Bee Central: UBC’s “Culture Days” Activity

What: Mason Bee Homes, free family community art event
Who: Eco Artist Lori Mairs
When: Saturday, September 26, 11 am – 3 pm
Where: Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage Park, Kelowna

UBC will have a presence in Kelowna at this year’s national Culture Days celebrations with the community art project, Bee Central. Artist Lori Mairs will be leading a series of fun, family projects to create homes for mason bees for people’s backyards this upcoming spring. Mason Bee Homes is the fourth community art event sponsored by Bee Central and it takes place Saturday, September 26 from 11 am to 3 pm. Admission is free and people can drop in at any time.

Lori Mairs

Mairs will help participants make their own home and children will be invited to create bee finger puppets. She will also display a mason bee tube sculpture to show mason bee development and the community can participate in creating a pollinator hotel to be installed on the site of a pollinator pasture next spring. Bee Central is a Community Art Project sponsored by UBC Okanagan and the City of Kelowna and takes place at the historic Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage Park at the corner of Dilworth Rd and Leckie Place. This event is being held in conjunction with the Central Okanagan Heritage Society who will provide information about the Grist Mill and Culture Days in Kelowna.

Lori Mairs is an ecological artist-researcher who lives in a companion-species relationship with the 22 acres that is the Woodhaven Nature Conservancy. Mairs is a sculptor, writer, and photographer, and she has an MFA degree in Visual Arts from UBC Okanagan.

Bee Central is part of a larger plan to introduce and stimulate a ‘buzz’ about bees and the Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage Park, particularly to attract a diverse community to help with the planting, building and maintaining of a Public Art Pollinator Pasture in Kelowna, explains UBC Assoc. Prof. Nancy Holmes. Bee Central is made possible by a Community Public Art Grant from the City of Kelowna and UBC’s Eco Art Incubator.

Culture Days is a national celebration organized by “a non-profit organization dedicated to building a national network of cultural connections devoted to providing Canadians with opportunities to participate in, and appreciate, all forms of arts and culture. Through an annual three-day national celebration each September, hundreds of thousands of artists and cultural organizations in hundreds of cities and towns come together and invite Canadians to participate in free interactive and ‘behind the scenes’ activities to discover their cultural spirit and passion.” culturedays.ca/en/about-culture-days.

For more information about UBC Okanagan Eco Art Incubator projects or to become a volunteer, please contact Holmes at nancy.holmes@ubc.ca, 250-764-9666. More information can be found at: blogs.ubc.ca/theecoartincubator/ .

Draw by Night is back!

What: Kelowna’s only bi-monthly drawing party
When: Friday, Sept. 25,  7-9 p.m.
Where: Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, 103-421 Cawston Avenue

Now in it’s 2nd year, Draw By Night: Kelowna is a collaborative drawing party, free to the public, which asks its participants to collectively and freely draw in a social setting on large rolls of paper. The objective is to be surrounded by like-minded creative individuals, listen and converse visually through drawing or be inspired by others to produce something individually. This bi-monthly event, organized by Visual Arts professor, Myron Campbell has been happening for the last year and a half.

“I started this event to create a comfortable, pressure-free space to draw in an effort to remove inhibitions while drawing while also mixing faculty, students, industry and the general public.” says Campbell. “So far we’ve had parties at the Kelowna Art Gallery, the Alternator Centre and the Kelowna Museums. The response has been pretty great. We were featured on Global TV last year and we have an upcoming event during Culture Days at the end of the month.”

The aim is to engage creative people from various disciplines throughout the community including students, industry professionals, visual artists, hobbyists and the general public and get them all drawing!

Inspired by the work by Ann Nicholson, the next theme celebrates our own inner warriors. The voices in our heads that guide us through good and bad times. As part of Kelowna’s Culture Days, DBNers will get together and create character Artist Trading Cards to share and trade.

This event is free + open to the public! Come armed with your favourite drawing utensil or just bring your bad self and you can use our stuff. We will provide materials and food for your inspiration. Come draw with us!

Stay up to date on DBN events on our facebook page.

Brandon Taylor

Brandon Taylor graduated with a BA in English. He was drawn to UBCO’s FCCS after spending two years at Okanagan College:  “I really ended up in Kelowna as part of happenstance. I had a career in retail management for almost five years before finally deciding to return to academia. When inquiring about night school classes for business, I found that Okanagan College was offering university transfer courses that were applicable across British Columbia. By that September, I was on the path to a Bachelor’s Degree in English.”

Once at UBC, Brandon made use of the resources available to him, which included a number of campus jobs. “UBCO has been incredibly helpful in allowing me to immerse myself in an academic life. While at UBCO, I was lucky enough to work as a Writing Consultant at the Writing and Research Centre, as a Peer Notetaker for the Disability Resource Centre, as a Research Assistant over the summer on a special television research project, and finally as a Research Assistant with the wonderful Nancy Holmes to write these alumni articles.”

Beyond work experience, Brandon also greatly enjoyed the interactions he had with various faculty, staff, and students. “My experience at UBCO has been dotted with personal experiences that I have come to value and treasure. The most important element I have gained in my time here has been working closely with one of the most impressive Faculties I could possibly imagine. I learned about American fiction from Dr. Paul Milton. I learned about television and film studies from Dr. Daniel Keyes. I learned about critical theory from Dr. George Grinnell. I learned about Canadian fiction from Dr. Lisa Grekul. I learned about medieval fiction from Dr. Michael Treschow. These professors are only a fraction of the amazing people peppered throughout the FCCS, which includes the administrative offices where our unsung heroes keep the department running smoothly.”

Brandon will be attending the University of Victoria as a Master’s fellow in September 2015. He noted that “UBCO’s FCCS helped me understand the requirements necessary to go further into academic studies. I will be researching the later works of John Milton. Dr. Margaret Reeves taught a specific course on Milton that I found deeply inspiring and, from that point on, I could not think of doing anything else for my Master’s Degree. Her enthusiasm and intellectual rigor taught me how to really approach academic expectations, which has greatly benefitted me on almost every conceivable level.”

In closing, he stated: “As I have stressed throughout the interview, the crux of my experience at UBCO’s FCCS has hinged on the time I spent with my professors and student colleagues. UBCO’s intimate size means that many professors make themselves available to interact with students. All of my greatest experiences have come from embracing the larger community, which includes both students and professors. There is always room to get involved and immerse yourself in the university experience. UBCO is an amazing place and it is well worth the effort to continue pushing forward, striving for better, and enriching your academic experience.”

Lindsay Naito

Lindsay Naito graduated with both a B.A. and M.A. in English. In an interview, she mentioned that she was initially drawn to UBCO because she “grew up in Kelowna, and I liked the idea of staying in the Okanagan for university. I come from a family of business majors and had a lot of friends in business school, so, when it was time to choose what I was going to study, I definitely felt a bit of pressure to choose something ‘practical.’ However, I’ve always loved literature, and I’m so glad that I chose the English program at UBCO. While I may not have used my literary knowledge every day since I graduated, my experiences at UBCO definitely laid the groundwork for some fantastic adventures as well as my current career.”

Her experiences on campus were so rewarding that, “when it came to applying for grad school, I applied to a few different universities. However, I had a really great experience in the undergraduate program, so, despite being accepted to other universities in the province, I decided to stay at UBCO. The English MA was a brand new program at the time, and it was really exciting to be a part of its development.” During her Master’s Degree, Lindsay took an active role in the program and Faculty and helped organize the first annual graduate conference at UBCO. “We had some really motivated people leading our team, and UBCO provided us with all of the resources necessary to put on a two-day, interdisciplinary event. We ended up receiving paper submissions from students across Canada and the US, and the whole thing was a huge success.”

Once Lindsay had graduated, she was lucky enough to teach English in rural Japan as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET)  for four years, and said “it was the very best thing that I have ever done. I really can’t emphasize that enough.” She added, “I was also very lucky that, as a UBCO graduate student, I was able to take first year Japanese courses as I was going through the application process. Furthermore, my research at UBCO focused on issues of cultural identity in Asian-Canadian literature, I think it made me a good fit for JET. During my four years in Japan, I found that, as a JET participant, I was much more of a cultural ambassador than an English teacher, and this is definitely something that the selection committee keeps in mind during the application process.”

Continuing her adventure after her time with JET, Lindsay “left Japan and moved to Hong Kong for a year. In Hong Kong, I taught English to adults at a private language centre.” Lindsay is currently teaching courses in ESL, academic writing, and literature at Dorset College in Vancouver BC.

In closing, Lindsay remarked: “I would really encourage anyone with a passion for literature to consider the English program at UBCO. I was able to take interesting and diverse courses, the faculty was incredibly engaging and supportive, and many of my fellow English majors became lifelong friends.”

This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.

Julie Fowler

Julie Fowler graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. Julie had completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History at Concordia University  before attending UBCO. However, she wanted to use her previously developed skills to work on a more unique project within FCCS: “This time I wanted freedom from essay structure. I wanted to write stories. In the fall of 2006, I moved to Penticton with my husband Paul Crawford, Director/Curator of the Penticton Art Gallery, and got excited about the new Masters level programs at UBCO, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of the program. I love doing research into art and artists, but I wanted to do it in a more storytelling fashion. UBCO embraced my idea to write a work of creative nonfiction for my thesis.”

Book cover: The Grade Dames of the Cariboo

Julie’s unique approach to her project would also lead to some very interesting results. “I think I was the longest running Master’s student at UBCO with my studies running from January 2007 to June 2013 when I finally graduated. Part of my challenge was working full time for Island Mountain Arts in the tiny Cariboo town of Wells, BC, while trying to complete my thesis work. My project was, however, somewhat integrated into the work that I was doing in Wells as I was researching the story of a family of artists in the Cariboo, who back in the 1940s had initiated the Cariboo Art Society and inspired many people in the region to embrace the arts. It was extremely rewarding for me to uncover and bring to light this little know history of art in the Cariboo. It gave me context for the work that I was doing to nurture artistic growth in the Cariboo. I was ecstatic to be contacted by Caitlin Press just a month before I was set to graduate, to publish my thesis. So now my thesis project is available to the public as a book called The Grande Dames of the Cariboo.”

Julie also made use of the resources available to her at UBCO, but “the greatest gift was the support I received from supervisor, Anne Fleming, as well as my committee. I was very lucky to work with and gain feedback from such a talented bunch of writers and artists.” These experiences helped Julie realize some of her professional goals. “My experience at UBCO gave me the tools and knowledge to move forward in my professional practice. I know that I would have never gotten my book published (or even written) if I hadn’t had the support of the Creative Writing Program. It certainly introduced me to wider circle of artists and thinkers, which strengthens my abilities as Artistic Director for Island Mountain Arts.”

In closing, Julie stated: “This program helped me accomplish my goals as a writer and artist. I feel extremely lucky to have found my way to FCCS at UBC. The faculty are truly spectacular; they allowed my creativity to flow and helped guide my process in a very productive way. It was not easy to go back to school after being away from academia for almost ten years, but it turned out to be a very worthwhile experience. I met great people, had access to great facilities, gained experience as a teaching assistant and a research assistant and managed to write a book that got published.”

This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.

What: Beat Salad: an annual poetry and music night
When: Friday, July 10, 6pm
Where: Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, 969 Raymer road

The second annual Beat Salad event, will be held on Friday July 10, 6pm at Woodhaven. This event is an artistic smorgasbord of poetry, prose, live music and a 100-mile potluck, where attendees will bring dishes made from Okanagan ingredients.

“Beat Salad is the perfect mix of cultural event and natural splendor, held at one of Kelowna’s more exciting arts venues,” said Clayton McCann, host of last year’s show. Beat Salad is an annual poetry/musical night hosted by UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Critical and Creative Studies in partnership with the Regional District of the Okanagan.

Join writers W. Mark Giles, Michael V. Smith, Laisha Rosnau, Joan Crate, Matt Rader and others, along with artistic director Lucas Glenn for an evening of original works and Beat performances, live music by Rhoneil, with wine and cheese and all things delicious.

This event will be held at Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, 969 Raymer Rd. Kelowna, V1W 2A3. Don’t want to make the drive? Take the Beat Salad shuttle from downtown Kelowna starting at 5:30pm, running every hour until 9:30pm.

Come and celebrate the beauty and power of Beat literature as a new generation of Canada’s top writers perform the works they love best by some of the Beat’s greatest. This is a night for lovers of great writing, music, wine and cheese.

See beatsaldevent.wordpress for more information or check out Woodhaven’s public Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/Woodshedreadings.