In conjunction with the exhibition Boundaries, the Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to partner with the UBC Okanagan Facility of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) on the Conversations on Contemporary Art lecture series and FCCS Showcase series. All events will be held at the Kelowna Art Gallery and are free to the public. Please call the gallery to reserve your spot! 250-762-2226.

Conversations on Contemporary Art
November 3 ñ December 1, 7:00 ñ 9:00 pm
Join us for this five-part lecture series on contemporary art ñ learn about the significance of contemporary art and its connection to culture and history!
These lively and illustrated lectures will feature a new topic each week. Distinguished experts and artists from the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Department of Creative Studies, will lead the discussions.

FCCS Showcase Series
Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Engage the Filmmaker
Gary Burns Presents and Discusses Radiant City
Tuesday, November 25, 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Radiant City, produced by Burns Film Ltd in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, is Burnís first feature-length documentary, which he co-directs with journalist and first-time filmmaker Jim Brown. The subject ñ the issue of urban sprawl ñ is explored through the experience of one family negotiating the complexities of contemporary North American suburbia. Radiant City interestingly mixes documentary and dramatic techniques in its exploration of an issue being debated in many Canadian communities, including Kelowna.

Literary Reading
Wednesday, December 3, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Join us for an evening of readings with Professors of Creative Writing at UBC Okanagan. Michael V. Smith, Nancy Holmes, and Sharon Thesen will read from recent work and work in progress.

Blue Pencil Cafe
Saturday, December 6 and Saturday, December 13
10:30 am ñ 4:30 pm
Writers ages 16 and over are invited to submit pieces of their work for a for a one-on-one conference session with UBC Okanagan Creative Writing professors Michael V. Smith, Nancy Holmes, and Sharon Thesen.

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29 Oct 2008

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Let's Dance

BALLET TAKES CENTRE STAGE
» Thursday 30 October 2008 | 5 pm
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing people and ideas featured in Okanagan ARTS. Join us as David LeHay of Ballet Kelowna and Lori Larson of the Canadian School of Ballet discuss how the Okanagan has become a centre of dance culture in Canada.

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» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE

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Local Ballet Achieves National Prominence

One of the biggest cultural stories of the last five years has been the transformation of the Okanagan into a national dance powerhouse. The story dates back decades to the late 1950s when the founders of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Canadian School of Ballet retired to the Okanagan. Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally brought the school with them to their new home and continued their devotion to nurturing generations of young dancers.

But it was in the current decade that a remarkable pirouette took place when the school found a new partner in David LaHay and Ballet Kelowna was born. In short order, the performance company jumped from its original touring schedule of seven performances in six communities, to 50 performances before more than 13,000 people in more than 30 communities throughout B.C. and Alberta.

Now it seems the larger dance community is taking note, and pundits predict this confluence of events is about to put the region on the nation's map for cultural excellence.

The Okanagan Institute Express series continues its The Past is Prologue cultural history explorations with host Karen Close presenting Let's Dance: Ballet Takes Centre Stage. The event takes place Thursday, October 30 at 5 pm at the Bohemian Café. Speakers at the event are Ballet Kelowna founder and artistic director David LaHay and Lori Larson, the current director of the Canadian School of Ballet.

David LaHay founded Ballet Kelowna in 2002 following a long and successful career as a performer, teacher, ballet master and director. He was the principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (Montreal) and was guest artist with The Royal Swedish Ballet (Stockholm), The Alberta Ballet (Calgary) and The Cuban International Dance Festival (Havana).

Lori Larson first met the founders of CSB while studying dance herself at the Banff Centre of the Arts. By 1986 she, along with Mel Brown, assumed the torch and made a commitment to uphold the founders' legacy. "Dance, music and theatre enriches all our lives," says Larson, who was instrumental in the development of Ballet Kelowna. Larson is also the founding member of the Okanagan Summer Dance Intensive which celebrated a successful inaugural dance training programme with 70 students and 10 professionals from across Canada in residence at UBCO.

Let's Dance: Ballet Takes Centre Stage is a free event, and takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 64th event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007. Since that time, the series has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, poet and professor John Lent, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, architect Jim Meiklejohn, broadcaster Mari0n Barschel and others from a wide range of creative fields.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE

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Where Enquiring Minds Gather. Okanagan Institute at the Bohemian Café A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home. Express is sponsored in part by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Publishing, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna.

The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that has gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We invite the participation by all members of the creative community.

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24 Oct 2008

Saturday, October 25th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Laurel Packinghouse
What would an Apple Fair be without apples? Fortunately, we won't find out the answer to that question because Saturday, October 25th, there will be over two dozen local apple varieties to tempt your taste buds. Old favourites such as Spartan, McIntosh, and Royal Gala will be on the table, as well as apples you may not know such as Hokuto, Delblush,  and Belle de Boskoop. And yes, there will be Winter Bananas!

The BC Orchard Industry Museum proudly presents its annual Apple Fair at the historic Laurel Packinghouse, celebrating the 20th year of this family-favourite event. Come for the freshly picked apples and stay for a day filled with activities. Bring the family and keep the beat alongside the Brightside Cloggers, folk singer Mat Duffus, and harmonies from Okanagan Voice Works.

For those looking to get hands on, there will be apple carving all day long and a bean bag toss from 11am-2pm. Don't miss the opportunity to paint and decorate you own birdhouse, courtesy of the Kelowna Women's Shelter. There will also be free face painting and prizes for the colouring contest.

There will be an assortment of locally made sweets and treats, such as homemade apple 'n spice ice cream from Marble Slab Creamery, caramel and candy apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, homemade apple pie by the slice, and hot apple cider.

Browse the wares of local artisans and vendors and make a bid in the silent auction. There will be a door prize given away at the end of the day.
The BC Orchard Industry Museum would like to thank the growers and packinghouses who support the Apple Fair every year. Thank you to the BC Fruit Market on Clement Ave (Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative), Westbank Harvest in Westbank, and Okanagan Plant Improvement Corporation (PICO) in Summerland. 

Admission is $2 per person and $5 for a family or group of four.
For more information please call (250) 763-0433 or visit www.KelownaMuseums.ca.

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24 Oct 2008

Deadline for submissions for the 6th annual Wearable Art Gala: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2008

In 2008 the Alternator Wearable Art Gala was unleashed as over 50 artists including some 35 students from UBC Okanagan participated in an extravaganza of portable art. The performance was punctuated with big Diva entrances and costumes ranged from the beautiful to the grotesque. Highlights included a battle dress made from 2000 chopsticks and other couture made from jigsaw puzzle pieces, balloons filled with pebbles, tennis balls, pillows and telephones. The performances were outrageous and challenged the barriers of audience and performer.

The gears are now turning in preparation for the Alternator's 6th Annual Wearable Art Gala is happening this coming spring 2009. This fun and funky adult event is not a fashion show in the traditional sense - it's an artistic exploration of all types of body adornment. All creative minds are called upon to participate.

If you have an interesting idea of design art you can wear, simply download an entry form from our website by following the Opportunities link to Special Calls. Follow the instructions making sure entries include drawings and/or photos or your submission along with a brief description of your project.

There are no entry fees. Wearable art submissions can be returned, just include an SASE with your entry form. Accepted submissions will be showcased at the Alternator's 2009 Wearable Art Gala.

For those of you who participated in last years' event, for the curious and those of you considering submitting for 2009, the Alternator will be screening last year's highlights on Friday, October 17 at 7pm. The public is invited to come early at 6pm to participate in a members' meeting to learn more about the Alternator and engage with us in radical ways of thinking about and making art.

Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art
#103-421 Cawston Ave.Kelowna, BC V1Y 6Z1
250-868-2298
www.alternatorgallery.com
info@alternatorgallery.com

The Alternator is an artist-run centre  and a non-profit charitable society with a mandate to support the development of innovative and experimental contemporary artwork by emerging and mid-career artists.

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24 Oct 2008

Okanagan College's Randy Hennessy and Regional Dean John Lent stand in front of the new gallery space: Kalamalka Vertigo.

  Vernon has a brand new art gallery! In its inaugural exhibition,"Kalamalka Vertigo" , located at the Kalamalka campus of Okanagan College, presents a selection of art works by Gallery Vertigo studio artists. Kalamalka Vertigo represents a new joint venture between Gallery Vertigo and Okanagan College. This is the newest incarnation of the ongoing partnership between the two institutions. The exhibition can be viewed during college hours from now until Wednesday, October 22nd.

A new exhibition will begin on Thursday, October 23rd and run until early December. The new show will include excerpts from Gallery Vertigo's current exhibition, "Not with a BANG, but  with an SUV..." as well as never-before-seen works addressing environmental issues.

All are invited to view the works at Kalamalka Vertigo, located at Vernon's Kalamalka Campus of Okanagan College. The gallery is located just past the college lecture theatre in the main building adjacent to the college office.

Gallery Vertigo is operated by the North Okanagan Artists Alternative is a registered non-profit society comprised of local and regional artists and friends of the arts. Since September of the year 2000, we have been actively engaged in creating awareness, in holding art exhibitions, and in establishing an artist run centre in the North Okanagan.

Since the formation of the North Okanagan Artists Alternative, a well-spring of talented and energetic people have come forth to offer their support and volunteer effort to the organization and its objectives. Visual artists, writers, film makers, university instructors, musicians, fine arts students, performance artists, artisans and many citizens who support the arts have come together in a spirit of co-operation. The synergy which has resulted from the joining together of artists and friends of the arts is an example of what is possible in a community such as ours. This synergy serves to illuminate not only what is possible for the arts community itself, but also for the larger community.
 

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21 Oct 2008