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Tall trees draw renowned artist to Saanich

Jan 16 2018/in News Coverage

The tall trees of Vancouver Island have drawn renowned visual artist Kelly Richardson to relocate from England.

Richardson was a lecturer at New Castle University the last 14 years, and was here to speak at the University of Victoria last year. During that trip she was brought to Avatar Grove, as she always visits the most unique and surreal natural landscapes whenever she travels.

Richardson’s known for hyper-real digital films and has been shown in North America, Asia and Europe, including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in Canada.

“I was overwhelmed by the fact [Avatar Grove] exists at all,” Richardson said. “When I learned there was a position coming up at UVic, I groaned, because I was very happy in England, but I was so overwhelmed by [the visit] I had to put my name in for the job, and now we’re here.”

Richardson’s now settled in Saanichton and teaches a full schedule of courses as an associate professor of visual arts courses at UVic.

She’s also wasted little time in pairing her move to the South Island with a visual arts project on the tall trees. Richardson is one of five artists commissioned to produce a large-format digital film short for the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX. For that, Richardson will partner with cinematographer Christian Kroitor (grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor). They’ll focus on the Island’s famed old-growth and ancient forests near Port Renfrew.

It is also Kroitor who is commissioning the IMAX project, called XL-Outer Worlds, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX, set to tour IMAX theatres in 2019. The tall trees keep with the larger-than-life imagery IMAX.

Richardson’s multimedia work generally starts with her visiting a natural landscape that stands out and shooting it with her camera.

From there she creates video installations for museum or gallery scenarios on three big screens, big enough that viewers can immerse themselves in it. XL-Outer Worlds is her first time creating something or the massive IMAX screen. She’ll also bring the works into a the gallery or museum scenario, but this time it’ll be even bigger, with five screens, she said.

What marks Richardson’s work is the addition of other works that turn the images into something else, always keeping with an environmental theme, such as a proposed future landscape.

“There’s always multiple ways to read it, so sometimes it’s terrifying, and sometimes it’s positive,” Richardson said. “In this case, I’ll focus on implications of [human consumption on ancient forests], and what’s too much in terms of nature conversation. We’re still cutting a hectare of old growth every year, which is quite disturbing because it’s non-renewable.”

Read the original story here.

New Visual Arts Professor Creates Avatar Grove Film Project

Jan 12 2018/in News Coverage

Internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, a new professor in UVic’s Department of Visual Arts, is bringing the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew sharply into focus with a new digital art project.

Created with the participation of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), Richardson’s large-format film will be shot in July at Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove (a popular nickname for its Nuu-cha-nulth Pacheedaht name of T’l’oqwxwat) by Christian Kroitor, the grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor, and released on IMAX screens across Canada next year.

The Ontario-born artist, who has been living in the UK since 2003 and teaching at Newcastle University in northeastern England since 2013, cites proximity to Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests as one of the reasons she moved to Victoria and accepted the position at UVic.

New project to be featured as part of IMAX 50th anniversary
Richardson and four other Canadian media artists—Michael Snow, Oliver Husain, Lisa Jackson and Leila Sujir— are featured in the upcoming XL-Outer Worlds project which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the IMAX, a Canadian invention by Roman Kroitor.

XL-Outer Worlds focuses on short films creating a larger-than-life landscape that forms an outer world.

Home to spectacular stands of old-growth trees
Richardson decided to move to Vancouver Island specifically upon seeing BC’s old-growth forests firsthand during her time as a UVic Visiting Artist in the fall of 2016.

“I was overwhelmed by my experience of those ancient stands, which was a huge influence in my decision to apply for a professorship at UVic,” says Richardson. “I couldn’t believe those ancient stands still exist at all anywhere in the world, let alone here. My upcoming projects will feature the old-growth forests in this region and I hope I can contribute to efforts to raise awareness about their outstanding beauty and the plight to protect what remains.”

Known for creating hyper-real digital films of rich and complex landscapes manipulated using CGI, animation and sound, Richardson’s work fuses 19th century painting, 20th century cinema and 21st century scientific inquiries. She creates works with strong environmental themes, asking viewers to consider what the future might look like if we continue on our current trajectory of global environmental crisis.

“It’s not just the sheer size but it’s actually how you feel in front of these ancient, ancient trees.” – Kelly Richardson, visual arts prof

In 2017, Richardson was involved in 14 solo and group exhibitions across Canada and in China, France, the UK and the US. Her video installations have been included in the Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and she was previously honoured at the Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Awards alongside Robert Redford, Salman Rushdie and fellow artist Ed Ruscha.

Richardson’s old-growth project will be created with the participation of the AFA which, together with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, spearheaded the protection of Avatar Grove / T’l’oqwxwat located in the Pacheedaht First Nations’ traditional territory and home to one of the most spectacular and easily accessible stands of monumental old-growth trees in BC.

Read the original story here.

Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove featured in national IMAX series

Jan 10 2018/in News Coverage

Kelly Richardson by an ancient redcedar in the unprotected Jurassic Grove between Jordan River and Port Renfrew. Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance

Sooke News Mirror: A Victoria artist, recognized internationally, will showcase Port Renfrew’s old growth forests in a new IMAX project.

Kelly Richardson, who visited Avatar Grove two years ago has chosen it to be featured in her upcoming digital art installation series, which will be projected on IMAX screens across the country in 2019.

“Having lived and worked in England for the last 14 years, I recently relocated to Victoria in order to be closer to the truly magnificent old-growth forests. After visiting Avatar Grove during a work trip in the fall of 2016, I was overwhelmed by my experience of those ancient stands, which was a huge influence in my decision to apply for a professorship at the University of Victoria where I now work,” said Richardson in a press release.

“My upcoming projects will feature the old-growth forests in this region, and I hope I can contribute to efforts to raise awareness about their outstanding beauty and the plight to protect what remains.”

Richardson was born in Canada, and her artwork has been acclaimed throughout North America, China, and Europe, displayed in multiple museums, film festival, and expositions.

Her large format-film series where the ancient forests will be featured in, focuses on environmental themes and will encourage viewers to wonder why we have allowed ourselves to arrive at such an environmental crisis, and what our future might look like if we continue on this path of destruction.

“We’re excited to have such a renowned and original artist of Kelly Richardson’s caliber, focusing her talent to draw international attention through creativity to the endangered old-growth forests of Vancouver Island,” said Ken Wu, executive director of the Ancient Forest Alliance in a press release.

“The old-growth forests around Port Renfrew, which are still largely endangered, are clearly continuing to impress increasing numbers of people; not only tourists, businesses, and news media, but acclaimed artists as well.”

The AFA hopes all the attention being drawn to forests like Avatar Grove, will help catapult the campaign to convince the B.C. provincial government to protect old-growth forests in our region.

Read the original story here.

An aerial shot of a clearcut in the Caycuse Watershed in Ditidaht Territory.

Victoria Buzz: Environmental advocates concerned over results of BC election

Oct 26 2026

Two prominent environmental advocacy groups have revealed concerns over the incoming Conservative Party of BC government and their mandate.

Announcements

NEW Video: BC Election 2026: Nature & Old-Growth Protection

Oct 22 2026

Watch EEA's Ken Wu provide an updated, comprehensive overview of the positions of the BC NDP, the BC Conservative Party, and the BC Greens on old growth and nature protection.

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BC Election 2026: Where do Parties Stand on Nature & Old-Growth?

Oct 16 2026

As we approach the BC election on Saturday, October 24th, 2026, here’s where BC’s major political parties stand on nature and old-growth forest protection.

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