Opie Oppenheim

Phillip Raymond “Opie” Oppenheim was born in 1945 on the Coldwater Reserve near Merritt to the Interior Salish “C'eletkwmx” Peoples. From a young age he was drawn to art and excelled in art throughout school. He turned to art professionally later in life in the 1980s when he moved back home from Vancouver. His art mediums included painting, sculpture, printmaking, pottery, and metalwork. He also apprenticed under renowned Nisga’a carver Norman Tait.

Opie was a well-known and respected artist and person in the Nicola Valley and a pillar of the local indigenous community.

Opie passed away in 2021.