jaz whitford

jaz is a mixed secwe̓pemc & scottish interdisciplinary artist who embodies anti-professionalism & anti-colonialism as a way to move toward a future where indigenous knowledge and ways of being are not only respected, but valued & revered. using a range of materials, forms and mediums they work to investigate and express their lived experience and understanding of spirituality, resistance, ancestral connections, and community care.

jaz’s ancestry ties them to cstálen ( adams lake ) in unceded secwepemcúl’ecw in the southern interior of so-called “british columbia” where they had the privilege of being raised close with the lands and waters within their territories & beyond, and it informs their work expansively.

living predominantly on the west coast since 2017, the bulk of their work has bloomed within the territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaʔ, xʷməθkwəy̓əm, and Stó:lō where they have been overwhelmed with the warmheartedness & generosity of the host nations and allied communities.

jaz has been working under the mentorship of t’uy’t’tanat-cease wyss since 2019 learning ethnobotany and multi-media arts centred in Indigenous revitalization. they work care taking at x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓, an indigenous rewilded plant space, as part of an ongoing project by t'uy't'tanat at gallery 221A. they are currently artist-in-residence at Vines Art Festival, an arts organization and festival that is responsive to and nurturing of artists that are working toward land, water, and relational justice.