Beloved Vancouver-based artist and activist Joe Average has passed away at the age of 67.
Friends and family confirm he died on Christmas Eve.
Known for his vividly colourful art pieces depicting people, animals and flowers, Average was also a champion of LGBTQ2+ rights.
Born Brock David Tebbutt on Oct. 10, 1957 in Victoria, B.C., Average didn’t consider an artistic career path until his 30s.
After being diagnosed with HIV at the age of 27 and watching his health and financial situation decline over the next few years, Average resolved to find a reason to push forward. Art became that reason.
Over the next three and a half decades, Average partnered with dozens of charitable organizations, donating his art and time.
His pieces have been featured in museums, on Canadian coins and stamps, on city banners and large murals. His works can be found throughout Vancouver, including the city’s Davie Village.
Meanwhile, his charity work has ranged from AIDS foundations and health organizations to education and artistic centres across the country.
Most recently, he received the Order of Canada in 2024 and the Order of British Columbia in 2021.
In an interview with Global News, former Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt told Global News he first met Average in 1990. They dated for a number of years and maintained a close friendship over the past three decades.
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“He meant a lot to me. He meant a lot to a lot of people. He contributed immensely to our city,” he said.
“He helped me very much when I started Friends For Life, which is an agency that helps people with AIDS and cancer. Every year for the AIDS Walk he was the guy that did the t-shirts. For Gay Games he did the commemorative posters. For BC Children’s Hospital he did murals.”
Mayencourt says he last spoke to Average on Monday over the phone.
“As usual he was giving me advice and I was giving him advice,” he said.
“He was in great spirits. He was looking forward to Christmas day. I think he had taken a few days off because of his illness, and after our conversation I didn’t speak to him again and he just passed away.”
Joe Average and Dr. Julio Montaner posing for a photo in December 2024.
Courtesy: Julio Montaner
Dr. Julio Montaner, the director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, was Average’s longtime doctor.
“We’ve been through a lot, to the point that we’ve become rather close — more than just a typical patient-doctor relationship. There was some mutual respect and admiration that we were both doing trying to move our common agenda forward,” he told Global News.
Montaner said he last saw Joe Average on Dec. 3rd. At the time, he said the artist and activist was proudly showing off his Order of Canada pin.
“It left me with a great deal of pleasure to know that he was so happy, probably the happiest I had seen him in a very long time,” he said.
“I never expected it would be the last time I would see Joe.”
Montaner says Average led a unique life.
“He was very proud of his accomplishments, and although his health was fragile for now several decades, he never gave up and he continued fighting every day, always with a smile. I really value his warmth, his support and his commitment to the work that we were both committed to.”
Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert also paid tribute to Average in a post on the social media platform X.
“He was anything but average. He will be deeply missed by many,” he wrote.