Two recent reports from Hill Strategies Research investigate the social impacts of cultural activities, including book reading. The data is drawn from Statistics Canada's General Social Survey of 2005. A total of 9,851 respondents answered the survey's cultural questions. The reports define a book reader as anyone who read at least one book, of any type, in 2005. This is clearly a low threshold of cultural participation.

The report subtitled "Exploratory Statistical Evidence" examines the relationship between four cultural activities (reading books, attending live performances, visiting art galleries and attending movie theatres) and social phenomena such as volunteering, donating, neighbourhood connections, sense of belonging and quality of life.

Some statistics in the report show a relationship between book reading and positive social engagement. In particular, the percentage of book readers volunteering for a non-profit organization (42%) is much higher than the percentage of non-readers (25%). The percentage of book readers donating money or goods to a non-profit organization (82%) is much higher than the percentage of non-readers (66%). Seventy-one percent of book readers (compared with 65% of non-readers) indicated that they had done a favour for a neighbour in the past month. Forty-nine percent of book readers have a very strong sense of belonging to Canada, compared with 42% of non-readers. Book readers have a lower rate of workaholism than non-readers (22% of book readers compared with 31% of non-readers).

The second report provides detailed statistical models of six social indicators: Feeling trapped in a daily routine; Volunteering; Donating; Doing a favour for a neighbour; Sense of belonging to one's province; and Sense of belonging to Canada. Building on the exploratory report, the statistical models in the second report examine whether cultural activities have an impact on social indicators above and beyond demographic information.

The second report shows that book reading has a positive impact on three of the social indicators: volunteer rates, donation rates and doing a favour for a neighbour. These statistics relate to the models that held all other factors constant, such as other arts activities and demographic factors.

For the other three social indicators examined (feeling trapped in a daily routine, having a very strong sense of belonging to one's province or having a very strong sense of belonging to Canada), book reading did not have a statistically significant influence above and beyond other arts activities and demographic factors.

Overall, the reports show that Canadians who read are more likely to be socially active than Canadians who do not read.

http://www.hillstrategies.com

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11 Sep 2008

After a three-year hiatus, The Paintersí Studio will present their latest works at an exhibition and sale entitled Defining Our Voices Friday, October 3 to Sunday October 5, at the Rotary Centre For the Arts, 421 Cawston Avenue, Kelowna.  Opening Reception will be October 3, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm with the artists in attendance.  Show and Sale hours are Friday, October 3, 9 am to 8:30 pm; Saturday, October 4, 10 am to 9 pm; and Sunday, October 5, 10 am to 4 pm.

The  developed in Kelowna in 1992, as a new alternative to the established art groups who were slow to involve new membership.  At its inception, sixteen fellow art students who had been working together in a watercolour tutorial, undertook to be bold and formed their own studio group.  Over the years, The Studios members have branched out from their initial watercolour focus to include many different media in their repertoire, as individual artists have studied and encouraged each others development in oils, acrylics, collage, pastels and other visual systems.  Each of he members has extensive experience and training in their chosen artistic endeavours; several show regularly in galleries, provide art instruction, or have won awards for their work.

The Studios present eighteen Okanagan artists are committed to ongoing growth in their expertise through tutorials, workshops, juried shows, and programs within the Studio itself.

The Painters Studio shows feature original paintings by Bonnie Anderson, Carole Buckland, Colleen J Dyson, Judi Kowalchuk, Marina Leisen, Glenda MacQuarrie, Yvonne Morrish, Dianne Schnieders, Anita Skinner, Irene St Laurent, Bonnie Weber, Rebekah Wilkinson, Lizann Allan, Patti McCauley, Heidi Peigsa, and Marilynn Bury.

The Studios show is sponsored by The Arts Council of the Central Okanagan.  Artists will be in attendance throughout the show to discuss their work and to share their enthusiasm for the visual arts.
 
For further information about the exhibition, and The Painters Studio,  Phone:  250-763-0229

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11 Sep 2008

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Farm Forward

THE FOOD CHAIN IN TRANSITION
» Thursday 11 September 2008 | 5 pm
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing people and ideas featured in Okanagan ARTS. Join us as we present three experts who have played key roles in energizing our local cuisine. Heidi Noble is a chef, co-owner of Joie Wines in Naramata and author of Menus from the Orchard Table. Donna Denison is the creator of Little Creek Dressings, and Dale Ziech is a board director with the North Okanagan Organic Association and co-owner of Little Creek Gardens.

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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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The Time is Ripe for an Okanagan Cuisine

Whether it was the advent of the 100-Mile Diet that started it, or the migration of "slow food" from Europe to North America, or even our growing frustration with the perils of processed food, something is cooking right here in the Okanagan.

Farmer's markets are rising in popularity, our wineries have emerged from a place of vineyards to homes of fine cuisine, and pressure is mounting on local stores to bring in local, and organic. Our food is in transition.

On Thursday September 11, 5 pm at the Bohemian Café the Okanagan Institute Express series of public eventsexamines these issues in Farm Forward: The Food Chain in Transition, featuring three experts who have played key roles in energizing our local cuisine. Heidi Noble is a chef, co-owner of Joie Wines in Naramata and author of Menus from the Orchard Table. Donna Denison is the creator of Little Creek Dressings, and Dale Ziech is a board director with the North Okanagan Organic Association and co-owner of Little Creek Gardens.

Ziech was among the first in the valley to "go organic" back in 1984 when traditional farmers scoffed at the idea. How times have changed.

"You could call it the 20 year overnight success story, and I'm quite happy. But even though it's very trendy and in the news, the conventional food industry has really still got a hold on what we do and eat and consume," he says. "There are more and more regulations coming down under the guise of protecting us and what's occurring is a fight between big business and small business."

Little Creek is one of those small businesses that has had to struggle with some big regulation - in particular the new label requirements and nutritional analysis. The original labelling regulations stretched from eight pages to 200 pages, and yet there are no requirements to reveal the use of radiated or genetically modified products.

Whether we realize it or not, all of these issues play a role in what lands on our table - all the more reason to cultivate a taste for local, argues Noble. Think local and seasonal, and what comes about naturally will be the creation of a distinctive and delicious local cuisine.

"The birth of a cuisine is a form of self-awareness," she writes in her breakthrough book.

Dale Ziech and Donna Denison moved to Little Creek in 1984. Located on the west shores of Okanagan Lake, the property has been in the Denison family for more than 60 years. Over the years, the couple cleared the forest and created Little Creek Gardens, which has been Certified Organic since 1991. Dale grows a variety of gourmet mixed greens, tomatoes, baby vegetables and edible flowers. Little Creek Dressing was created by Donna in 1995 as a "value-added" product to complement the salad greens grown by Dale. The dressings are produced on site in their certified kitchen. Each recipe includes farm fresh ingredients and country vinegars made at Little Creek.

Heidi Noble is a working winemaker, trained chef & sommelier and published author. She is co-owner of Joie Wines in Naramata, BC, where she and her husband Michael Dinn operate a five acre vineyard and winery.

Heidi's book, Menus from an Orchard Table (Whitecap Books, May 2007) chronicles the development of Joie's Farm Cooking School and the famous Orchard Dinners which she and Michael ran under the stars for four summer seasons 2003-2006. With commemorative menus, Okanagan food producer profiles, and Joie's collection of recipes, the book demonstrates the Okanagan's potential to develop its own identity within the spectrum of BC's regional cuisines.

Farm Forward: The Food Chain in Transition is a free event, and takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 57th 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, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, architect Jim Meiklejohn, and others from a variety of creative fields.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE


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.

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05 Sep 2008

Four Exhibitions Make Their Debut

Vernon Public Art Gallery Celebrates with Opening Reception

 

Four new exhibitions at the Vernon Public Art Gallery will be celebrated with an opening reception on Thursday, September 11^th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The special event will recognize several diverse artists, including Leonhard Epp, Maria Carolina Sanchez de Bustamante, Agnes Martin, and students from the Breakaway Pottery school. Live harp music by Holly Smith will accompany the four presentations. The first exhibition titled Gotta Have It, created by Leonhard Epp, is an installation of expressionistic figurative ceramic sculpture that explores the influence of globalism on rising consumerism in contemporary society. In his artwork, Epp explores notions and dichotomies of physicality of attraction, repulsion, beauty and ugliness. Epp works in an expressionistic mode of delivery marked by a distortion of accepted forms, and he knowingly creates scenarios that enhance the Îhere and nowâ aspect of an individualâs experience.

 

Maria Carolina Sanchez de Bustamanteâs exhibition titled Quiet Anger addresses concerns dealing with the environmental, social and political issues. In her artwork, the artist questions the inequality and dominance of the underprivileged in contemporary societies. De Bustamante not only Îdocumentsâ the desire of ordinary people for social justice, but she also questions the political practices of governing bodies. Born in Argentina, de Bustamante is a Vernon-based artist with extensive studio practice advancing fibre-based art and ceramic sculpture in which she combines traditional elements with contemporary sculptural sensibility.

 

Known for her drawings and paintings exploring basic archetypal structures, Agnes Martin was one of the leading figures in American Minimalist art. Her exhibition, Drawings from 1990, is organized by the Gallery and features a reproduction of her drawings from a 1990 Amsterdam portfolio loaned from a private collection.

 

Students from the Breakaway Pottery school will be also exhibiting their work in the Vernon Public Art Galleryâs Community Gallery. Breakaway Potteryâs mission is to provide a welcoming, energetic, open and supportive environment, where community members can freely explore the extensive world of ceramics. This exhibition, 20 + Hands, is made up of functional and decorative pieces created by: Susan Beck, Carey Caswell, Shelly Chvala, Judy Ekkert, Theresa Fitzgerald, Cheryl Halbert, Ardene Howe, Helen Kilsby, Anita Kuipers, Sue Mhyre, Amber Kusmer, Betty Ann Rieple, Sharon Rose, Sandra Ross, Mari Schimpl and Al Scott. Participants in the program are emerging ceramic artists who have only been working with clay for less than five years.

 

The new exhibitions in the Vernon Public Art Gallery will run from September 11^th until October 30^th.

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05 Sep 2008

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD IN KELOWNA



Cross Cultural Artists Events

EXPERIENCE AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT IN KELOWNA WITH COLOURFUL
'TAMBURA RASA' GROUP OF VERY TALENTED MUSICIANS WHO PLAY AND SING IN LANGUAGES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. FLAMENCO-AFRO-LATIN-GYPSY-HUNGARIAN-BALKAN-MIDDLEEASTERN-INDIAN AND MORE FIRST TIME IN KELOWNA FROM VANCOUVER.
FLAMENCO AND BELLYDANCERS FROM VANCOUVER AND LOCAL PERFORMERS SHOW. DANCING & MEDITERRARNEAN CUISINE.

WHEN: NOVEMBER 7TH, 2008
WHERE: RUTLAND CENTENNIAL HALL, 180 N. RUTLAND RD.
       (Off Hwy.33)
TICKETS: $30.00/person plus $10.00/food/plate
         ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE ONLY
         CALL ANNIE 250-860-8789
         E-MAIL bellydancingannie@mail.com
         Also available at Pamukkale Cotton on 3010 pandosy

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04 Sep 2008