Owned and operated by K’omoks First Nation, the I-HOS Gallery is located on the site of the original K’ómoks Village between Courtenay and Comox on Vancouver Island. Directly engaging with First Nations artists, the gallery features Northwest Coast art, including masks, prints, jewelry, and carvings accompanied by legends, stories, and artist biographies.
Visitors to I-HOS will enjoy the gallery’s beautiful house-front design crafted by Calvin Hunt, with assistance from his nephew Mervyn Child and cousin Geary Cranmer. The artwork incorporates the K’ómoks People’s crests, featuring the whale “Queneesh” and the double-headed sea serpent “I-Hos.” At the entrance stands a sxwayxwey (kway kway) dancer, with a mask depicting protruding eyes and tongue, carrying a scallop shell rattle and wearing a tunic of swan feathers—a privilege reserved for high-ranking K’ómoks families.