The Bella Coola Valley Awards Foundation Society is pleased to announce that Danika Naccarella is the 2014-15 recipient of the Isabel Mikkelson Award for post-secondary study in an arts-related field. Danika is entering her second semester in the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art at Northwest Community College in Terrace. The $1000 award is made periodically by the Foundation to a deserving student.
Danika was a 2014 graduate of Acwsalcta School, and in her own words is “a dedicated young artist, practicing my craft daily to improve my skills, and develop new ones. Art is a form of personal self-expression, as well as a way of connecting to my culture and to my history.”
She worked many hours at the Co-op to save for her educational opportunity, and her efficiency and pleasant demeanor was much appreciated by the members. Earlier Danika also received one of the 2014 Royal Canadian Legion Branch 262 bursaries, for which she was eligible because of the war service of her grandfather, Morten Svisdahl, and great-grandfather, Louis Svisdahl.
Foundation Chair Rob Gruetter offered his congratulations – “We do not make an award every year, but Danika’s credentials and potential for success appear very strong; so we hope that this recognition will provide her with practical support and encouragement.”
The Awards Foundation is a Registered Charity, established in 1990 to manage previous fund-raising by the Bella Coola Valley Arts Council. In addition to post-secondary education assistance, the Foundation has provided subsidy for school music trips, individual summer music programmes, adult education supplement courses; and is the financial source for the bi-annual Festival of the Arts. In addition to Mr. Gruetter, the Trustees are Joan Cole, John Morton, Martin Antoniuk, and Steve Dishkin.