Gondola Gallery Launches In Whistler Blackcomb
Vail Resorts and Epic Pass are pleased to share the debut of its third and fourth installations of The Gondola Gallery by Epic, now at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia. For the Gondola Gallery extension to Whistler Blackcomb, Vail Resorts commissioned First Nations artists Levi Nelson (Lil’wat Nation), and Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish Nation) to create original pieces of artwork that now wrap two cabins on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.
View short films spotlighting the artists’ personal journeys and artwork from concept to creation here:
Levi Nelson (Lil'wat Nation)
Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish Nation)
The Gondola Gallery by Epic art series first launched ahead of the 2023/24 winter season at Park City Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort. It features one-of-a-kind art installations and a film series celebrating the unique backgrounds of artists who love the mountains as much as we do. In line with Vail Resorts’ commitment to Epic for Everyone, The Gondola Gallery by Epic is intended to create meaningful conversation around representation, diversity, inclusion and access for all types of skiers and riders.
Whistler Blackcomb operates on the shared unceded territories of the Lil̓wat7úl (Lil’wat Nation) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) who have lived on these lands since time immemorial. Through the eyes of artistsLevi Nelson, Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph, these art installations embody the celebration of history, art and culture of the Lil’wat Nation and Squamish Nation.
The Gondola Gallery by Epic artists at Whistler Blackcomb include:
Levi Nelson (Lil'wat Nation)
“Red is a sacred color within Indigenous culture, representing the life blood of the people and our connection to the Earth,” said Nelson. “These shapes come from and are inspired by my ancestors. To be inside the gondola, looking out through an ovoid or through the Ancestral Eye, maybe you can imagine what it's like to experience my territory and see home through my eyes.
Hailing from the Lil’wat Nation, Levi Nelson is an artist whose work explores traditional motifs from Indigenous culture within a Western understanding of art. Nelson’s work can be best described as Contemporary Indigenous Art, with his preferred mediums being oil paint and mixed media works on canvas. Most recently he has exhibited work in the “Reconcile This” group show at Arts Whistler and has been chosen to design the branding for the Invictus Games 2025. Nelson’s piece, RED, is featured on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola and represents traditional elements of the Northwest Coast and Coast Salish in Canada.
Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish Nation)
“It’s more than just the techniques of weaving. It’s about ways of being and seeing the world. Passing on information that’s meaningful. We’ve done weavings on murals, buildings, reviving something that was put away all those decades ago now”
“The significance of the Thunderbird being on the gondola is that it brings the energy back on the mountain and watching over all of us.”
Chief Janice George and her husband, Willard ‘Buddy’ Joseph, are weavers in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) who frequently collaborate in graphic design projects in and around Vancouver. Chief Janice George is a trained museum curator, Squamish hereditary chief and Salish Wool Weaver. Willard ‘Buddy’ Joseph is the former director of Squamish Housing and Capital Projects and currently consults on similar work for First Nations communities. The duo co-founded L’hen Awtxw Weaving House to share the teachings and practice of traditional Coast Salish wool weaving. In celebration and appreciation of the history, art and culture of the Squamish people, WINGS OF THUNDER wraps one of the cabins on Whistler Blackcomb’s PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola. WINGS OF THUNDER is a weaving pattern translated into bold and geometric graphic design. The piece tells the story of the Thunderbird, the most powerful being of the Squamish people, and its roosting spot – the iconic Black Tusk peak near Whistler Blackcomb.
