Artist Info
Marie Alfreda Diesing
Renowned as a great teacher of Northwest Coast Art, Marie Alfreda Diesing began carving and designing in the late 1960s as part of a major cultural resurgence of the craft. She also carried the name Skil Kew Wat (Magical Little Woman). Diesing studied at the Vancouver School of Art before moving on to become one of the first students at ‘Ksan Historical Village’s Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art. Her instructors included Robert Davidson, Tony Hunt, and Bill Holm. She established herself as a master carver, painter, educator, and advocate for Indigenous rights.
She received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 2002, the same year in which she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Northern British Columbia. The Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art in Terrace, British Columbia is named in her honour.
