April 5th | Kelowna | 8.00 pm
April 6th | Vernon | 7.00 pm

A poetic stream of musical exploration awakens sleeping buds from dormancy illustrates the reflections of spring and blossoming landscapes.
 
Opening the hearts and minds of music lovers, the Okanagan Symphony presents “AWAKENINGS”, featuring Susan Schaffer, first violinist and Assistant Concertmaster of the Okanagan Symphony.  
 
Schaffer, who is a longtime North Okanagan resident has been broadcast live on CBC, and was invited to join the violin section of the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra at the tender age of 11.  Performing with the OSO since 1992, Schaffer will deliver a stirring performance that will capture the melodic nuances of the strings serenading to the heavens, portraying the grace and eloquence of the violin in a solo performance of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
 
From stylized dance, combined with folk song and poetic dreamscapes, the Okanagan Symphony delivers a moving performance of “AWAKENINGS”, April 5th at the Kelowna Community Theatre at 8 pm, followed by a concert on April 6th at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre at 7.00 pm.
 
For tickets in Kelowna call Ticketmaster at 250.860.1470, in Vernon call Ticket Seller at 250.549.7469.  Purchase tickets today to avoid disappointment.
 
The Okanagan Symphony is the third largest professional Symphony Orchestra in British Columbia, and has been entertaining audiences since 1960. The OSO is dedicated to bringing the passion of classical music to life throughout the Okanagan, while educating, entertaining, and reaching out to all generations.  

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28 Mar 2008

The Kelowna Palette Club are holding their Annual Show of original art, watercolor,oil, & acrylic.

When: Friday April 11th from 7:00 pm to 9;00 pm ( MEET THE ARTISTS)
Saturday April 12th  9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Where: 4091 Lakeshore Drive, Kelowna

Draw: Framed watercolor "Gallagers Canyon" by Phil Stang.
Proceeds to The Kelowna Parkinsons Society.

For further questions please contact Ilah Hockin at
250-860-9772, or email gihock@shaw.ca 

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28 Mar 2008

Gallery Vertigo is now accepting Exhibition Proposals for the 2009/2010 exhibition season. Deadline for Proposals is April 15, 2008.

General Information: Gallery Vertigo is an artist-run gallery which operates under the auspices of the North Okanagan Artists Alternative, a registered non-profit society. We are located in downtown Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, upstairs in the historical Winnipeg Union Bank building, Suite #1, 3001-31st Street. Vernon, Bc V1T 5H8. Operation of the gallery is supported through the rental of twelve studio spaces on site, as well as through memberships, donations and fundraising. The gallery was founded in 2002. Community involvement is a primary focus of the gallery with liaisons established with other galleries in the region, with Okanagan College, UBC Okanagan, with local schools, and with not-for-profit artists and writers groups throughout the region.

Gallery Vertigo hosts up to sixteen exhibitions of art per year in two exhibition spaces. Two exhibitions will generally run concurrently. Emphasis is on showing innovative and experimental work by emerging and mid-career artists in all mediums. Exhibitions are selected by a committee comprised of arts professionals and working artists from our region. Gallery Vertigo does not exhibit artwork which will also be exhibited elsewhere in the North Okanagan within six months, and does not re-exhibit individual artists' work within three years. Solo proposals, group proposals and proposals from curators are invited.

Gallery Specifications: Gallery One is roughly 288 square feet with 45 running feet of wall space. Gallery Two is roughly 126 square feet with 43 running feet of wall. A gallery floor plan is available upon request. Ceilings in both galleries are 9 feet high with adjustable halogen track lighting. While temperatures are kept within the parameters of generally accepted museum standards, humidity control is not yet available.

Artist Fees: We regret that we are not able to provide artist fees at this time. Shipping costs are currently the responsibility of the artist(s) as is crating and shipping of artwork. Gallery Vertigo is responsible for hanging and promotion of exhibitions as well as an exhibition reception for each exhibition. The gallery produces a brochure for each exhibition.

Submission Guidelines:*
Please include the following:
- a current resume or curriculum vitae
- 10 to 20 numbered slides and/or photographs of current work or work related to the proposed exhibition.
(all slides/photos must be labelled with the artistís name, title of the work, and dimensions. Each slide should be marked with a dot on the lower left corner to indicate the correct orientation of the image when projected.)
- A corresponding slide/photo list including titles, dates of production, medium and size
- An artist statement relating to current work or proposed work
- A clear and concise proposal for the exhibition
- A self-addressed sufficiently stamped envelope if you wish to have your proposal returned
* packages which do not include all of the above will be deemed incomplete and may not be considered.

Submission Deadline for Exhibition Proposals: April 15, 2008.


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Call for Artist in Residence Proposals

Submissions may also be made at this time for the position of Artist in Residence for the months of May and June, 2008. One artist will be chosen by our exhibition selection committee. The artist who is chosen will utilize a studio at the gallery free of charge for a two month period beginning May 1st and ending June 30th. The studio residency will culminate in a three week exhibition at the gallery during the month of July. The artist chosen for this opportunity will be expected to work on site a minimum of 10 hours per week during gallery business hours and to produce new work for the exhibition which is to take place in Gallery Two. Residency includes 24 hour access and use of kitchen facilities. Living on site is not permitted. This studio offers good light, air conditioning and a positive atmosphere in a beautiful heritage building in downtown Vernon. This is a great professional development opportunity. Network with other artists, meet the art-going public and learn about exhibiting from a gallery perspective. Artists at all stages of development are encouraged to apply. Artists may submit both exhibition proposals and studio residency proposals at this time. Please clearly indicate which opportunities you are applying for on your proposal package. Artists who are applying for the studio residency only are asked to follow the submission guidelines for exhibition proposals above. Please include a clear and concise outline of your intended area of investigation during the studio residency.

Deadline for Artist in Residence Proposals is April 15, 2008.

Contact:
Judith Jurica
Artist Liaison
Gallery:(250)503-2297
judithjurica@galleryvertigo.com

Mailing Address:
Attn: Judith Jurica
Gallery Vertigo
Suite #1 3001-31st Street
Vernon, BC, V1T 5H8

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28 Mar 2008

An exhibition by artist Jackie Sumell and prison inmate
Herman Wallace, */The House That Herman Built,/ *opens Friday, April 11 at the Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art.
   Sumell's five-year collaboration and correspondence with Herman Wallace, a Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate, tried to answer the question: "What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-by-nine-foot cell
dream of after 30 years of solitary confinement?"
Herman Wallace has been in solitary confinement at Angola Prison in Louisiana for 36 years.Solitary confinement consists of a minimum of 23 hours a day in a cell.
   Herman's case is currently set to come before a federal court, which will face the question of how long a sentence in solitary confinement is too long and at what point it becomes cruel and unusual punishment. Herman is one of two inmates at Angola who may have been held in solitary confinement longer than anyone else in US history.
   In the darkest moments of his confinement Wallace turned to designing his house as a means to survive. Plans are now underway to build this house in his hometown of New Orleans LA. The exhibition at the Alternator includes an actual size replica of Herman's cell, a computer
aided design video of Wallace's dream house as well as dozens of letters, drawings and diagrams.
   Sumell was born in Brooklyn, NY, and currently lives in Dublin. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Stanford University. Her interdisciplinary work transcends the boundaries of art and activism in its attempt to connect people in provocative and meaningful ways. Sumell
has exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Cuba, Ireland and Germany.
   The opening reception is on April 11 at 7pm and all are welcome. The evening includes a panel discussion, "Imagination of Resistance", beginning at 7:30pm with Jackie Sumell (MFA Stanford), Dr. E. Wilma van der Veen (Ph.D Sociology), Shelley Cook (E.D. John Howard Society), Jim Meiklejohn (Architect), Edmund Lee (B.Arch) and moderated by Jake Kennedy. The exhibition continues to May 16.

Also opening Friday in the Alternator lounge is */a sense of my Self/*, an exhibition organized by Amanda Scandrett working with the Ranch Ehrlo Society youth in Regina. This project presents the voices of youth at risk.

Also new work by Mia Rushton, "festooned!", will be exhibited in the Alternator Community Window in April. With plush acorns, florescent pink birds, dark clouds, printed patterns galore and all connected by a fine
sewn thread, Rushton has opened the vault to a surreal study of the everyday. Work by artist-in-residence for April, Jennifer Pickering, will be featured in the window in May.

The Alternator, an artist-run centre located on the main floor of the Rotary Centre for the Arts at 421 Cawston Avenue in Kelowna, BC, is open from 11 to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Admission is by donation. All are welcome.

For information, contact the Alternator at (250) 868-2298, visit www.alternatorgallery.com or e-mail info@alternatorgallery.com

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28 Mar 2008

Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts
Price: $30 per Adult / $10 per Student

"Swarm is a visual extravaganza of deceptively simple sophistication. Playing gigantic instruments they've constructed themselves, they are never stationary [and] never silent..."
- Lyn Cockburn, Calgary Sun

After putting on an unforgettable performance at the 2007 Life and Arts Festival, SWARM is coming back to Kelowna to wow audiences one more time with another amazing performance at the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Featuring unconventional instruments, experimental world music and intense physical choreography, the performers of SWARM use a variety of large-scale industrial drum sculptures to create their unique sound. With their mesmerizing contemporary collage of jumps, spins, music and movement, SWARM never fails to put on an unbelievable musical and theatrical show for audiences of all ages.

Using a plethora of funky futuristic instruments, SWARM has set itself apart from many other percussion troupes. Their collection of one-of-a-kind instruments include over 100 drum sculptures, marimbas, water gongs, exhaust pipes, plungers, whirligigs, longstrings, artillery shells, musical body costumes, a giant round mobile bathtub and a parachute projection screen. Many of the creative instruments are also made from recycled materials such as PVC pipes, wheelchair rims, metal cans and all kinds of found objects. When combined, these pieces work together to create the experimental world music of SWARM.

Although SWARM's music is geographically Canadian, it is largely influenced by musical styles from around the globe including Rock, Blues, Jazz, Swing, Hip Hop, Reggae and Folk. A SWARM performance can best be described as a combination of drumming and dance with a rhythmic structure that moves the performers naturally from instrument to instrument. If you find yourself scratching your head over SWARM's description, we invite you to come experience their diverse sound and technique for yourself on Saturday, April 12th at the Mary Irwin Theatre.

Tickets for SWARM are available through any Ticketmaster outlet including the Rotary Centre for the Arts Box Office 717-5304. For those interested in more than one show, the Pick a 4-Pak selection package is an outstanding way to choose four different shows from a variety of presentations in music and theatre for only $100.

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18 Mar 2008