EMERGING ARTIST SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT, 2024
Randi Ball is a Tahltan/Tłingit artist from Tatl’ah, also known as Dease Lake, British Columbia. They belong to the Tsesk’iye, or Crow clan. Currently, Randi is attending their second year at the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, located in Terrace, British Columbia on the unceded traditional territory of the Kitsumkalum Ts’msyen peoples. Randi worked with the instructors of the Freda Diesing program, including Ken McNeil, Nathan Wilson, Nakkita Trimble, Darryl Moore, as well as with the senior advisors Dempsey Bob and Stan Bevan.
Randi’s biggest inspiration and support has been their mother, Sonia Dennis. Sonia has been a huge cultural leader in the Tahltan territory since Randi was young. She carries the knowledge of all her grandmothers before her, and she carries it with pride. Randi strives to follow in their moms footsteps. Being raised in the Tahltan territory and by their community, Randi has always been surrounded by their culture and the traditional Tahltan arts. All of their aunties work with tanning hides, beading and sewing. Randi’s work aims to honour the ancestors and their community ties with neighbouring nations. Their work has an underlining theme around family, identity, and the salmon.
Randi explores the importance and the responsibility of the salmon for their community. The sacred headwaters are located in the Tahltan territory. This watershed is responsible for the Skeena, Nass, and Stikine rivers. These rivers look after the salmon for the communities along the water shed and are made up of many nations. The salmon is our wealth, and is passed down from generation to generation. The salmon is what gets us through the winter months. During the winter we stay indoors and that is when we work on art. If it was not for the salmon we would have to gather, and hunt during the cold winters. We would not have time to
