When Kwantlen Polytechnic University students attend convocation this week, they will pick up their degrees and diplomas in the presence of five colourful canoe paddles. Kwantlen First Nation visual artist Brandon Gabriel created these oars, which will be on-stage at all seven ceremonies. In a KPU news release, Gabriel said that these hand-painted works symbolize the students’ educational journey.
The paddles each feature a Coast Salish design representing a KPU campus. Gabriel chose a wolf for Surrey, a beaver for Tech, a bear for Civic Plaza, a thunderbird for Richmond, and an eagle for Langley.
“The Surrey campus, in my mind, is the heartbeat of KPU, and I wanted to pick something that could encapsulate that at a cosmological level,” Gabriel stated. “The wolf felt most fitting because it embodies community, unity, and family, which are present here.
“There are a lot of students that come here from other places, leaving their families and communities of origin,” he adds. “Finding a sense of community is very important, so I wanted to create a visual marker that shows students that this is a place they could call home while they’re learning.”
KPU commissioned the paddles to reinforce its cmmitment to building capacity for Indigenization at its campuses. Gabriel also designed the centre image on KPU’s coat of arms, as well as artwork at the Langley and Surrey campuses.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Brandon to honour the history and culture of the First Nations people within the communities we serve,” KPU president and vice-chancellor Alan Davis said.
New president coming to KPU
This marks Davis’s final convocation as KPU president, a position that he has held 13 years.
Davis’s successor, Bruce Choy, chairs the George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology board of governors. Choy is also an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and a director of Shinhan Bank Canada. In addition, he is a board governor of a corporate and public-policy think tank called The Long Run Institute.
In the past, Choy has been a senior executive at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, a Partner at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), and a managing director at the Global Risk Institute.
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