Indigenous art at Richmond Hospital
Creating safer spaces is a critical part of the work we do to support Indigenous clients, patients and families to feel comfortable, seen and valued. It also supports our Indigenous Cultural Safety Pillar - our commitment to reconciliation and learning, and providing the best care informed by the history and culture of Indigenous Peoples.
On this page
The Cancer Care Clinic at Richmond Hospital serve approximately 1,000 clients each year, providing essential cancer treatments with a focus on safety, warmth, and support. The facility is dedicated to creating a culturally welcoming environment, which extends beyond aesthetics to foster a space where clients from all backgrounds feel understood and respected.
Incorporating culturally significant artwork, such as the piece by the Musqueam artist Darryl Blyth, plays a crucial role to creating welcoming spaces for Indigenous communities and acknowledging the First Nations on whose traditional territory its facilities are located.
Colours of Family
By Darryl Blyth, Musqueam
Medium: 6" x 3" digitally drawn print
Location: Cancer Care Clinic at Richmond Hospital
About Colours of Family
The style is contemporary while paying respect to traditional Salish and Musqueam art. The warm and muted colour palette is meant to inspire a sense of calmness and peace. The subjects are a family of three orca whales swimming together. Both parents have distinctive colours and patterns, and their child shows a union of those looks with shared markings and colours that combine the parents' characteristics.
Meet the artist
Darryl Blyth is a Musqueam artist born in Richmond, B.C., and has lived in the Vancouver area all his life. Blyth’s artistry uses pencil and pen drawing combined with digitally rendered and painted designs. He explores subjects and styles using organic forms (plants and animals) and inorganic forms (architectural and machines), respecting realism and proportion, but adding depth with traditional and non-traditional abstract shapes and patterns. Traditional Musqueam and Coast Salish art forms and styles inspire his work, blending old and new elements.