Stressing the importance of art in times like these, on Sunday K鈥檕moks First Nation artist Andy Everson and members of his family celebrated the installation of a new public artwork on the Comox Valley Art Gallery plaza.

The artwork, Crossroads, brings awareness to the traditional Bighouse architecture and the formline/fineline of the Kwakwakwala and Coast Salish imagery and represents the historical and current significance of the region as a place of environmental and cultural intersections.

鈥淏ecause of the pandemic, we could not have the kind of large public gathering that would normally accompany the unveiling of such a significant work of art,鈥� said CVAG executive director Glen Sanford.

鈥淏ut we felt it was especially important to share this artwork at this time, so we had virtual event. We will have a full public celebration when the time is right.鈥�

You can see the event, and images of Crossroads on the Comox Valley Art Gallery Facebook page.

Crossroads is part of a larger project called Public Place/Sacred Space that also includes the two Welcome Poles that were installed in 2018, and a traditional Indigenous full circle tea garden.

For more images and information about this project or the current exhibition The Time of Things at CVAG, visit