest coast artist

Beau Dick Beau Dick (November 23, 1955 – March 27, 2017) was a Kwakwaka'wakw Northwest Coast artist and Chief who lived and worked in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada. He was a contemporary artist, activist and hereditary Chief from the Namgis First ...

, Rande Cook, and

Don Yeomans Don Yeomans (born 1958) is a Haida artist from Prince Rupert, British Columbia best known for his silkscreen art. His art is in the collection of Museum of Anthropology at UBC and on permanent display at the Canadian Museum of History. Early li ...

, and Inuit artist Maureen Gruben. The gallery has exhibited artists at a range of North American art fairs, including Seattle Art Fair,

NADA Nada may refer to: Culture *Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places *Nada, Hainan, China *Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States *Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone *Nada, Texas, United Sta ...

, Papier, Art Toronto,

The Armory Show The Armory Show is an international art fair in New York City, known as New York's Art Fair. Established in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair by dealers Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Lisa Spellman, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris, the annua ...

, and the Independent Art Fair.

Curatorial works

Beau Dick Curatorial Coordinator, Documenta 14

In 2017, Fazakas was the curatorial coordinator for Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) artist, activist, and chief Beau Dick’s participation in

Documenta 14 documenta 14 was the fourteenth edition of the art exhibition documenta and took place in 2017 in both Kassel, Germany, its traditional home, and Athens, Greece. It was held first in Athens from 8 April to 16 July, and in Kassel from 10 June ...

in Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany. The exhibition garnered international acclaim and launched contemporary Northwest Coast art to a global scale.

''Beau Dick: Devoured by
Consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...
''

In 2019, as an independent curator, Fazakas co-curated the first New York solo exhibition of Beau Dick, ''Beau Dick: Devoured by Consumerism'', with Matthew Higgs at

White Columns White Columns is New York City’s oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted is ...

, New York. The exhibition was also shown in at the

Remai Modern Remai Modern is a public art museum in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The art museum is situated along the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River, at the River Landing development in Saskatoon's Central Business District. The museum's build ...

, Saskatchewan, from June – September 2019.

Publication

Accompanying the exhibition of the same name, Fazakas authored the publication, ''Beau Dick: Devoured By Consumerism'', a catalogue showcasing the life and work of Beau Dick that featured essay contributions from John Cussans and

Candice Hopkins Candice Hopkins (born 1977) is a Carcross/Tagish First Nation independent curator, writer, and researcher who predominantly explores areas of indigenous history, and art. Early life and education Candice Hopkins was born 1977 in Whitehorse, Yuk ...

. The 96-page hardcover book is accompanied by colour photographs of Beau Dick’s masks, along with brief textual descriptions that provide insight into their cultural significance. The book is published by Figure 1 in collaboration with the Fazakas Gallery in Vancouver.

Film production

Fall 2017 saw Fazakas debut her feature-length documentary, '' Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick,'' a film co-directed with Canadian film producer Natalie Boll. The documentary shows Dick's life and work within ancient traditions, cultural and political movements while exploring crossovers into the contemporary art world. Fazakas asserts in the documentary: "Anyone that has encountered a piece of Beau's, immediately has an emotional reaction to it". It also features numerous interviews with Dick while he reflects on his mask carving and his experiences growing up. The film made its world premiere at the 2017

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

. ''Meet Beau Dick: Maker of Monsters'' won the Cultural Currents Award at the Victoria International Film Festival.

References

External links

Fazakas Gallery
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Potlatch 67-67

Figure 1 Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazakas, LaTiesha 1971 births Living people Indigenous art in Canada Canadian contemporary artists