Victoria Conservatory Postsecondary presents: Francis Dick in Conversation
Schedule
Thu, 22 Jan, 2026 at 12:30 pm
Location
900 Johnson St., Victoria, BC, Canada, British Columbia V8V 3N4 | Victoria, BC
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Entrance to this event is at the Victoria Conservatory of Music at 900 Johnson Street. Free admission.Join us for a special conversation with renowned Native artist Francis Dick, Victoria Conservatory Associate Dean David Visentin, and Postsecondary Studies students. Francis will share about her powerful art and stories, with a highlight being the Raven Song mural at the Conservatory entrance (900 Johnson Street). This vibrant mural celebrates music as a force for connection, healing, and transformation, embodying our commitment to community, culture, and the arts.
Also featured will be the guitar designed by Francis that inspired the mural, performed by Victoria Conservatory/Camosun guitar student Cedar Lopatecki. Cedar first played this remarkable instrument at the Conservatory’s September 29th event, An Evening for Truth and Reconciliation: Music, Art, and Dialogue, and will be performing again at this talk.
About the Victoria Conservatory Postsecondary Department
The Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Department of Postsecondary Studies offers programs through its longstanding partnership with Camosun College.
As a community of ambitious artist mentors and staff who believe strongly in the Conservatory’s mission and vision, we are dedicated to creating a learning environment where each student can thrive. We work to incorporate the values of accessibility and inclusion into all that we do.
We work together to identify each person’s strengths, professional development goals, accessibility needs, and identification and communication preferences. We adapt our working styles and build our skill sets together to develop a culture of mutual trust and broad support while meeting the specific needs of our students and our programs.
Francis Dick
Born in 1959 into the Musqamakw Dzawadaenutw Band (the four tribes of Kingcome Inlet), Francis Dick is a contemporary Native artist and a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. She is a descendant of the supernatural Wolf, Kawadelekala, who became the first of the Kingcome people.
The image of this mythical being is prominent in much of Francis Dick’s native art, acknowledging her contemporary ties to her cultural heritage. Francis holds this very near to the centre of her spirit, as she relies on this hereditary knowledge for her strength. “Before anything else, my work is about honouring my life process, my journey, through my fires, from places of pain and darkness to places that I might stand in my truth; my work is not a career, it’s a way of life.”
Francis began her career as a social worker after receiving her degree from the University of Victoria, but quickly realized that her true calling in life was to honour her natural artistic talents. Francis Dick’s first aboriginal painting, Kawadelekala, was created, then published, as a way to honour her grandmother’s life and spirit after her death in December of 1985. Four months later, her youngest brother, Jesse, took his own life. She created her second aboriginal painting as a way to acknowledge her love and honour for her brother. The pain of losing Jesse took her to a doorway where her journey of self discovery began through her northwest coast art.
Francis Dick is an integral member of the native art community, and is frequently requested to speak for various community organizations, women’s groups and university classes. She has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer as far away as Europe and has had native art exhibitions all around the globe, including China and the Middle East. Francis’ native art has been exhibited in various art galleries and museums, including a permanent exhibit at the Ethnological Museum in Berlin. Her aboriginal paintings, as well as articles and interviews, have been published in books, calendars and magazines all over North America, Asia and Europe.Although Francis Dick’s primary forms of artistic expression have been her aboriginal paintings, prints and singing, she also works with gold and silver, and is an accomplished writer and performer of native ceremonies.
Cedar Lopatecki
Cedar Lopatecki is an experimental guitarist who draws on a wide range of influences, from blues to classical and ambient music. With endless possibilities, Cedar seeks to explore meaning and thought through the medium of sound. Having grown up on the rural west coast, nature plays a massive role in their life as well as their inspiration, shaping how she approaches her creativity.
Sailing the Salish Sea was released by Adam Dobres on his 2016 album Kin. It is a song of celebration for the land and waters we live on, marvelling at their majesty, playfulness, and beauty. To quote the author himself, “When I play this piece I hope that the listener joins me in imagining and appreciating this magical part of the world.”
Venue Accessibility
The 900 Johnson Street entrance is wheelchair accessible at street level. There’s a drop-off zone out front, elevator access inside, and several accessible washrooms, including a gender-neutral washroom.
For full details, visit vcm.bc.ca/plan-your-visit
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Where is it happening?
900 Johnson St., Victoria, BC, Canada, British Columbia V8V 3N4Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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