Carving on the Edge

Carving on the Edge is a non-profit community arts society based in Tla-o-qui-aht Territory, Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Our organization’s main purpose is to produce a biennial Carving on the Edge Festival that celebrates the traditional and contemporary west coast carving arts, the carving artists, and the rich cultural history of our region. The festival offers opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the coastal traditions of carving with the goals of encouraging the growth of the carving community and of building much-needed cultural bridges. Every two years we gather in Clayoquot Sound to host the festival. Master carvers lead the festival’s themes with input from the rest of the festival’s community. Programming includes a wide range of workshops, exhibitions, artist talks, guided tours, installations and performances geared towards everyone from the curious public to experienced wood carvers.

Outside of festival time, our organization extends support to community-based arts projects that have meaningful and long-term impacts to the cultural vitality of our region. These projects include various public art installations and a Master-Apprenticeship program between seasoned and emerging carvers. The Carving on the Edge society is proud to contribute to knowledge sharing through our administrative support and contribution of cultural content to the Nuu-chah-nulth Living Archive project.