Light Up Kelowna is initiative in collaboration with FCCS and the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan (ARTSCO), with the support of the City of Kelowna. Light Up Kelowna is produced by Kirsteen McCulloch, ARTSCO Executive Director, with support from generous funding from Canada Healthy Communities, the United Way Recovery Fund and the BC Arts Council.
This vibrant installation illuminates the Cultural District, showcasing local artists and engaging the community in a celebration of creativity and connection. The exhibition consists of three elements viewed together – light projections along the Artwalk, an audio installation, and a three-channel video projected on the side of the Kelowna Community Theatre (KCT). Light Up Kelowna is a community project that showcases the work of emerging and established artists from the university and the local community.
Celebrating the Return: Gobo lights and sound installation This ArtWalk exhibition created by Tara highlights the cultural and ecological significance of restoring Sockeye Salmon and the cultural imperative of restoring Okanagan habitats, riparian systems, and biodiversity.
When the Salmon Return was create by Cadence Myroniuk, a fourth-year Media Studies student who creates nature-based works using the gaming engine Unity. Her work focuses on digitally recreating aquatic ecosystems native to British Columbia, offering an alternative way to engage with species and environments that are otherwise difficult to access. Motivated by the limited opportunities to encounter aquatic life in the Okanagan, she seeks to create opportunities for learning, appreciation, and connection to local ecological processes through digital media.
Shellsong was created by media artist Kailee Fawcett in celebration of the Country Music Awards arriving in Kelowna, channeling the Okanagan’s unique character into a meeting of music, nature, and imagination.
Vanishing Point, created by Alison Beaumont, Joanne Gervais and Shauna Oddleifson, references the effect we have on our environment, and how the way we interact with nature can have consequences.
This installation along the Artwalk uses imagery taken from the Vanishing Point animation to create these Gobo light projections and sound installation.
Okanagan Waterways is an immersive video installation, created by Drs. Aleksandra Dulic and Miles Thorogood, shows the beauty and sensitivity of various ecosystems throughout the Okanagan region, depicting the spawning salmon, flora and fauna in the area.
Dr. Miles Thorogood and his team at SPIRAL have designed a cutting-edge wireless sound and light system that brings the Artwalk to life. The infrastructure for the projections on the urban screen @KCT were created with oversight and design by Dr. Aleksandra Dulic and Dr. Yujie Gao. Kirsteen McCulloch’s leadership and vision have been instrumental in bringing this initiative to life, fostering a collaborative environment that highlights the intersection of art, technology, and community.
The initial Light up Kelowna project was an annual event of digital installations that were projected onto the outside of the Rotary Centre for the Arts that showcase images and sounds created by FCCS faculty and students. Projections were shown on the exterior of the Rotary Centre for the Arts from November to April, 2020 to 2023.
Autolume Acedia was show for the month of February, 2022. It is a hallucinatory meditation on the ancient emotion called acedia. Acedia describes a mixture of contemplative apathy, nervous nostalgia, and paralyzed angst.
Celestial Bodies is a multicultural creation of animated media that tell ancient astrological stories, exploring the belief systems that make up Canadian and Indigenous society’s diverse fabric. Learn more…
The work of BFA and MFA alumnus Jacen Dennis was featured as part of Pride Week in November 2021. This animated artwork explores ideas of belongingness: in nature, in community, in one’s own body, spanning from a time early in his transition to the current day.
DAHU graduate student Kaytlyn Barkved showcased her work, Neuroqueer Imaging as part of Light Up Kelowna in March 2021. Learn More…
MFA student Sam Neal showcased his work, Inland Waters as part of Light Up Kelowna in March 2021. Learn more…