The University of British Columbia Okanagan’s Department of Creative and Critical Studies and the Visual Arts Course Union is excited to present its 15th Annual Art on the Line Fundraiser and Gala on Saturday, February 25, 2017.  This popular event brings together the local arts community to celebrate the work of our students, faculty, alumni, as well as artists practicing in the community.

The committee is currently accepting donations in the form of two and three dimensional artworks. Each submission is auctioned off at the event through a randomly drawn raffle process whereby auction ticket holders have purchased full price tickets at $190.00. As the goal is to offer the best selection of artwork, the request is that donations be of suitable quality and equivalent to the auction ticket price.

Submission Guidelines:

• Donations must be received before Tuesday, January 31st, 2017 at 4:00 pm.
• All donations must be individually identified with a submission form attached to each work.
  • Submission forms can be found HERE
• All works must be ready to hang or display

Drop-off location:

• Creative and Critical Studies Building, UBCO campus 1148 Research Road in CCS 161 or CCS 167.

Drop-off times:

• Weekdays between 9am-4pm, unless otherwise arranged with Art on the Line Coordinator Pamela Turner: aotl2017@gmail.com (please note campus is closed from December 24-Jan 2)

Proceeds from the event support visual arts student exhibitions and activities, and will make charitable donations to Bumbershoot Children’s Theater and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.

Opening reception, Young 2016 on Nov. 4 at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art

What: Young 2016, exhibition featuring students from UBCO
Where: Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art, 421 Cawston Ave
When: November 4 to 12, 2016

Victoria Moore, Addison Oberg & Shayla Ritchie

Exploring themes of memory, nostalgia, and adolescence, visitors can expect to see painting, sculpture and photography in this exhibition curated by fellow UBCO students Shayla Ritchie, Victoria Moore and Addison Oberg.

Three years ago, in a Salmon Arm coffee shop, Young was born as idea between two UBCO freshman. Their goal was to merge UBCO’s visual arts program with the growing Kelowna arts community. In 2015, Young was held at the French Cultural Centre where artwork covered the building floor to ceiling. It was astounding to see so many youthful emerging artists take part in such a hugely successful event. The show was well received and gave a taste of the talent that UBCO had to offer.

Young 2016 follows the success of the original event, curated by one of its original instigators along with her peers. This exhibit has evolved past its predecessor into a professional gallery setting with juried submissions. The students of UBCO brought forth a fantastic roster of artwork exploring themes of youth, nostalgia, and innocence.

Young 2016 focuses on youth as concept, free from the constraints of time and age. In the future, the concept of youth presented in this show can only expand and grow, as the artists understand new perceptions of nostalgia and adolescence as they themselves age. Viewers can expect to see new perspectives and valuable expressions of what youth means in the next generation of Young exhibitions.

Images of the artwork and the opening reception can be viewed on the FCCS Art Blog.

BIMPE IX in the FINA Gallery, Nov. 6 to 18, 2016

The Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition (BIMPE) is back at the FINA Gallery on the University of British Colubmia’s Okanaga campus.

Peter Braune of New Leaf Editions and Debra Yelva from Dundatave Print Workshop in Vancouver conceived the idea of an international printmaking exhibition for miniature work in the year 2000.

BIMPE catalogue cover

Since 2006, BIMPE has been organized by The Society for Contemporary Works on Paper (SCWOP) a not-for-profit Society dedicated to advancing the appreciation and awareness of various forms of art on paper and to fostering the exchange of ideas and techniques among artists working on paper. BIMPE, held every two years in Vancouver, is a showcase for small scale works measuring no more than 15cm × 10cm, and is open to images made using all printmaking techniques from traditional line etching to contemporary digital processes. From the hundreds of entries submitted by printmakers from across the world, the show is selected by a jury panel of three accomplished printmakers or print professionals who view each submission in the original.

BIMPE IX jurors were Ryan O’Malley, Tom Wood, and Davis Thauberger. They reviewed worked submitted by 296 artists from 47 countries and pared the exhibition down to approximately 350 miniature works.

This is the third time the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies has hosted BIMPE in the FINA Gallery. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 until 4:00 and the exhibition runs from November 6th to November 18, 2016.

Virtually all of the works are for sale – if you are interested in purchasing any work please consult with Briar Craig (Briar.Craig@ubc.ca or 250 807-9765).

Come and see for yourself!

BFA student, Dylan Raney in his studio

What: Portfolio Day at UBC Okanagan
When: Saturday, November 26th, 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Where: Creative and Critical Studies building, 1148 Research Road, UBC’s Okanagan Campus

Portfolio Day is an opportunity for prospective applicants to the Visual Arts BFA program at UBC Okanagan to receive advice on assembling their entrance portfolio and (or) obtain pre-approval for the portfolio requirement as part of their application to Visual Arts BFA program at UBC Okanagan.

UBC Okanagan’s Portfolio day is also a chance to talk to faculty and staff, meet and talk with current students and faculty about program choices, explore our campus and facilities, learn more about the application process and have all of your questions answered.

Prospective applicants are asked to bring 15 – 20 artworks or images, and (or) up to 3 short videos which illustrate your best work while showing the range of media you have explored. Please bring your original artwork whenever possible, including finished pieces, work in progress, and sketchbooks. You may also present your portfolio digitally on your laptop.

Starting in January, Visual Arts will also host a series of free workshops for prospective applicants of any age. Creative Day workshops are a chance to find out more about our BFA program and facilities through fun, hands on projects:

Screen printing with Briar Craig
Sat. January 21st, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Digital Animation with Myron Campbell
Sat. Feb 25th, 12:00 – 3:00 pm

Frame Animation and Green Screen with Joanne Gervais
Sat. March 25th , 12:00 – 3:00 pm

How to Talk About Art – An Exhibition Tour of 4th Year Show with Andreas Rutkauskas
Sat. April 22nd, 4:00-6:00 pm

Interactive Digital Media (Art Bots) with Miles Thorogood
Sat. May 20th, 12:00 – 3:00 pm

Life Drawing (Draped Model) with Katherine Pickering
Sat. June 24th, 12:00 – 3:00 pm

Sculpture Workshop with Philip Wyness
Sat. July 22nd , 12:00 – 3:00 pm

(detail) 山水 Mountain Water, 36″ x 60″, oil on canvas, 2016

What: Rick Leong, Artist in residence
Where: Studio 111 (RCA, downtown Kelowna)
When: November 7 to 12, 2016

For one week Rick Leong will inhabit Studio 111, during which time the public is invited to visit, discuss and explore ideas relating to Rick’s work and the development of a future exhibition to be held in Victoria, BC that explore the influence of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s Asian Art collection across Rick’s practice. As a working space, Studio 111 facilitates a concentrated period of time for Rick and curator Toby Lawrence to collaborate on and experiment with ideas in a public forum. This open studio/residency model introduces Rick’s praxis to Kelowna and enables the curatorial process to be dialogical–extending exhibition development as, and beyond, a conversation between artists and curator.

As visitors of this territory, we honour and acknowledge the traditional lands of the Syilx peoples on which the activities of Experimental Production of an Idea take place.

Rick Leong is a Victoria-based artist of third generation Chinese Canadian and European ancestry. Drawn from observation and influenced by historical Chinese art forms, Rick’s work investigates the interconnectedness of the land and is rooted in a bilingual vocabulary and style. Rick obtained his MFA from Concordia University (Montreal, 2007), and his thesis work was acquired by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In 2008, he was a finalist in the Royal Bank of Canada’s Painting Competition, touring to the National Gallery of Canada, the Power Plant (Toronto) and the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver). In addition to having participated in many group exhibitions at various Canadian and international spaces, Rick has exhibited solo at Two Rivers Gallery (Prince George), Anna Leonowens Gallery (Halifax), the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the McClure Gallery (Montreal).

Toby Lawrence is a curator, writer and researcher of mixed Canadian European ancestry based between Kelowna and Gabriola Island, on the traditional lands of the Syilx and Snuneymuxw peoples. Her curatorial work draws from feminist pedagogies and explores collective methods and models founded in dialogue. Recent exhibitions include the multi-site, collaborative performance and video installation Speaking Outside (2016); In Another Place, And Here (2015), co-curated with Michelle Jacques, exploring geographic relationships through international photo-based practices; Carlos Colín’s Definciones (Definitions) (2015); Dana Claxton’s Indian Candy (2014); and Conversations with Lucie Rie (2014). Toby has held curatorial and programming positions with the Vancouver Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Nanaimo Art Gallery and the University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries. She obtained a MA in Art History & Theory from UBC in Vancouver and is currently working toward a PhD in the Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan.

What: Who are the Caretakers in your Parks?
When: Sunday, Oct. 23, 1-4 pm
Where: Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, 969 Raymer Road

Join a community-led conversation! The Community-Based Environmental Art class at UBCO invites you to come for conversation and tea and, if you like, to make some fabulous art on Sunday, October 23.

Drop in any time between 1 and 4 PM to the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, 969 Raymer Road, Kelowna. We will celebrate the social and cultural values of people in parks with a family-friendly, enjoyable event led by three local artists: MFA student Tania Willard, from the Secwepemc First Nation, has worked with the Vancouver Parks board, has just won this year’s Vancouver Book Prize, and is one of five curators for the ground-breaking nationwide “art in the national parks” initiative, LandMarks2017; Chelsea Robinson is a BFA student who gathers community around food and conversation to further cultural exchange; Asia Jong is an art history student who won an FCCS research award last summer to explore cultural heritage in her community.

Join these students and artists, make some park-focussed art with them, and talk to people in the community and neighbourhood about parks and cultural and social stewardship. If you remember, bring a tea cup and help us save a paper cup!

Contact Nancy Holmes at nancy.holmes@ubc.ca for more information.

What: echo + seashell – Artist talk and performance
When: Monday, Oct. 17 from 1 – 2 PM
Where: CCS 144, UBC Okanagan Campus

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies is please to welcome echo + seashell for an artist talk and performance as part of Neil Cadger’s Theatre 482 class on Monday, October 17th, 1:00pm.

echo + seashell was founded in 2011 by artists Henna Hyvärinen (Finland) and Susan Kooi (Netherlands) when they met at an art-student residency in Germany. Performing in venues ranging from concert halls to art spaces, the duo is interested in how they can fit into the existing locales they come to occupy through their creative practice. Utilizing film screening paired with live performance, echo + seashell seek to create site-specific experiences for viewers around the world and have performed at various locations across Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany.

On their first Canadian tour echo + seashell are producing new songs, texts and videos as they travel throughout Western Canada, culminating with a performance at the M:ST Festival in Calgary on October 21.

Henna Hyavärinen received her MFA from the University of Arts Helsinki, Finland. She is member/curator of artist-run gallery, Sorbus, in Helsinki.
Susan Kooi received her BA in Fine Arts from Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Kooi is a member of Samet Yilmaz artist collective in Rotterdam.