Marika Swan ƛ̓upinup: A Circle Strong Enough to Carry Both Sides

November 14, 2025-January 25, 2026

The first solo-exhibition by Marika Swan, A Circle Strong Enough to Carry Both Sides explores her deeply woven understandings of the nature of duality held in all things. In elaborate, large-scale imagery, Swan depicts truths about the human experience through playful imaginings of spiritual realities. Using an emotional visual language entirely her own, Swan’s woodblock printmaking is informed by the rich philosophical and carving traditions of her Nuu-chah-nulth lineage. Introduced to printmaking as a tool for political organizing, her work speaks to the challenges and world we must face now. As the only public art museum dedicated to collecting works on paper, the Burnaby Art Gallery is honoured to host this exhibition, which features new works alongside Swan’s extensive portfolio.

Marika Swan ƛ̓upinup is a mother, artist, and community arts organizer of mixed Tla-o-qui-aht, Scottish, and Irish descent. Her main creative practice is exploring the Nuu-chah-nulth worldview through woodblock relief printmaking, often layered with other visual arts techniques, including carving, stencil, and photography. Marika’s extensive study of Nuu-chah-nulth ancestral belongings has informed a unique contemporary interpretation of the classic Nuu-chah-nulth aesthetic.

Fireside Chat with Marika Swan and Tania Willard 

On Tuesday, January 13, we were honoured to host a special dialogue between exhibiting artist Marika Swan and artist/curator Tania Willard for a rich conversation exploring parallels in their practices in relation to their deep engagement with printmaking, archives and community organizing.
 
Marika Swan ƛ̓upinup is a mother, artist and community arts organizer of mixed Tla-o-qui-aht, Scottish and Irish descent. Her main creative practice is exploring the Nuu-chah-nulth worldview through woodblock relief printmaking, often layered with other visual arts techniques, including carving, stencil and photography. Marika’s extensive study of Nuu-chah-nulth ancestral belongings has informed a unique contemporary interpretation of the classic Nuu-chah-nulth aesthetic. 
 
Tania Willard is a mixed Secwépemc and settler artist whose research intersects with land-based art practices. Her practice activates connection to land, culture and family, centering art as an Indigenous resurgent act, though collaborative projects such as BUSH Gallery and support of language revitalization in Secwépemc communities. Tania’s work is included in the collections of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Forge Project, Kamloops Art Gallery, the Anchorage Museum, and the Burnaby Art Gallery, among others. In 2025, she was awarded the Sobey Art Award.

Take the self-guided audio tour