Culture and Community

An Ongoing Series of Lectures and Presentations that Celebrate the Creative Okanagan

Okanagan Institute

5pm Thursdays
at the Bohemian Café

Click here for schedule
and information.

Arts Council of the
Central Okanagan
140-1735 Dolphin Ave,
Kelowna, BC V1Y 8A6
Kelowna BC Canada V1Y 8T8
Email: Click Here.
Elke Lange, Executive Director
Telephone: 250.861-4123

Produced in association with the
Okanagan Institute

Okanagan Arts News

LATEST ARTS NEWS

Below are the latest news items included on this website in all categories. If you are interested in a particular category, click on the menu items at the top.

Smarter Growth: The Okanagan Challenge

Smarter Growth
THE OKANAGAN CHALLENGE
» Thursday 7 February 2008 | 4:30 pm
» New! - BeanScene North, 1289 Ellis Street
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Home. Join us as James Baker, Lake Country mayor, and Douglas Macleod, executive director of the Canadian Design Research Network, explore the challenges we face in creating a common future.
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna

FRESH SEEDS FOR SMARTER GROWTH

Pick up on just about any conversation and it doesn't take long before the trend shifts towards growth, development and what we're going to do about it.

Whether worrying about global warming or the unfettered Okanagan building boom, we're all wondering what can be done. Sustainability has become the new buzz word to deal with these problems. But just what truly is sustainable? And how can we continue to grow without choking off our own resources - cultural and otherwise.

This week, February 7 at 4:30 pm, Okanagan Institute presents Smarter Growth: The Okanagan Challenge. The event takes place at the Okanagan Institute's new venue located at BeanScene North on Ellis. The informal hour features Lake Country mayor James Baker, along with Douglas Macleod, executive director of the Canadian Design Research Network.

James Baker has a unique perspective on current levels of growth leaving next door to the behemoth Kelowna. In the midst of shaping his community into a town with a resort character, he expressed concern that his community lacked input into larger regional issues.

"Because Lake Country, in the Okanagan is largely an agricultural community, it is a place people from all over the world want to enjoy. We need to think carefully about how we plan for the future."

Baker's perspective is uniquely informed by his academic area of expertise as a professor of both archaeology and anthropology. He was named Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at OUC and is now the Associate Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at UBCO. He's also past president of the Lake Country Heritage and Cultural Society.

Douglas MacLeod comes to sustainability from a different viewpoint - that of research and design. A registered architect and contributing editor to Canadian Architect magazine, MacLeod has spent the last 15 years leading innovative research projects across the country. Currently he is the director of the Canadian Design Research Network at Simon Fraser University a member of the Networks of Centres for Excellence of Canada, an innovative research iniative.

He says while planning for the future isn't something North Americans are noted for, Canada has an opportunity to be at the forefront of what will become a huge economic engine if it commits to sustainable design.

"We believe that with high-quality design we can solve a lot of problems we're facing, from global warming to productivity, and we could jumpstart the Canadian economy by doing it," he said. "Right now our buildings account for one-third of Canada's greenhouse gases, but with today's technology we could cut that by half, if we did things differently."

MacLeod says what's needed to truly push change is commitment from the consumer right on up to government. Sustainability is just as much an individual choice as it is a government choice - in terms of supporting research and design.

"These events help foster discussion and the Okanagan Institute has established itself as a meeting place for inquiring minds of all kinds," says BeanScene owner Cathy Backmeyer.

Smarter Growth: The Okanagan Challenge is a free event, and takes place at BeanScene North. It's presented by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
Express is sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and supports the work of Project Literacy Kelowna.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE

Okanagan Insitute at BeanScene North 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, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
Expresss is a cultural tonic that refreshes the mind. Join us at BeanScene North after work on Thursdays for a free hour of stimulation that will get your synapses tingling with new ideas and fresh images. Designed for inquiring minds looking for, among other things, the wild blue yonder.

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02 Feb 2008

Okanagan Short Fiction Contest

1st Prize: $500 2nd Prize: $200 3rd Prize: $100

Prizes are awarded for the best new short stories in the Okanagan. Entries will be judged by Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan Creative Writing Faculty and an external judge, a published professional writer of national stature. Stories will be published in chapbook form, excerpts read on CBC Radio One, and copyright will remain with the author. After administrative costs, any additional funds will be donated to the George Ryga Centre.

RULES:

1. This contest is open to all residents of the southern interior served by CBC Radio One Kelowna, east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and William’s Lake and south.

2. Entries must be original, unpublished works of fiction, submitted on plain 8 1/2 X 11 white paper, double-spaced and typed.

3. Short stories should range from 1000 to 4000 words. The judges reserve the right to disqualify stories that are too long.

4. Entries must be accompanied by a $12 entry fee, a money order or cheque payable to the University of British Columbia.

5. No name, address, phone number or any identifying mark should appear on the pages of the manuscript. Attach a separate page with the author’s name, address, phone number and the name of the story. Authors whose stories make it to the short list stage should be prepared to submit to the administrators of the contest an electronic version of the story and biographical information.

6. Entries must be postmarked on or before Monday, March 10, 2008 or must be received at the Creative Studies Office of the University of British Columbia Okanagan by that date.

7. There are no age limits or no limits on the number of entries, but each entry must be accompanied by a $12 entry fee.

8. Entries will be judged solely on artistic merit. Decisions of the judges are final.

9. Because of time restrictions and quantity of entries, no manuscripts will be returned. No phone calls or other communication will be entered into regarding the contest. The administrators of the contest do not take responsibility for lost manuscripts. Please keep a copy.

10. The winners will be announced in May 2008 at Kelowna’s Life and Arts Festival.

11. Mail entries to:
Okanagan Short Fiction Contest
c/o Barbra MacDonald, CRWR Support
Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
The University of British Columbia Okanagan
ART 173 - 3333 University Way
Kelowna BC V1V 1V7

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29 Jan 2008

Pictoriality: The Artistic Vision of Bryan Ryley

» Thursday 31 January 2008 | 4:30 pm
» Mosaic Books, 411 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Arts. Join us as artist Bryan Ryley discusses his artistic vision, his approach to painting, drawing and collage, and his eye for colour and form.
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna

MODERN ART BY DESIGN

Modern art is a tough person's game. Just look at the reactions when the nude Baggage Handler made his entrance onto the public stage in Penticton. Move into the abstract, and the public response gets even tougher. There remain those who believe that a Jackson Pollack painting is literally child's play.

None of that concerns Bryan Ryley, a Vernon artist and associate professor of fine arts at UBCOkanagan. His work moves through various forms of media - painting, drawing and collage, but always with an eye to colour and form.

Okanagan Institute invites Bryan Ryley to share some of his vision with his presentation Pictoriality: The Artistic Explorations of Bryan Ryley, Thursday, January 31, 4:30 pm at Mosaic Books.

Ryley began painting at age eight and went on to study at the University of Victoria before going onto do his graduate work at the Pratt Institute in New York.

Over the years, various world events have informed his abstract work, and in 2003 he started to look closely at the issues facing the homeless which resulted in paintings that had layers or veils which represented the otherness people sometimes feel.

"By placing overlays of information onto a prepared substrata, in effect disfiguring, degrading, and interfering with a direct or singular read of foundational information, this examination has given access to larger questions that ultimately reside in a metaphysical realm," Ryley said of the work which came to be named A Child of God.

Patricia Ainslie, author of Alberta Arts and Artists and former vice-president of collections at the Glenbow Museum, recently noted that Ryley takes a disciplined approach to his work, and yet somehow finds place for intuition and spontaneity. "He works in series, with an element in one, triggering a new exploration in the next. As soon as the paintings become easy, Bryan ends the series and moves onto a less comfortable challenge and a new investigation," she wrote in the fall issue of Okanagan Arts magazine.

Ryley exhibits in both Canada and The United States. His work is found in numerous private and public collections, such as, The Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Kelowna Public Art Gallery, Kelowna, Vernon Public Art Gallery, The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Petro Canada Collection, Shell Collection in Calgary, Alberta.

Pictoriality: The Artistic Explorations of Bryan Ryley is a free event, and takes place at Mosaic Books, Kelowna's independent bookstore. It's presented by the Okanagan Institute in association with the magazines of Wheat King Publishing - Okanagan Arts, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
Expressions is sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and supports the work of Project Literacy Kelowna.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE

Okanagan Insitute at Mosaic Books A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture, community and the wild blue yonder. Produced by the Okanagan institute in association with the magazines of Wheat King Publishing: Okanagan Arts, Okanagan Home, and Okanagan Q.
Expresssions is a cultural tonic that refreshes the mind. Join us at Mosaic Books after work on Thursdays for a free hour of stimulation that will get your synapses tingling with new ideas and fresh images. Designed for inquiring minds looking for, among other things, the wild blue yonder.

0 Comments

29 Jan 2008

Okanagan Arts Awards, February 15th, 2008

Okanagan Arts Awards

Hosted by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan

February 15th, 2008

UBCO Sunroom and Theatre in Kelowna, BC

6:00 pm Meet the Nominees

7:00 pm Awards Ceremony

9:15 pm Reception

Tickets available at Ticketmaster

Website: http://www.ticketmaster.ca

$25, $15 for students with student card

For more information, http://www.okanaganartsawards.com/ href="http://www.okanaganartsawards.com/" target=_blank>www.okanaganartsawards.com

or call 861-4123 or mailto:info@artsco.ca href="mailto:info@artsco.ca" target=_blank>info@artsco.ca

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21 Jan 2008

Winter Art Classes at the Kelowna Art Gallery

The Kelowna Art Gallery’s Winter Art Class schedule is now available. Starting January 28, 2008, the Gallery will be offering beginner and intermediate classes in drawing, watercolour, acrylic painting, mixed media and screenprinting. Whether you’ve never picked up a paint brush before or you wield a drawing pencil like a pro, there are classes that start with the basics for beginners or provide inspiration for the more advanced.

Day Classes
Intermediate Watercolour
Drawing for Beginners
NEW Class! Jumpstart Your Creativity!

Evening Classes
Interpreting Ideas & Subjects in Acrylic Paint - Intermediate
Drawn to Watercolour � Beg / Int class
NEW Class! Screenprinting for Beginners
The Start of Something New: Acrylic Painting for Beginners
Drawing Level 2
Going with the Flow � Intermediate Watercolour

Weekend Workshop
The Basics of Acrylic Painting

The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to have the following artists teach the winter classes; Liz Woodside, Dawn Emerson, Wanda Lock, Becky Parisotto, Julie Elliot, Kathryn Newell

For more information or to register, visit our web site at www.kelownaartgallery.com, call the gallery at 762-2226 or visit us at 1315 Water Street.

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16 Jan 2008

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