CULTURAL GROUP:
Kwakwaka'wakw

BORN:
1975

BIRTHPLACE:
Richmond, BC

Sonny Assu is a Ligwilda'xw Kwakwaka'wakw contemporary artist. Sonny started out studying painting at Kwantlen College and then attended the Emily Carr University of Art and Design where he focused on print making, digital arts and first nations studies. While at Emily Carr, Sonny combined his interests in pop art with traditional Kwakwaka'wakw techniques such as cedar bark weaving and drum making. He graduated with his Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2002. Sonny Assu received the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations art in 2011 and was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Most recently, he earned his MFA at Concordia University in Montreal. Sonny Assu has pieces in the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Canada.