Dean Hunt

Heiltsuk

Dean is a Visual Artist, Traditional Tattoo Practitioner & Music Producer from the Eagle Clan of the Heiltsuk Nation, Waglisla (Bella Bella). He is currently living on the Sunshine Coast, B.C.

Dean under went a formal 5 year apprenticeship with his father Bradley Hunt and Older brother Shawn Hunt, where he learned the skills of Heiltsuk carving and design. He uses the tools his ancestors fought to hold onto through times of hardship and oppression, not only in his more traditional art practices, but also in his contemporary use of sound. Dean studied Studio Engineering and Music Production at Columbia Academy in Vancouver, and has applied his skills as a music producer and DJ with the audio-visual collectives Skookum Sound System & See Monsters. Dean also completed a four week artist intensive at Earthline Tattoo Residency in Kelowna with teacher Dion Kazsas (Nlaka'pamux Nation), where he learned traditional hand poke and skin stitch tattoo techniques.

Notable Art Exhibitions:

The Vancouver Art Gallery "Shore,Forest, and Beyond: Art from the Michael Audain Collection"

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art "Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast"

Satellite Gallery "Cindy Sherman meets Dzunuk'wa: Art from the Michael & Inna O'brian Collection"

Exhibits regularly at "Spirit Wrestler", "Inuit Gallery", "Lattimer Gallery" Vancouver B.C.

Some notable audio-visual performances include:

"PuSh Festival" Vancouver 2013

"Adaka Festival" in the Yukon 2014

"Sakewewak Storytellers Festival & Where the Thunderbird Lives" (Mackenzie Art Gallery) in Regina 2014

"2 Worlds: Indigenous Media and Performance Festival" in Victoria BC.