Libby Leshgold Gallery

Please join us at READ Books for the launch of Picturing Transformation: Nexw-áyantsut. This book tells the remarkable story of how a First Nations chief, an artist and a mountaineer evolved a new form of environmental and cultural activism, and saved 50,000 hectares of forest in the process.


Utsám’ Witness, was a series of camping weekends held in Nexw-áyantsut (meaning place of transformation in the Squamish language) that brought together Coast Salish peoples and settlers to walk, sleep, eat, make art, have conversations and participate in ceremonies on this disputed territory. Combining the haunting words of Utsám’ Witness participants with exquisite photographs of the land and those who have visited it through the past two decades, this book pays homage to the powerful role that people with strong vision and a common purpose can play in honouring tradition, safeguarding land and changing policy. It’s both a visual testament to the power of collaboration and a lesson in the possibilities for resolving conflict peacefully, now and in the future.


Picturing Transformation: Nexw-áyantsut is published by Figure 1 Publishing.

book cover

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