Ray Sim was born in Comox in 1968 and grew up in Port Alberni, a small city on the west side of Vancouver Island. He has lived most of his life on Vancouver Island. Ray is a Status Member of the Musqueam Salish Nation of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His grandfather, Fred Jackson, was from the Tsimshian Nation, which is located directly east of the Queen Charlotte Islands, halfway up the British Columbia coast. He also has close ties to the Gitanmaax Band of the Gitksan, the territory just northeast of the Tsimshian. His mother, Christine Sim, was from a reserve at Qualicum on Vancouver Island.
He has received two years of formal training at the Kitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art at K’san Village located in Hazelton, British Columbia. His instructors were Vernon Stephens and Ken Mowatt. He also received two years instruction in the arts programs of Malaspina College in Nanaimo, British Columbia, as well as North Island College in Port Alberni.
Ray’s art tends to be versatile. His woodcarving includes plaques, spoons, and various types of masks, bent boxes and bowls. He also enjoys painting, designing dance shawls, and building and painting drums.
He has taught art at both the Ha-ho-payuk School and the Friendship Centre in Port Alberni. He has also instructed students on the Qualicum Reserve and Parksville Malaspina Campus.
Ray is an artisan who is dedicated to his work. He is striving to develop his own style.