Current Exhibition
q̓ayisxn—Off the Rocks
Exhibition dates: January 9 to 22, FINA Gallery
Opening reception and artis talk: Jan. 10, 4 p.m.
q̓ayisxn—Off the Rocks curated by UBC Okanagan Gallery Curator, Dr. Stacey Koosel along wtih Curatorial Assistant Ryan Trafananko, features the work of emerging Sylix artist Taylor Baptiste. Baptiste’s work combines the traditional practice of pictograph making with contemporary sculpture to bring the cultural teachings of her ancestors “off the rock” and into three-dimensional space.
Exhibition Archive
Honky Tonk Chapel
Exhibition dates: May 10 to August 22, 2024, FINA Gallery
Opening reception: June 5, 2024, 5-7 p.m.
This exhibition featured the work of noted artist Kevin McKenzie. Kevin McKenzie was featured as a keynote speaker at the 2024 Indigenous Art Intensive, and was also the UBC Okanagan Gallery’s 2024 exhibiting Artist in Residence.
Hummingbird Spirits: Strength and Resilience
February 29 to April 22, 2024, RCA
Based on the Hummingbird Spirits printmaking initiative originated by UBC Okanagan Gallery Director and Assistant Professor in Visual Arts Tania Willard, Hummingbird Spirits: Strength and Resilience explores a vast catalog of linocut prints all featuring a hummingbird motif. Each original linocut print was produced during the previous two year annual run of the ongoing Hummingbird Spirits project.
Second Nature
December 15, 2023 to January 24, 2024
Second Nature features a selection of works from Okanagan based artists Csetkwe Fortier (Syilx/Secwépemc) and David Doody in addition to works from UBC Okanagan’s Public Art Collection by Jordan Bennett (Mi’kmaw), Judy Gouin and Judith Schwarz. Curated by Ryan Trafananko and Tania Willard, UBC Okanagan Gallery’s newly appointed director, Second Nature explores how the complex visual patterns of the natural world are referenced in contemporary art and cultural identities.
Invisible Forces
June 7 to Aug. 24, 2023, FINA Gallery
Invisible Forces features the work of Krystle Silverfox and Tiffany Shaw, the UBC Okanagan Gallery’s 2023 Artists in Residence in collaboration with the Indigenous Art Intensive.
Invisible Forces guide us through our lives, through ethereal worlds, symbolism, dimensions and the passages of time. The unseen is often more powerful than the seen, the unknown holds more power than the known when we activate our senses. These Invisible forces can help us navigate this earthly, corporeal existence of strained relationships between bodies and lands.
You are on Syilx Territory
June 7 to Sept. 27, 2023, CCS
You are on Syilx Territory features recent acquisitions from UBC Okanagan’s Public Art Collection by Sheldon Louis, Coralee Miller, David Wilson and Manuel Axel Strain. This exhibition is presented as part of the Indigenous Art Intensive, organized by the UBC Okanagan Gallery, and curated by Dr. Stacey Koosel.
Do I Know You? Alumni Exhibition
Sept. 19 to 29, 2022, FINA Gallery
Do I Know You?, an exhibition in the FINA Gallery featured fine arts alumni from the Public Art Collection at UBC Okanagan. This exhibition is hosted by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) in collaboration with UBC Okanagan Gallery, and alumni UBC as part of Homecoming 2022 at UBC Okanagan.
puti kʷu alaʔ by Manuel Axel Strain
June 3 to 10, 2022, FINA Gallery
Manuel Axel Strain was the UBC Okanagan Gallery’s 2022 Artist in Residence in collaboration with the Indigenous Art Intensive and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art. As part of the residency Strain exhibited new artworks in the FINA Gallery and the Alternator, hosted an artist talk as part of the Indigenous Art Intensive, and gave a public performance.
Ramble On, Works from the UBC Okanagan Public Art Collection
Jan. 13 to Mar. 9, 2022, Vernon Public Art Gallery
Ramble On is a group exhibition of artworks from UBC Okanagan Gallery’s Public Art Collection, a rambling tour, which introduces some of our newest acquisitions including works by Judith Schwarz, Sheldon Louis, Tania Willard and Neil Cadger. The exhibition at Vernon Public Art Gallery presents a variety of artistic mediums – sculptures, paintings, prints and video artworks by a diverse roster of artists – alumni, faculty, local, Indigenous, international, figurative, abstract, emerging and established.
Lossy: How to Save File for Future Transmission, Whess Harman
June 11 to Sept. 10, 2021, FINA Gallery
Whess Harman was the Artist in Residence for the UBC Okanagan Art Gallery from May 28 to June 12, and during this time created the work for the exhibition Lossy: How to Save File for Future Transmission. Whess Harman’s Potlatch Punk series showcases their multidisciplinary practice including beading, illustration, text and poetry using denim and motorcycle jackets as mediums of communication. Their ongoing Potlatch Punk series explores broader themes of homage, memory, identity and more specifically celebrates Indigenous identity, resistance, visibility, and interrogations of wealth.