Patty Wellborn

Email: patty.wellborn@ubc.ca


 

A photo of author Naben Ruthnum

Award-winning author Naben Ruthnum is UBC Okanagan’s next Writer in Residence.

Toronto-based author Naben Ruthnum is spending two weeks this spring at UBC Okanagan as the next Writer in Residence.

While here, Ruthnum will read and provide feedback on manuscripts from local writers, host a public lecture and judge the many entries for the Okanagan Short Story Contest.

The goal of UBCO’s Writer in Residence program is to promote Canadian authors and literature to Okanagan residents and also provide budding writers the opportunity to receive feedback on their creative work, explains Nancy Holmes, Creative Writing Professor with the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.

“This a great chance for emerging writers to connect with a highly successful professional writer,” says Holmes. “He knows about the current Canadian publishing and entertainment scene and will provide invaluable advice to people who want to get their work noticed out in the world. We are incredibly lucky to have him spend some time with us.”

Ruthnum is the author of Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race and the novel A Hero of Our Time. He has also penned two thrillers, Find You in the Dark and Your Life is Mine,under the name Nathan Ripley. His short fiction has won the Journey Prize and a National Magazine Award. He also writes for film and television and currently has projects in development with Oddfellows Entertainment.

Local writers of fiction, non-fiction or screenplays are invited to submit manuscripts for Ruthnum’s review and feedback. In his role as the 2022 Writer in Residence, he will meet with a select number of UBCO student and community writers who submit their work for critiquing.

Manuscripts must be submitted by Monday, March 7. Information about the specific requirements and how to submit an entry online can be found at: fccs.ok.ubc.ca/about/events-workshops/authors

Ruthnum will also host a public reading on March 29, from 7 to 9 pm in the Creative and Critical Studies Building’s FINA Gallery at UBC Okanagan. And as the judge of the Okanagan Short Story Contest, Ruthnum will announce the winners on March 31 at 7 pm at the downtown branch of the Okanagan Regional Library. Both events are free and open to the public.

The post UBCO’s newest Writer in Residence to work with emerging writers appeared first on UBC Okanagan News.

People at a gathering looking at artwork

Participants at a previous Art on Line in 2019 mingle and check out the artwork available at the ‘lottery-style’ art event.

What: Art on the Line gala and fundraiser Who: Local artists, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies students and faculty When: Saturday, March 5 starting at 5:30 pm Where: Charles E. Fipke Centre, 3247 University Way, UBC’s Okanagan campus Cost: $200 per ticket (one ticket admits two people, and guarantees one piece of artwork) or day of entry admission for $20, $10 for students It’s back and in person. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, Art on the Line returns as an in-person event at UBC Okanagan. UBCO’s annual fine arts fundraiser is a lively event that has supported local visual arts students for 19 years, explains Abby Bloome, event co-organizer and a fourth-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) student. “We invite people to join us for an evening of fine art and face-to-face fun,” she says. “This is our chance to come together as a community and support our local artists. Art on the Line is an amazing event that gives students a chance to grow. And community members can collect one-of-a-kind pieces for their homes.” The event is co-sponsored by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS), in association with the Visual Arts Course Union. It is a black-tie gala evening where original works of art are raffled to guests. There are only 100 tickets sold for the chance to choose from the 150 works available in this one-of-a-kind juried art exhibition. Each piece of art has been donated by local artists, UBCO faculty and fine arts students. FCCS Visual Arts Instructor David James Doody is the emcee and evening host. He describes Art on the Line as a great opportunity to enjoy a beautiful selection of original art, fine food, refreshments and a touch of suspense. “I have been taking part in this event for almost 20 years when I began my BFA in 2002,” he recalls “I still remember as a young artist the first time my art was chosen. It was absolutely the coolest feeling ever. Art on the line is one of the most important exciting events in our students’ calendars.” Proceeds from the evening will help support a number of organizations including the Visual Arts Course Union, the 2022 BFA graduate exhibition and catalogue, the visiting artist program, fine arts student travel grants as well as local non-profit Cool Arts Society, which provides art opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. Organizers are still collecting two-and three-dimensional artwork to be donated and raffled during the event. Local artists who are interested in supporting this fundraiser can email aotl2022@ubcovacu.org for a submission form and submission guidelines. Donations should be of suitable quality and equivalent to the auction ticket price. The event is planned to be in-person, but will also be live-streamed for those who cannot attend. If current public health measures change, this event will take place virtually. Tickets cost $200 for two people to enter and guarantees one piece of artwork. Tickets will also be available for people who would like to attend, but not bid on artwork; they will be at the door for $20 or $10 for students. More information is available at: artontheline2022.eventbrite.ca
An artist stands in front of her own artwork

Artist Maura Tamez stands in front je’egi, one of the many pieces of art on display at Rooted Sentiments in UBCO’s FINA gallery starting Friday.

What: Rooted Sentiments Who: Exhibition featuring Maura Tamez, Cassandra Adjetey, Shimshon Obadia and Moozhan Ahmadzadegan. When: Friday, February 11 to Wednesday, February 23 Where: FINA Gallery, Creative and Critical Studies Building, 1148 Research Road, UBC Okanagan campus An art exhibition featuring the work of four Okanagan-based BIPOC artists—Maura Tamez, Cassandra Adjetey, Shimshon Obadia and Moozhan Ahmadzadegan—opens at UBC Okanagan’s campus next week. With support from UBC’s Equity Enhancement Fund and the Black Liquorice Studio, the artist collective presents its inaugural show Rooted Sentiments. The collective is founded by UBCO Master of Fine Arts student Michaela Bridgemohan as part of her ongoing work to create space for BIPOC artists. Rooted Sentiments invites viewers to consider the ways we make a home for ourselves, and the ways we invite or exclude others from doing the same, she explains. “I want to bring attention to the BIPOC artists living in the Okanagan who are students or alumni from UBCO,” she says. “While diverse in subject and medium, this work investigates the way an exploration of roots and intersections of identity can inform and create our sense of home—as a material reality, a network of relations and a place in the imagination.” While Bridgemohan did not plan the exhibition specifically around Black History Month, the timing of the show makes for a perfect connection in highlighting the work of all artists of colour in Kelowna. Bridgemohan understands too well the systemic barriers for BIPOC artists in Canada. In 2020, Canadian Art magazine reported on a research paper and audit, titled “Black Representation in Calgary’s Contemporary Art Scene,” which was co-authored by her along with Levin Ifko, Alicia Buates McKenzie and Uli Savage. Their research illuminated the systemic barriers to BIPOC artists in Calgary, and Canada more widely. While the submissions Bridgemohan received for Rooted Sentiments reflected a diversity of voices and experiences, she saw common threads too, noting some artists withdrew their submissions, thinking they were not good enough for public display. “This lack of confidence is symptomatic of a lack of representation, with many artists believing they are not worthy, not good enough. And this is upsetting,” she says. “All the work I saw was legitimate and gallery-ready. And it reflected a longing to be seen, not just as individuals, but also the conversations they were having.” The exhibition will be open in the Creative and Critical Studies Building’s FINA Gallery at UBC Okanagan from February 11 to 23, and open for viewing daily from 9 am to 4 pm, excluding weekends. To learn more about Rooted Sentiments, or Black Liquorice Studio’s next event at the Lake Country Gallery this September, contact Michaela Bridgemohan at blackliquoricestudio@gmail.com. For more information on the artists, their work and the upcoming FINA exhibit visit: gallery.ok.ubc.ca/2022/02/02/rooted-sentiments

A graphic that says Life Raft Debate

What: Fourth annual Life Raft Debate
Who: UBC professors debate to win a seat in a time machine and change history
When: Wednesday, January 26, beginning at 7 pm
Venue: Online, virtual event

Once again, UBC Okanagan professors are being called upon to share their expertise and help save the world. But this year, it involves going back in time to right the wrongs of humanity.

The annual Life Raft Debate is a fun way to showcase the talents of professors by using an “end-of-the-world” premise, explains Lyndsey Chesham, Society of Scholars Program Assistant and a fourth-year microbiology student. The professors must do their best to sway the audience to earn the last seat on the life raft. However, this year it’s a seat in a time machine.

“For this year’s debate, humans have made an irrevocable mistake leading to our demise,” Chesham says. “Our only option is an experimental time machine capable of sending someone on a one-way trip to the first known human civilization.”

The catch? There is only one seat in the time machine. Not only must the time traveller win the debate, they must—without any modern technology—be able to influence society to not make the same mistakes. It’s up to them to prevent the downfall of the human race.

“Our traveller must assert the importance of their discipline in order to lead the ancient society, fix the mistakes of the past, and lead us to a brighter, more promising future,” adds Chesham. “But we must also question if it is even worth sending anyone back at all. It’s up to our audience to decide who we send, or if we even bother.”

Competing for the chance to time travel include chemistry’s Dr. Tamara Freeman, creative writing’s Michael V. Smith, engineering’s Dr. Vicki Komisar, psychology’s Dr. Liane Gabora and management’s Tamara Ebl. Associate Dean of Research Dr. Dean Greg Garrard will play the role of devil’s advocate, suggesting no one deserves to go back in time.

After all the words are spoken, the audience—using Zoom technology—will decide if someone does go back and restart society. And who it will be.

“The Society of Scholars brought this student-led event to UBCO to give students a chance to get to know their professors through the scope of a light-hearted and fun event,” adds Chesham. “Our debaters get very passionate and it is wonderful to see the professors speak about their life’s work so enthusiastically.”

New this year will be opening remarks from UBC President Santa Ono and closing remarks from UBCO’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal Lesley Cormack.

The Life Raft Debate takes place Wednesday, January 26 at 7 pm. It is a free, virtual presentation and follows with a question and answer session. To register or find out more, visit: students.ok.ubc.ca/life-raft

A man observing an art exhibition

Dr. Neil Cadger, UBCO associate professor of creative studies, views the projection of The Collective Body, outside the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Photo credit: Chloe Chang.

Artwork from UBC Okanagan’s public art collection will be on display for the first time in Vernon, giving North Okanagan residents a sampling of the largest public art assemblies in the region.

The Ramble On exhibition, currently at the Vernon Public Art Gallery, presents a variety of artistic mediums—sculptures, paintings, prints and video artworks. The work on display has been created by a diverse roster of emerging and established artists including UBCO faculty, alumni, local Indigenous creators as well as international, figurative and abstract creators.

Ramble On is an exhibition of artworks from the UBCO’s public art collection which introduces some of the newest acquisitions including works by Judith Schwarz, Sheldon Louis, Tania Willard and Neil Cadger.

“We are excited to see some of the works from our collection out in the community,” says Dr. Stacey Koosel, curator of UBC Okanagan’s Art Gallery and the public art collection. “This is the first time works from our public art collection are being shown at the Vernon Public Art Gallery.”

Ramble On also features a few well-known Okanagan Indigenous artists.

“Our gallery’s mandate is to prioritize working with Indigenous contemporary artists. At the moment, Indigenous art is under-represented and only makes only seven per cent of the collection,” explains Dr. Koosel. “We’re hoping to improve this number in the coming years.”

Recent acquisitions featured in the exhibition include works by Syilx artists Sheldon Louis and David Wilson, and Secwepemc artist Tania Willard.

UBCO’s public art collection is one of the largest in the region, with a focus on Canadian contemporary art and the Okanagan’s emerging local artistry, says Dr. Koosel. Artwork comes to the collection primarily through donations.

“This exhibition is also the first chance for the public to see brand new works, such as Louis’s cax̌alqs (red dress) and a new acquisition by Judith Shwarz, Grid and Grid II, which just arrived from Toronto this year,” she says.

The exhibition was inspired by UBC Okanagan alumnus Clinton McDougall’s wooden sculpture of a car tire entitled Reinvention (2005). The tread on the tire forms a pattern based on the utilitarian principle of adding grip or traction to move forward. All the works in the exhibition continue this theme using patterns, grids or repetition.

Ramble On includes work by nine artists: Moozhan Ahmadzadegan, Neil Cadger, Sheldon Pierre Louis, Takesada Matsutani, Clinton McDougall, Ida Shōichi, Judith Shwarz, David Wilson and Tania Willard.

A public reception takes place at the Vernon Public Art Gallery on January 20 from 6 to 8 pm, celebrating the opening of four new exhibits at the gallery, including a solo show by UBCO fine arts alumna Coralee Miller. Ramble On runs until March 9.

“This exhibition, with work created anytime between 1968 to 2021, will provide visitors with insight towards a variety of different artists, their practices and the various media used to create their thought-provoking, insightful works,” adds Dr. Koosel

For more information, visit: vernonpublicartgallery.com/current-exhibitions-1

 

A notebook full of scribbles and ideas next to a cup of coffee

Entries are open to fiction writers in the southern interior of British Columbia for the 2021 Okanagan Short Story Contest. Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

Emerging writers are urged to submit their entries for the annual Okanagan Short Story Contest.

This year marks the 24th year of the contest, which has a long tradition of introducing budding writers to the Okanagan community. Previous winners have gone on to publish with Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, NeWest Press, as well as numerous national and international magazines and journals.

Entries are open to fiction writers in the southern interior of British Columbia in a region stretching east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.

“The annual short story contest is one way for developing writers to gain their foothold in the literary world. I’ve seen winners of story prizes use them to find literary agents and book deals,” says Kevin Chong, author and creative writing professor in UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS).

The entries must be original stories, between 1,000 and 4,000 words, and writers are welcome to submit as many as they choose. There is a $20 entry fee for each story but no charge for students in the high school category. All proceeds will go towards FCCS creative writing scholarships for UBC Okanagan students.

FCCS is offering cash prizes to writers of the top three stories—$1,000, $400 and $200. The first prize winner also wins a one-week retreat at The Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre in Kelowna. And the top short story by a high school student receives a $200 prize.

Entries must be received by 11:59 pm on Friday, January 31, 2022.

All stories will be judged by UBCO creative writing faculty as well as celebrated novelist, critic and screenwriter Naben Ruthnum.

Ruthnum is a Mauritian-Canadian author with a master’s degree from McGill University. Now living in Toronto, he was raised in Kelowna and won the Journey Prize in 2013 for his short story “Cinema Rex.” He’s since published Curry: Reading, Eating and Race, a collection of non-fiction essays exploring immigrant experience and identity through food and literature. His thriller novel Find You in the Dark, was published under his pseudonym Nathan Ripley. His newest work, A Hero of Our Time, will be published in January 2022.

Winners of the short story contest will be announced in March at a public event where short-listed authors will be invited to read from their work. For a full list of contest details and rules, visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/short-story

A photo of author Ian Williams

Scotiabank Giller prize-winner Ian Williams will join UBCO’s Kevin Chong to discuss how reading and creative writing are affected by racism.

What: Public Reading with Ian Williams
Who: UBCO’s Kevin Chong with guest author Ian Williams
When: November 17 at 7 pm PST
Venue: Live via Zoom

UBC Okanagan is hosting Scotiabank Giller prize winner Ian Williams in an evening of open discussion and a reading from his latest work.

The distinguished author of fiction, nonfiction and poetry is hosted by UBCO’s Anti-Racist Reading Book Club and Kevin Chong, assistant professor of creative writing. Earlier this month, members of the club read Williams’ latest work Disorientation and met to discuss the book prior to this public event.

“An important part of antiracist action is education,” says Chong. “A book like Disorientation allows us to step into the mind of a racialized writer as he grapples, brilliantly, with politics, identity and Blackness.”

The public is welcome to join readers, writers and creative writing students from both UBC campuses to discuss the ways writing and race intersect. Participants will have the opportunity to have an elevated discussion with both Williams and Chong.

This event is partially funded by the UBC Anti-Racism Initiatives Fund and UBCO’s Creative Studies department. Participants will hear Williams’ perspective on how reading and creative writing are affected by racism.

Disorientation examines the role that racism plays in the daily life of ordinary people. Williams’ earlier novel, Reproduction, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and has received international acclaim.

His collection of poetry, Word Problems, uses the language of mathematics and grammar problems to discuss prevalent ethical and political issues. The collection won the Raymond Souster Award, and his previous collection Personals was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award. Not Anyone’s Anything, a short story collection published in 2011, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for the best first collection of short fiction in Canada.

Chong, the author of six books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the novel The Plague, will host the reading series.

Register for the Zoom Webinar event at: ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5ItfuGorT8oGtBTcwbZ8IWzrw5yrIbSlFg9

This event is presented with support from UBC’s Anti-Racism Initiatives Fund, and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.

Sustainability students in the field

UBCO’s new bachelor of sustainability degree will equip students with the breadth and compassion to find solutions to sustainability issues such as climate change, land and water use, energy transition, and social and economic inequality.

UBC Okanagan will soon be home to Canada’s first undergraduate degree dedicated exclusively to sustainability.

The Bachelor of Sustainability (BSust) is a four-year direct-entry program dedicated to inspiring students to address complex environmental challenges by integrating knowledge from different academic subjects, with hands-on and community-based learning.

The program combines a broad, interdisciplinary approach, with focused concentrations that develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of students who want to become good citizens of the Earth.

“This is the type of learning opportunity that prepares students to become the innovators and leaders needed to meet the environmental challenges that we face now, and in the future,” says the program’s inaugural director and associate professor of earth sciences Dr. Kevin Hanna.

“Heat waves, record-breaking wildfire seasons, drought—these are major threats to life as we know it, and though a lot of people define sustainability in ways that seem clear, obvious and needed, it can be tough to put sustainability into action. The BSust is about building the skills to go from hopeful to operational.”

Students will choose from one of four concentrations: environmental analytics, environmental conservation and management, environmental humanities or green chemistry.

Program graduates will be well-positioned to seek employment in numerous sectors including natural resources management, environmental impact assessment, project management and education, or to continue their studies in a graduate-level program.

Dr. Lesley Cormack, deputy vice-chancellor and principal of UBC Okanagan, is proud UBCO is leading the way in sustainability education.

“UBC has a long track record of innovative practices and programs, and I’m thrilled that we’re adding to this record by establishing the BSust program,” says Dr. Cormack.

“The creation of this program is a bold step towards realizing UBC’s vision of inspiring people, ideas and actions for a better world and fulfilling its commitment to advance sustainability across teaching, learning and research.”

The program also aligns with UBC’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

All students are required to take an Indigenous Studies course that introduces concepts of Indigenous knowledge, which will contribute to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

The new credential will strengthen UBC Okanagan’s leadership in sustainability and promote a greener future for British Columbia and the planet.

“Sustainability education enlarges our understanding of the world we inhabit and seeks solutions to put us on a path towards a cleaner, brighter future,” says Anne Kang, BC’s Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training.

“Training students with the necessary tools to actively contribute towards initiatives like our CleanBC plan creates opportunities to reduce pollution and protect our climate for future generations.”

The new program will accept its first intake of students in September 2022.

For more information about the BSust, visit: sustainability.ok.ubc.ca

picture of UBCO faculty member Michael V. Smith

Michael V. Smith’s Soundtrack: a queer oral history project airs every Tuesday evening starting September 7.

What: Soundtrack: a queer oral history project and open mic writing prompt
Who: UBCO’s Michael V. Smith with guests Ivan Coyote, Zoe Whittall, Suzette Mayr, Brianna Ferguson, Hasan Namir and Nicola Harwood
When: Every Tuesday until November 9
Where: Live via Zoom

With funding from the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office, UBC Okanagan Creative Writing Associate Professor Michael V. Smith has created, Soundtrack: a queer oral history project and open mic writing prompt.

Soundtrack, with an inaugural airing September 7, is a weekly live broadcast hosted by Smith. He will use albums as a spark to ignite a conversation between queer artists about “where were you when.” It’s effectively a queer oral history project, with music as a mnemonic touchstone, he explains.

“Do you remember hearing Thriller for the first time? What about Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual? Purple Rain? Beastie Boys’ breakout Licensed to Ill?” asks Smith. “Or Madonna. Any album, you name it, what was going on in your life then?”

Every week over Zoom, Smith and a special guest will each share a story or a poem about their respective memories for what was going on in their lives when they first heard the featured weekly album. Together they will unpack the positionality of those memories. Each episode features two queer moments from two different geographies and backgrounds, but in the same timeline and with the same cultural prompt.

This is also a community project to help writers generate material, Smith explains. Viewers can participate by sharing their own short story or poem inspired by the album, in an open mic style format.

Each episode will be an hour long, the first 20 minutes with Smith and that week’s guest, and 40 minutes for viewer participation. Viewers can share their memories of that album, asking questions such as: Maybe you’ve heard it for the first time this week? Write about that experience. Where were you then, or where are you now?

The open mic session will not be recorded — it’s an open, free-exchange, community-building space, hosted by UBCO Master of Fine Arts student Shimshon Obadia. The weekly album to be featured is announced at the end of each episode, so viewers will have a week to prepare.

This week, Canadian performer Ivan Coyote joined Smith. The pair shared stories of seeing Boy George on television for the first time, and how Culture Club changed the social landscape around them. Tuesday’s podcast can be heard at youtu.be/OotDPlToeFA.

Soundtrack will continue to be broadcast live on Zoom each Tuesday until November 9. Confirmed guests include Zoe Whittall, Suzette Mayr, Brianna Ferguson, Hasan Namir and Nicola Harwood. The broadcasts start at 5 pm PST.

To register for the series, visit: ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Aqf-2srzkvG9LWQE8c3Iez2SeaDH0NSAyX

All archived podcasts can be viewed at: youtube.com/c/michaelvsmith71

This project is supported by the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office, and promoted by the Inspired Word Café and UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.

Image for "Soundtrack: a queer oral history project and open mic writing prompt"

Students and faculty pose in front of new mural in downtown Kelowna

UBCO arts instructor David Doody (back row, third from right) celebrates the near completion of the mural at 1358 St. Paul Street, downtown Kelowna.

Downtown Kelowna just got a bit more colourful.

Students from UBC Okanagan’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program are once again working to create a mural in downtown Kelowna. Last summer, 18 students enrolled in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies upper-level visual arts course to create a mural on the outside of the CTQ building on St. Paul Street.

This year, the project is taking place again, right around the corner from that location. 10 students are participating with Instructor David Doody and his partner, UBCO Teaching Assistant Jorden Doody, to create a new mural at 1358 St. Paul Street.

While working out at the YMCA, Jorden would see the wall and noted how dreary it looked. She searched out the building owners and called them to propose a way to liven the space up.

“Jorden explained how grim the view was from the community gym and how we could transform it from an empty grey vacancy into a colourful window of imagination,” David explains.

During the academic course — which started in early July and runs to mid-August — students are led through the necessary steps to plan, pitch and paint a public mural. Students gain experience with projectors, mechanical lifts and a variety of paint applications and techniques common to large-scale artwork.

Murals have been recently popping up all over Kelowna — painted by many artists including UBC Okanagan alumni. Mural art revitalizes an urban landscape while supporting and improving the cultural, social and economic vitality of the local community, David explains.

“By creating exciting and energetic works of public art, we are transforming our communities into dynamic open-air art galleries,” he adds.

With this mural, the students hope to build a strong connection to the importance and fragility of the region’s local ecosystems. A blue heron is the central character, and David describes the heron as an ancient and beautiful bird that survives and thrives only when there are healthy fish stocks.

“By including the iconic beauty of our picturesque valley as the mural’s backdrop we hope to remind viewers that we are all living in a natural work of art,” he says. “With this design, we hope to pay homage and respect to the land and those who came before us.”

The mural projects are also important partnerships for UBC Okanagan and the community, notes Creative Studies Department Head Denise Kenney.

She explains there are a number of partnerships underway including one with Sunbelt Rentals. The company has donated the use of the lifts and provided safety training for all students for the duration of the course, something that is valued at more than $15,000. Meanwhile, CTQ consultants Ltd. has contributed a cash donation to purchase equipment and paint. And Dulux Kelowna and Golden Artist Colors NYC are partnering to support paint costs. Kenny estimates the overall value of donations to the project is roughly $45k — contributions that benefit the entire community.

“We are always interested in building opportunities for public art projects. They are great learning and enriching experiences for our students under the mentorship of a faculty member,” Kenney adds.

After having the opportunity to sponsor the first-ever mural class in 2020, CTQ was inspired to keep the momentum moving forward by once again sponsoring the course this year. The entire CTQ team is enthusiastic about the location of this year’s mural as it is just down the street from the original one created last summer, says Matt Cameron, CTQ founding partner.

“At CTQ, we strive to instill and encourage our neighbours and fellow business people to carry on this legacy by supporting the UBCO Creative and Critical Studies faculty financially and continuing the flow of mural art throughout the downtown core and beyond,” Cameron adds.

The painting was completed at the end of classes on August 12 with a special event to celebrate the mural is planned for August 19.

David Doody is currently a lecturer in the Visual Arts program, and a BFA alumnus from 2008. Jorden Doody is also a BFA alumna from 2008, and recently completed her Master of Fine Arts at UBC Okanagan. Together they run Fresh West Official and coordinate the Uptown Mural Project in Rutland.

mural being painted in downtown Kelowna

This year’s mural is of a heron set in its natural landscape. Work began in early July with the outline sketched onto the building. It was completed this week.