Public Art Collection Database
UBC Okanagan’s Public Art Collection contains over 800 paintings, graphic prints, drawings, sculptures, video, installations and outdoor artworks.
Outdoor Art Collection
Since the formation of the UBC Okanagan Campus in 2005, works of outdoor art have been collected and displayed on campus as part of the university’s Public Art Collection.
Featured Works from the Collection
Chief Henry Speck (1908 – 1971), Thunderbird. Print 44cm x 59cm, circa 60s
This new addition of 16 new artworks to its Public Art Collection features works by seven Indigenous artists from multiple West Coast nations. Spanning over half a century of artistic practice, the collection includes silkscreen prints and carvings that reflect the evolving art histories of contemporary Indigenous artists. The donation comes from Milton McClaren, a respected environmental educator, and his late wife, Della McClaren. As dedicated collectors, they sought to strengthen the representation of Indigenous art within the public collection and contribute to ongoing dialogue and capacity-building for Indigenous art initiatives at UBC Okanagan.
Acknowledgements
The Public Art Collection is located on the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, which is situated on traditional, ancestral and unceded Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory.
The Public Art Collection gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of our generous donors who have helped us build this important collection.
Submissions
The collection strategy of the Public Art Collection is to preserve, display and research contemporary and historical artworks. Our collection is diverse, and contains both international and local artworks, from emerging and established artists.
Acquisitions to the collection are recommended by the Director and voted on and approved by the Public Art Advisory Committee. New purchases and commissions prioritize Indigenous contemporary art. Donations are accepted in a broader range of areas including Canadian and International artworks and are subject to approval by the Curator and Public Art Advisory Council.
Public Art Advisory Committee
Jeanette Armstrong | Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies
Roger Bizzotto | Associate Director of Facilities Management
Hussein Keshani | Associate Professor, Art History and Visual Culture
Margaret Macintyre Latta | Director, Okanagan School of Education
Lorna McParland | Artistic and Administrative Director , Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art
Katherine Pickering | Lecturer, Visual Arts
Adam Schubel | Communications and Government Relations Officer, UBC Okanagan
Philip Wyness | Technical Director, Creative Studies