Biography

After studies in visual art at York University, Banff Centre and The University of British Columbia Ron den Daas completed a degree in painting at the Accademia di Belli Arti in Rome, with support from the Koerner Foundation.

He has recieved awards, grants and commissions in Canada and abroad and exhibits with painting, sculptural installation, new media and film. Over his career an evolving engagement strategy has seen his works presented in a diversity of locations such as the Museum of World Oceans, Kaliningrad, Russia, The Big Screen in the centre of Manchester UK through Corner House Gallery and the BBC, the Toronto Metro System with Toronto Urban Film Festival, John Hansard Gallery, University of South Hampton UK and Regents Park Zoo in London, UK. Ron’s work is presented in permanent public installations at York University, Simon Fraser University and the City and District of North Vancouver, Canada.

Ron’s work is inspired by his interactions with the natural world through painting leading to a study of ecology, habitat restoration and issues related to society and the environment in a series of projects, commissions and exhibitions. The Mackay Creek Series painted between 2008 – 2010 features 60 panels painted at the same location on Mackay Creek forming a direct contemporary response exploring the ever changing natural world (recently documented in a published text). Concurrently, he produced and directed the documentary film Wild Chance (released 2010 / 11) based on the Mackay Creek Ecology Community Art Project 2008 / 9 in conjunction with North Shore Streamkeepers and local municipalities, supported by multi funding partners. Ron further developed the project enlarging the Mackay Creek Hatchery Mural in 2009 - 2012 continuing the community art engagment involving hundreds of students in environmental conservation through a collaborative art and science approach and part of a strategy that supported the development of a new hatchery and interpretive centre in the newly restored Heywood Park. This inititive won an award from the landscape Architects of BC.

In 2012 – 2013 Ron created Wild New Territories with collaborative partner artist Kathy Kenny and a group of both Canadian and international artists in a multi city, multi platform art exhibition featuring contemporary art by award winning artists from diverse geographic regions with support from the Vancouver Foundation, Simon Fraser University and many organizations and institutions in London, Vancouver and Berlin, There was an opening symposium held at Canada House in Trafalgar Square, Sept. 18, 2012. The exhibition was presented at Camley Street Natural Park and The Foundling Museum, London, UK. Sept. 18 – Oct. 31, 2012, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Teck Gallery, and Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada, Jan. 16 – April 16, 2013, and The Botanical Museum and Botanic Gardens Berlin, Germany, Sept. 13 – Nov. 19, 2013, www.wildnewterritorries.com

In 2014 Ron began developing the text / catalogue capturing the Wld New Territories Exhibition, that was released in 2016 / 17 and a book documenting the Mackay Creek Series, also released in 2016 / 17 with London based Black Dog Publishing and many collaborative partners, Further, stemming from the Wild New Territories Workshops held in Vancouver through Simon Fraser University and Artist for Kids in 2013, Ron developed the Coho Festival Mural and Banner Project with related Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshops that continue to offer innovative art and science based workshops to schools that explore urban and wild coexistence by studying local salmon bearing streams and surrounding habitat struggling in the urban interface. Children’s art works generated from these workshops are then featured on banners installed along one of the busiest urban corridors of Vancouver’s North Shore, through three municipalities, playing the dual role of announcing the environmental conservation themed Coho Festival held in September every year with Coast Salish community partners www.cohosociety.com and identifying important salmon bearing creeks and rivers that intersect the traffic corridor where they are installed in both Coast Salish and English text. Further to the yearly banner project several mural projects have been created through the Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshops and Ron continues the development of an interpretive walk connecting the permanent public art works created through this program strategically installed at important salmon habitat related corridors and habitat restoration initiatives with the goal of informing, inspiring and empowering a community based evolving environmental conservation effort.

Since 2014 over $100.000.00 has been raised to support these environmental conservation themed art and science based initiatives through many funding partners including, The Coho Society of the North Shore, North Shore Streamkeepers, Pacific Salmon Foundation, North Shore Recreation and Culture Comission, City of North Vancouver, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, Bodwell International High School, Marcon Development, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and Opus Art Supplies. Funds raised through the sale of Ron’s two recently publshed books are also dedicated to these projects.