Docuseries about Vancouver Island art gallery premieres in September

A new television docuseries is exploring the day-to-day lives and personal stories of the artists at Coastal Carvings, an award-winning Indigenous fine art gallery located in Coombs.

Each of the 13 episodes of Coastal Carvings is dedicated to the passion behind keeping culture and tradition alive through art. The series has its broadcast premiere on Monday, Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m. PT, with a new episode airing every week, according to a news release.

Métis brothers Jeremy Humpherville and Jerett Humpherville work together, and sometimes butt heads, as they bring big ideas to life by teaming up with other artists across different mediums.

“It’s more than just a story about just art. It’s about the story and how it’s brought together this group of artists who have these like minds who want to share their story with everybody,” Jeremy Humpherville said.

The brothers are joined by beadwork artist Lisa Shepherd, cedar weaver Shy Watters, carver Derek Georgeson, artist Kaija Heitland, jewelry designer Jordan Syberg, aspiring artist, and Jeremy’s daughter, Thea Humpherville, woodshop assistant Jacob Holgate and artist in training Levi Purjue.

The episodes show the artists work together and combine many forms of art to complete large projects. 

“That’s what we’ve always been — utilizing the skills of many people that do art that not one of us could complete on our own,” Humpherville said. “We really want to do monumental pieces together.”

Each episode focuses on different personal stories and art pieces – from delicate works to public commissions and entire home renovations that require heavy machinery – and the obstacles the artists overcome.

“Art tells the story of Indigenous culture in ways that language often cannot,” said Todd Forsbloom, Métis producer, director, and co-founder of Rogue River Films. “We are happy to be able to share these artists’ traditional knowledge, exceptional crafts, and moving stories through the medium we specialize in — television.”

When he was first approached about doing the show, Humpherville was hesitant. His mind went initially to reality TV, but once he knew it would be completely unscripted, he was interested. The series began filming more than two years ago and two seasons are ready to go.

He was surprised how many of his clients gave him an enthusiastic ‘yes’ when asked about being included in the series.

“People were really willing and I was quite surprised because I was really worried about that,” Humpherville said. “Because it’s a documentary, it’s kind of the story of their piece that gets preserved.”

With AI art taking over the internet, it’s been a good reminder of the importance of sharing and passing down generational knowledge, he added.

“The preservation of art and culture in this moment in time, and these techniques that are passed on by hand, and they aren’t written in books and they aren’t available on the internet, are really important to preserve,” he said. “Throughout the series that’s a key component.”

The gallery was founded in 2004 by Humpherville and his wife Darlene Humpherville. It specializes in fine art and custom home designs and features a diverse collection of traditional and contemporary works by Indigenous artists from across Canada, including the Haida, Tsimshian, Salish, Ojibway, Cree, Nuu-chah-nulth, Métis, and Inuit Nations.

Coastal Carvings was made with the financial participation of the Canadian Media Fund.

The Blackfoot version of Coastal Carvings premieres Sept. 1 on APTN Languages.  All episodes (English and Blackfoot) stream on APTN lumi starting Aug. 25.