My current body of work examines how we use everyday consumer items and icons of pop culture to define our personal lineage. This series of work juxtaposes two polarized cultures and theorizes how branding, brand loyalty, and items from  pop/technology culture to relate to the ideal of totemic representation.

This body of work  combines  social, economical, and environmental issues with subtle humour to speak to the notion of conformity by not conforming to the commonly perceived "Indian" Identity. 

Sonny Assu
Painter, sculpture/installation and mixed media artist
(b.1975)
Regarded as a ' Vanguard' for his piece in the Vancouver Art Gallery's exhibit, How Soon Is Now?, Sonny Assu continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art by challenging the perception of Aboriginal art. A multi-disciplinary artist, Assu merges Northwest Coast Aboriginal iconography with the aesthetics of popular culture to challenge social and historical values that we as a society face on a daily basis. His work is an exploration of his mixed ancestry and creates a discourse on we use items of consumer and popular culture to define our personal lineage.
His current body of work examines how we use everyday consumer items and icons of pop culture to define our personal lineage, discussing the use of branding, brand loyalty and technology in conjunction to the ideals of totemic representation and helps educate people on the issues that the First People of North America face.

Sonny grew up in North Delta, a suburb of of Canada’s third largest city and many kilometres away from his ancestral home of Campbell River/ Cape Mudge. It wasn’t until he was eight years old that he discovered his mixed heritage in a rather unique way. It was during a grade three history lesson about a particular group of BC ‘Indians’, the Kwakwaka'wakw. He ran home that day to tell his mom about the lesson, about how he was drawn to the culture and the art: she simply looked at him and said “Well, that is who you are”.

After completing high school in 1994, Sonny set out to find his placement in the world. Three years went by, and Sonny started to yearn for something more than working in a shoe store in a mall. His late teens and early 20’s brought him into an exploration of his dramatic flair, performing in many theatre productions with companies such as the Theatre Under the Stars and the Fraser Valley Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Although he loved performing on stage, he would soon discover that the visual arts were his true calling. His scholastic art exploration began in 1997 at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He gained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in May of 2002, majoring in Print Making and a minor in just about everything else that piqued his creative curiosity.

Assu’s work has been featured in several group exhibits over the past years, notably How Soon is Now? at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Comic Relief at the National Gallery of Canada, Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast at the McMichael’s Canadian Art Collection and Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation Part 2 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Sonny’s first solo exhibit, Sonny Assu: As Defined Within the Indian Act, was held at the Belkin Satellite Gallery in Vancouver, in April 2006. It garnered him considerable attention and landed him a partnership with the Equinox Gallery in the fall of 2006. Assu’s work has been accepted into the National Gallery in Ottawa (Breakfast Series and Death Blanket), the Seattle Art Museum (Breakfast Series), the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (Coke Salish) and in various other public and private collections across Canada and the United States.

Radio, TV, Print and the Web: His successful art practice has netted exposure on a variety of media platforms and he has received grants from Canada Council, the BC Art Council and in 2007, he was honoured with the Emily Award, from the Emily Carr University, for his devotion and success on his path as an artist.

His ideas, thoughts and processes are fluidic and ever changing. Ask Sonny what he’s working on and he may eloquently speak about his ideas or he might keep tight-lipped in hopes of creating the element of surprise. Either way, his work and personality will draw you in.

Sonny Assu is Laich-kwil-tach (Kwakwaka'wakw) of the Weka'yi  First Nation (Cape Mudge), the artist has lived in Vancouver since 1999.

Solo Exhibitions
2009
iDrums - Equinox Gallery (Gallery 2), Vancouver, Canada
2007
iPotlatch - Art Gallery of South Western Manitoba, Brandon, Canada
2006
Sonny Assu: As defined by the Indian Act. - Belkin Satellite Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

2/3-Person Exhibitions
2009
Pop Goes the World - The Red Shift Gallery, Saskatoon, SK Canada
2005
Futuristic Regalia - Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River, BC, Canada
Futuristic Regalia - Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC, Canada
2004
Futuristic Regalia - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Group Exhibitions
2010
The Home Team - Equinox Gallery (Gallery 2), Vancouver, Canada
Alternorthern - The LAB, San Francisco, CA, USA
Endlessly Traversed Landscapes - Public Transit exhibit (VANOC Cultural Olympiad)- Vancouver, Canada
Seattle City Light Portable Works: Part lll - Seattle Municiple Tower Gallery - Seattle, WA, USA
2009
Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast - The McMichael Canadian Art Collection - Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast - Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art - Vancouver
Beat Nation: Hip Hop as an Indigenous Culture - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Beat Nation: Hip Hop as an Indigenous Culture - SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
Blue Like an Orange - Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
How Soon Is Now? - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008
Winter Group Exhibit - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
INFLUENCE - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
World Histories - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
Comic Relief - National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2- Tucson Museum of Art. Tucson, AZ, USA
2007
SAM at 75 - Seattle Art Museum. Seattle, WA, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Anchorage Museum of History & Art, Anchorage, AK, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2006
The Altered Image - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Past to Present - Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Earth: the World Urban Festival - Great Northern Way Campus, Vancouver, Canada
90º (Talking Stick Festival) - Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2005
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 2 - Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY, USA
HIVE: A New Works Group Show - Studio #1 - 901 Main St. Vancouver, BC.
Dem(ouse)graphics - New Perspective Gallery, Passmore, BC.
Evolution (Alumni Exhibition) - Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
2003
Thinking Textile - Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC, Canada
2002
Urban Red Wire. (Talking Stick Festival) - Round House Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Emily Carr Graduation Exhibit - Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC

Artist Talks
2010
Current Body of work - Capilano University, North Vancover, BC.
Current Body of work - Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art - Vancouver, Canada
Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Studio Visit. - Vancouver, BC, Canada
2009
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection - Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
Art + Identity (Panel discution) - Hotshots Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
REMIX, Open Education Conference - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Pleasure and Doom (Panel discution) - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Current Body of work - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008
World Histories - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
2007
Contemporary Traditions: The Work of Sonny Assu - Seattle Art Museum Lecture, Seattle, WA, USA
Current Body of work - UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Studio Visit. - Vancouver, BC, Canada
2006
90º (Talking Stick Festival) - Round House Community Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2004
Full Circle (Talking Stick Festival) - Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Artist in Redience
2010
The Richmond Art Gallery - Richmond, BC, Canada
2009
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection - Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
2008
Des Moines Art Center - Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, IA, USA
ArtStarts in Schools - Kitsalano Secondary, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2007
ArtStarts in Schools - North Delta Senior Secondary, North Delta, BC, Canada
2003
NEW MEDIA INNOVATION CENTRE - Vancouver, BC, Canada

Grants and Awards
2009
British Columbia Arts Council - Mid-Career Production grant
2007
Canada Council for the Arts - Production grant
British Columbia Arts Council - Production grant
Emily Carr University - The Emily Award (Distinguished alumni award)
2005
Canada Council for the Arts - Travel grant
2004
British Columbia Arts Council - Artist production grant
2003
First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation - Production/Development grant
Vancouver Foundation (VADA) - Production/Development grant

Peer Assesment Juries
2008 British Columbia Arts Council -Level 1 & 2 Awards jury.
2007 Visual Arts Development Awards (VADA) - Awards jury.
2005 Canada Council for the Arts. - Emerging artist grant jury.
2004 Art Underfoot Selection Panel -City of Vancouver

Perminent Collections
The City of Richmond (VANOC), Oylmpic Oval
Seattle Office of Arts and Cultral Affairs
The National Gallery of Canada
Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
The Seattle Art Museum

Community Services
Current Grunt Gallery - Vice President, Board of directors.
2007-09 Grunt Gallery - Board of directors.

Publications + Catalogues
2009
Challenging Traditions ISBN# 978-1-5536-414-8
How Soon IS Now? ISBN# 978-895442-74.8
2008
World Histories ISBN# 978-1-879003-53-8
2005
Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 ISBN# 1-890385-11-5
2004
Thinking Textile ISBN# 0 - 9692572 - 8 -7
Futuristic Regalia ISBN# 1 - 895329 - 60 - 4
2002
Grad Catalogue Emily Carr University

Media (print/tv/radio/web)
2009
Pushing the line: Art without reservations Bravo!
beckoningforchange.org Featured artist
The Vancouver Review Fall
The Vancouver Review Summer
Socket CBC Radio One
North by Northwest CBC Radio One
2008
Art Papers Vol. 5, Issue #32
The Vancouver Sun Sept. 10th
2007
Common Ground August
The Olympian May 5th
Seattle Post-Intelligencer May 3rd
2006
Socket CBC Radio One
The Vancouver Sun July 3rd
The Vancouver Sun June 22nd
The Vancouver Sun June 17th
The Georgia Straight March 2th
2005
The Vancouver Courier March 6th
The National Post January 6th
2004
Colour TV CityTV
North by Northwest CBC Radio One
2004
Westender February 26th
Richmond News January 7th
2004
Art Zone (Season two) APTN
2003
The Georgia Straight December 4th
The Richmond Review December 4th
North by Northwest CBC Radio
Red Wire Magazine Vol. 5 Issue # 3
2002
ZeD CBC TV
Art Zone APTN
Westender March 28th.
Red Directions. Vol. 2 Issue #4
2001
North by Northwest CBC Radio One