Joe Average

{{Short description|Canadian artist (1957–2024)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Joe Average

| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=CAN|CM|OBC|RCA|size=100%}}

| image = Joe Average (209758070).jpg

| caption = Average in 2006

| birth_name = Brock David Tebbutt

| birth_date = {{birth date|1957|10|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|24|1957|10|10|df=y}}

| death_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

| occupation = Artist

| website = {{Official website|https://www.joeaverage.ca}}

}}

Image:DavieVillage-1.png gaybourhood.]]

Joe Average, {{postnominals|country=CAN|CM|OBC|RCA|size=100%}} (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.[http://www.visionpositive.ca/e/V7I1/Average_e.htm Not Your Average Joe : Pop icon and artist Joe Average on his most challenging masterpiece — his health] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706212437/http://www.visionpositive.ca/e/V7I1/Average_e.htm |date=6 July 2011 }}. The Positive Side, Spring/Summer 2005.

Average was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 10 October 1957.{{Cite web |url=http://www.vandopgallery.com/artists/dsp_artist.php?ArtistID=9 |title=Van Dop Gallery: Joe Average |access-date=14 June 2009 |archive-date=29 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129144304/http://www.vandopgallery.com/artists/dsp_artist.php?ArtistID=9 |url-status=dead }} He frequently donated work to charitable causes, such as Vancouver's annual Art for Life auction benefitting the Vancouver Friends for Life Society. 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.[http://www.aidswalkforlife.ca/AboutTheArtwork2007.htm The AIDS Walk for Life: About the Artwork] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824110329/http://www.aidswalkforlife.ca/AboutTheArtwork2007.htm |date=24 August 2009 }} 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.

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.Pamela Post, [http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/01/16/giffords-shooting---joe-average---friederich-hayek/ "The Incredible shrinking Man"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410214019/http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/01/16/giffords-shooting---joe-average---friederich-hayek/ |date=10 April 2011 }}, CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition (documentary), 16 January 2011

On 23 April 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint released a coin with art by Average, 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.[https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/commemorative-loonie-marking-progress-for-lgbtq2-people-unveiled-in-toronto-1.4390481 "Commemorative loonie marking progress for LGBTQ2 people unveiled in Toronto"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423195345/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/commemorative-loonie-marking-progress-for-lgbtq2-people-unveiled-in-toronto-1.4390481 |date=23 April 2019 }}. CTV News, 23 April 2019. He died at home in Vancouver, on 24 December 2024, at the age of 67.{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Cheryl |date=27 December 2024 |title=Vancouver artist, humanitarian Joe Average dies on Christmas Eve: 'He was anything but average' |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/vancouver-artist-joe-average-obituary |access-date=28 December 2024 |website=Vancouver Sun}}