Art

Shipping container doors open to reveal unique Vernon art show

VERNON - The shiny steel doors of Vernon’s new pop-up art gallery open to the public today. The large metal shipping containers donated by BigSteelBox represent the first art gallery of its kind in the Okanagan. Designed to house a portion of the international Okanagan Print Triennial show, the satellite gallery at the corner of...

Vernon art project asks, Who are you?

VERNON - Queer, real, stereotyped. Victorious over victimization. Fragile and fighting back. These are some of the words and phrases you’ll find painted alphabetically on large boards as part of a project called Respect Lives Here, sponsored by the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan. Participants from the Vernon Women’s Transition House, Vernon District...

How the Vernon Art Gallery is solving space problems with steel boxes

VERNON - A unique attraction is taking shape downtown Vernon. Five massive container boxes arrived in the empty lot across from Cenotaph Park Monday morning. In two weeks time, the steel boxes will house a major international art show. “It’s fairly unique,” Vernon Public Art Gallery executive director Dauna Kennedy Grant says. “I myself haven’t...

VIDEO: Power of love shines in spoken word Valentine

KELOWNA – A Kelowna poet, filmmaker, cinematographer and beatboxer got together to make a Valentine for the city… and the world. Called “You Are Love” the short film finished production Friday, Feb. 13 and was posted to YouTube, director Chelsea McEvoy says in an email. “It is a film and spoken word combo about the...

Okanagan window painter bringing a little cheer to city streets

VERNON - Bernie DiDiT—the cartoonist behind window paintings all the way from Armstrong to Keremeos—likes to make people smile. The quirky 60-year-old loves bringing a little cheer to city storefronts during events like the Armstrong IPE, Vernon Winter Carnival and May long weekend in Keremeos. “When someone comes along and says wow, that’s cool—that pat...

$60K public art contract up for bid

KELOWNA – A new public art project worth $60,000 will soon be commissioned to honour and inspire women recovering from addictions. The artwork will be installed adjacent to a major public space planned for outside the Karis Supportive Housing Project that is expected to be completed next year. According to Urban planner Pat McCormick, the...

HELSTON: What a young Vernon artist showed us all this week

Marie-Anna Michaud didn’t start rinsing paint off a vandalized mural because she was disturbed by the obscenities scrawled there. She didn’t do it to right a wrong, and she didn’t do it out of anger for the perpetrators. No one asked or paid her to do it. Her act of kindness came as a surprise...

A famous Vernon mural was vandalized, then this happened

"IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE ACT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT TO DISCOVER HER CLEANING THE MURAL" VERNON - Without being asked or paid, a young artist took it upon herself to undo the damage a vandal did to one of Vernon’s heritage murals. Marie-Anna Michaud, 19, saw a post by muralist Michelle Loughery on Facebook Monday morning....

Iconic Vernon mural hit by vandals

VERNON - It’s an iconic mural many have stopped to gaze at over the past 15 years, but Monday, something else was turning heads. The mural, which depicts a locomotive traveling over a trestle bridge, was vandalized with a series of obscene words, printed at the bottom of this article with viewer discretion advised. Michelle...

Chronic water leaks plague Vernon art gallery

VERNON - Like shoveling snow and scraping down windshields, preparing for leaks has become a vexing winter tradition at the Vernon Public Art Gallery. A large snow storm Wednesday left the gallery with multiple leaks to deal with.  “It’s an ongoing issue with the building,” executive director Dauna Kennedy Grant says. “We have chronic leakage...

UBCO hosts WFN art forum Friday

KELOWNA – A public forum examining the impact Westbank First Nations art has had on the revitalized downtown is taking place at the Alternator Centre this Friday. The hour long forum, part of a monthly series called Alterknowledge that looks at social issues in the Okanagan, is organized by faculty at UBCO in partnership with the...

Latest WFN art honours veterans of all backgrounds

WEST KELOWNA – A new sculpture by renowned First Nation artist Smoker Marchand was unveiled in West Kelowna Tuesday. Marchand says the steel monument, which depicts three warriors in full battle dress, represents veterans of all backgrounds who have served in the military. “I wanted to show a strong Indian man. I wanted to show...

Bear repair to cost $40k

KELOWNA – A public art work in downtown Kelowna is undergoing repair work caused by residents and tourists who can’t seem to look without touching. Bear is a six metre sculpture next to Stuart Park on Water Street. According to building services manager Martin Johansen, stone pavers at the base have been broken repeatedly since...

Shane Koyczan has done it again, this time for the environment

PENTICTON - Spoken word poet Shane Koyczan leads us through another universe with his latest piece of work. The Okanagan native and The Short Story Long has released his latest speaking word poem, titled, “Shoulders,” that features a short video and Koyczan’s narration. His smooth, deep, fluid voice takes the listener on a journey and...

Will Vernon have to turn away exhibitors from its own international art show?

VERNON - An international art show—the likes of which has never been seen before in the Okanagan—is coming to Vernon, but organizers don’t know where they’re going to put it. The Okanagan Print Triennial was launched by the Vernon Public Art Gallery, the Kelowna Art Gallery and UBC Okanagan in Vernon in 2009 as a...

Search is on for missing art

VERNON – While organizers of the Riot on the Roof fundraiser for the Vernon Art Gallery aren’t using the word ‘stolen’ they do say some works of art from the event has been ‘moved.’ The art was created for the walls at the Vernon Parkade during the Aug. 23 event. “We are trying to find...

Get your fill of culture this weekend

KAMLOOPS - Arts, museums, photography, theatre and music are among the 15 free activities already planned for this weekend as part of the 5th anniversary of Culture Days in Kamloops. From free admission to hands-on workshops and ukuleles to hoop dancing, there will be many activities to help everyone create, celebrate and participate in the...

HELSTON: Tag, you’re it Vernon

Vernon has a pretty distinct flavour when it comes to street wall art, but a new trend is adding some diversity—wanted or unwanted—to the scene. If you didn’t know, the vast majority of the city’s downtown murals were designed and painted by one extremely talented, motivated and prolific artist. You have her to thank when...

Electronic music festival showcases female talent

KELOWNA – A two-day music and arts festival featuring an all-female lineup is coming back to Kelowna for the second year in a row. The Female Arts and Music Exhibition (FAME) is a collection of female promoters, DJ’s, artists, musicians, technicians and engineers who share a passion for electronic music and art. It takes place...

Young artist takes the paintbrush into her own hands

PENTICTON - There's photographs and paintings hanging from an industrial fence wrapped in lights that stands in a closed off parking lot next to a creek and people mingling with cans of beer in their hands while a three-year-old runs around their legs making people laugh. An old man with a glowing face and small...

IN PHOTOS: Street art of downtown Penticton

PENTICTON - There are a handful of ways to deal with the city's tagging problem, and city officials are looking into them and will hopefully have a decision sooner rather than later as to how the problem can be fixed. In the meantime, here are some photos from around downtown Penticton of murals, graffiti and...

PHOTOS: Tattoo festival back for second year

KELOWNA – The Okanagan’s only tattoo culture and arts show was back in Kelowna over the weekend for the second year in a row. The Okanagan Tattoo Show is becoming an annual event drawing thousands of fans of body modification and tattoo culture to Parkinson Recreation Centre over the weekend. Aside from having some of...

Young artist adds visual impact to city park

KAMLOOPS - A recent high school graduate is beautifying the city one concrete barrier or utility box at a time. Haley Hughes has volunteered her time and talent to help add colour and life to the more mundane objects at Riverside Park, the objects often targeted by graffiti tags. The 18-year-old just graduated this year...

Recycled art gets trashed

KAMLOOPS – An art exhibition at the Arnica Artist Run Centre in Kamloops can draw more attention to a specific art piece or an artist. If an attendee likes a piece enough, he or she can purchase it to hang in their home. It’s not every day an artist trashes an entire installation — but...