Joe Average
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Joe Average, Template:Postnominals (born Brock David Tebbutt; 10 October 1957 – 24 December 2024) was a Canadian artist who resided in Vancouver, British Columbia. Diagnosed HIV+ at age 27, Average made the decision to commit the rest of his life to art, and to challenge himself to live by his art.<ref name=catie>Not Your Average Joe : Pop icon and artist Joe Average on his most challenging masterpiece — his health Template:Webarchive. The Positive Side, Spring/Summer 2005.</ref>
Average was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 10 October 1957.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He frequently donated work to charitable causes, such as Vancouver's annual Art for Life auction benefitting the Vancouver Friends for Life Society.<ref name=catie/> His work was used for such projects as A Loving Spoonful (a charity which provides meals to people with terminal illnesses) and the Davie Village.<ref name="aidswalkforlife.ca">The AIDS Walk for Life: About the Artwork Template:Webarchive</ref> Average was also selected to judge submissions for Vancouver's AIDS memorial and anti-homophobia posters.
Average was known for his cheerful, colourful, cartoon-like work, including images of flowers, animals and insects, and people. He received many awards and honors, including civic merit awards, the Caring Canadian Award (1998) and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Silver Medal for Outstanding Community Achievement (2002). Vancouver mayor Philip Owen issued a civic proclamation to designate 3 November 2002 as "Joe Average Day" in the city.<ref name="aidswalkforlife.ca"/>
Average was honored as one of two grand marshals of Vancouver's annual gay pride parade in August 2006. In 2011, he had lipodystrophy, a side effect of antiretroviral therapy.<ref>Pamela Post, "The Incredible shrinking Man" Template:Webarchive, CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition (documentary), 16 January 2011</ref>
On 23 April 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint released a coin with art by Average,<ref name=BCGov123024/> said to symbolize the progress lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and two-spirited people have achieved in Canada as well as the work that still needs to be done.<ref>"Commemorative loonie marking progress for LGBTQ2 people unveiled in Toronto" Template:Webarchive. CTV News, 23 April 2019.</ref> He died at home in Vancouver, on 24 December 2024, at the age of 67.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HonoursEdit
- Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (1998)<ref name=BCGov123024>Government of British Columbia (December 30, 2024). Members of the Order of British Columbia: A–B: Joe Average* .</ref>
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Community Achievement (2002)<ref name=BCGov123024/>
- Joe Average Day, November 3, 2002, proclaimed by Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen.<ref name=BCGov123024/>
- Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (2004)<ref name=BCGov123024/><ref name=RCA1880>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship (2019)<ref name=BCGov123024/>
- Order of British Columbia (2021)<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
- Order of Canada (December 2024)<ref>Ditmars, Hadani (January 3, 2025). Joe Average, Canadian artist and AIDS activist, has died, aged 67. The Art Newspaper.</ref>
ReferencesEdit
<references/>
External linksEdit
- Template:Official website
- {{#if:Joe Average (4)|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
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