SUNSHINE COAST ARTS

Greetings from Sunshine Coast Art Tours owner Douglas Bevans

Arts, culture, and heritage are an integral piece of the Sunshine Coast—the lifeblood for many. And for me, like others, this region holds a special place in my life. My home office is located on the traditional ancestral territory of the shíshálh Nation (Sechelt) and is not more than 30 metres from the majestic sea.

When not working, I enjoy making space for my own art, as well as time for hiking and sailing with family and friends. It’s hard not to be inspired by the incredible landscape and abundance of nature, which acts as a muse for many Sunshine Coast artists.

As anyone who lives on the Sunshine Coast can attest, we’re fortunate to be living in a unique art ecosystem. As evidenced by the growing Sunshine Coast Art Crawl and the numerous tasting rooms, art enthusiasts from around the world seek out the art and the creators of this region. You will find there is a wildness, an energy to the art here—boundaries are being pushed and it feels slightly bohemian; in a Big Sur kind of way. The quality and diversity of the arts never ceases to amaze.

When I first visited the Sunshine Coast, I had a vague sense of what the Coast had to offer artistically. I imagined, as I think most do, earthy arts, pottery, carving, textiles, etc. Thankfully, you can find those here! But name any style or genre and someone out here is pushing it to the limit or creating their own version of it. Indeed, ARTISTRY LIVES HERE; I can’t wait to show you.

Douglas Bevans

Owner Profile

Douglas Bevans is a lifelong entrepreneur and artist. His expansive knowledge in tour operation and program curation as well as his success as an artist qualify him as a highly capable and informed contributor to the Sunshine Coast’s artist community.

For the last 16 years, he has spent the majority of his time developing his student educational travel company, Nomad Travel Ltd. The company offers curated two-week programs in western and central Canada. Nomad Travel acted as sole Canadian partner to the world-renowned People to People Student Ambassador Program, which was created by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Through them, Nomad has safely travelled over 11,000 students throughout Canada.

Douglas studied art at MacEwan University. As an artist, his most recent installation, Hot Dog Water, captured worldwide attention and was featured in over 200 publications, including Time Magazine, USA Today, and Fox News.

In 2009, he was awarded a coveted three-month composition residency at The Banff Centre, where the seed of the idea for his most ambitious art project, The Trojan Horse, took root. The project involved 75 volunteers, took two years to complete, and came to fruition in August of 2011 at Burning Man. The massive wooden horse stood five stories high, weighed 29 tons, and was pulled across the desert by 500 in-character Greek slaves.

Other artistic ventures of note include playing music professionally for ten years in the popular indie/punk band, the smalls. In 2014, the band reunited and played a series of sold-out shows across Canada, which included two back-to-back shows at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom and culminated with an award-winning feature film on the band, Forever Is A Long Time.