Artist and activist Joe Average dies at 67, after life as vivid as his paintings

VANCOUVER — Vancouver’s Joe Average was an artist, advocate and activist whose bright, multicoloured images were as multi-faceted as his existence.

But his sister Karin Carson says she used to giggle about his fame and always called him by Brock, his given name.

Carson, who lives in Falkland, B.C., outside Vernon, said her brother died peacefully in his home on Christmas Eve, frail from the medications he needed to manage his HIV-positive status, a condition he lived with for four decades.

Average, who was 67, was an advocate for people living with HIV and terminal illnesses, as well as marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights.

His vivid pop-style art has been a part of Vancouver’s cityscape since the 1980s, according to the citation for the Order of Canada, which he received on Dec. 12, adding to the Order of B.C. he received in 2021.

His death wasn’t unexpected, Carson said, but she didn’t think it would happen so quickly, less than two weeks after he’d been in Ottawa.

“We Facetimed at least once a day, every day, sometimes 10 times a day,” she said. “His goal was to get the Order of Canada, and then he had told me once he had got that, he was done.”

Carson said her brother was full of “unconditional love,” and she’ll remember him most for his thoughtfulness and compassion for others, a legacy she said will live on forever through his artwork.

“That’s why it was so bright,” she said. “The majority of his art is bright and colourful. It makes you smile, it brings a smile to your heart and your soul.”

Average, who was born Brock David Tebbutt in 1957 in Victoria, was diagnosed with HIV at 27 years old, at a time when the diagnosis was widely considered a death sentence.

But instead the diagnosis shaped his life, as he advocated for others with HIV, shared his personal story, and donated his art to charities supporting people with terminal illnesses, his Order of Canada citation says.

It says he was “a revered Vancouver artist, human rights activist and philanthropist.”

Among his works, Average designed a Loonie celebrating marriage equality for the Royal Canadian Mint, while his famous “One World, One Hope” painting was turned into a postage stamp.

Carson said that after her brother’s HIV diagnosis, he was “not given very long” to live, but “he beat the odds.”

“He brought AIDS to the limelight,” she said. “When people first got it, people didn’t touch them. People didn’t want to be in the same rooms. They were pariahs and it’s not like that anymore. His legacy is it’s OK to be who you are and to be loved for whoever you are.”

Dr. Julio Montaner, executive director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said he met Average as a patient sometime in the late 80s or early 90s.

Montaner said he worked closely with Average, who had been diagnosed when there was limited understanding about how to treat and manage the virus. He said he met with Average continually as they worked on an effective treatment regimen.

“Eventually we found a way forward and he would have been the first to tell you that despite many scars and a lot of struggles, he got his wish to live to an old age and enjoy himself just as much as anybody else,” Montaner said.

Montaner said it was in 1996 when Vancouver hosted the International Aids Conference, and Average’s painting “One World, One Hope” came to symbolize the progress made in solving “the problem that was HIV at the time.”

Montaner said news of Average’s death brought sadness and “mixed emotions.”

“I’ve been a little bit under the weather all day thinking about Joe, but at the same time, he made it quite a long while, far, far beyond what he ever thought that was possible, and for that we’re grateful,” Montaner said.

He said he’d last seen Average on Dec. 3, ahead of his visit to Ottawa to receive the Order of Canada, and Montaner said he’d never seen him happier.

He loved life deeply and profoundly,” he said. “His paintings show that.”

Michael Harding said he first met Joe Average, then still known as Brock Tebbutt, in 1983 while working as an art gallery curator in Victoria.

Harding was “very impressed” by the young artist’s work, and steered him away from exhibiting in commercial galleries that took large percentages of sales.

He said after being diagnosed, Average’s work “took off” as he began championing philanthropic causes related to HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ issues.

“His work also changed. He started off doing kind of pastels and then he went into these vivid paintings that people tend to recognize as his work now,” he said. “And the word got out that this philanthropic young artist was doing beautiful work of great quality and being generous with it.”

Harding said a “big highlight” for Average was meeting Diana, then Princess of Wales, at her request when she visited Canada in 1991, and his career continued to blossom as he became a public champion in the fight against AIDS.

“He really became a spokesperson in many ways for the fight against AIDS, but also for the value of creativity, because creativity pretty well kept him alive,” Harding said.

Harding said he and Average travelled to Ottawa together for the Order of Canada ceremony this month.

“He was ecstatic. He was just shining,” Harding said. “It was just an accolade that put the cherry on the top of his life.”

“And what a way to go, to get the Order of Canada and then to go to sleep on Christmas Eve and off you go. No pain, you know? Beautiful.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press