Wheels are turning at Redd Fish Restoration Society (Redd Fish) as their dream to establish British Columbia’s first-ever habitat restoration interpretive centre in downtown Ucluelet, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Territory, takes flight.
An initial call for artists at the beginning of September to create a crankie exhibit that tells the story of the Pacific salmon drew an unexpected crowd with artists from all over the globe expressing interest in the project.
“We had over 100 applicants apply so far. It’s so bizarre. But we’ve only had one Nuu-chah-nulth artist apply,” said Megan Francis, Redd Fish director of outreach and education.
“People from all over the world applied; tons from the U.K., all over Canada, from Japan, the States. I guess that’s the thing with social media,” added Francis, noting that the post was shared 1,868 times on Instagram.
Redd Fish has made it their priority to hire a Nuu-chah-nulth artist for the contract, so if only one applies, Francis says their decision becomes pretty easy.
“First and foremost, we are providing employment for Nuu-chah-nulth people to work in their own hahoulthee (territory),” she said.
A crankie is an old European storytelling mechanism where an illustrated scroll is housed in a box and manually cranked to show a story, Francis explained. For the Redd Fish crankie, the artist will be tasked to create a seven to 12-metre tapestry while Redd Fish will make the mechanical device.
“Our idea is to use the art so that you as the viewer can see what it’s like to be a salmon, so you’re also seeing the perspective of the fish; what it’s like to be in the gravel and what it’s like to have all this predation and obstacles and go up a stream and avoid all these fisheries and sea lions and birds,” she said, adding that the chosen artist will be compensated $3,000 for their work.
With the crankie project and other hands-on educational exhibits, Redd Fish’s goal is to build an immersive experience for visitors that highlights the region’s watershed and old growth ecosystems. They are calling the space the Stewardship Centre and renovations are expected to start this winter with a June 2026 completion target.
Redd Fish received $200,000 from the Island Coastal Economic Trust for the project, and in March 2025 the society was awarded $250,000 from Pacific Economic Development Canada’s (PacifiCan) Tourism Growth Program to support the vision of the Stewardship Centre in Ucluelet. The Tourism Growth Program is a key component of the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy, which charts a course for long-term development, investment and stability in Canada’s tourism industry.
Tourism employs over 125,000 people in B.C. and over 16,800 businesses tied to the industry operate in the province, according to federal statistics. In 2023 the B.C. tourism industry generated $22.1 billion in revenue.
“This is the beginning of it all. There will be more callouts to the community,” said Francis.
Redd Fish aims to create sustainable funding for their budding Stewardship Centre and ongoing coastal habitat restoration through visitor entry fees, retail store/coffee bar sales, and space rentals.
As part of the over $4.8 million in tourism funding announced by PacifiCan in March, the Gitanyow Huwilp Society also received $250,000 to advance the creation of the Gitanyow Reconciliation Trail, a year-round hiking, riding, and sledding route that follows the historical Grease Trail in Northern B.C.
For more details about the Redd Fish crankie artist contract visit: https://reddfish.org/work.
