Eco-art installations, artist talk and soiree highlight celebration of nature
The public is invited to a free artist talk on the current state of environmentally concerned art by renowned eco art theorist and curator Beth Carruthers, on Thursday, June 7. The artist talk is at 7 p.m. at the Kelowna Art Gallery (1315 Water St., Kelowna).
Carruthers is in Kelowna to facilitate a four day-workshop titled Vivarium 1: Scar Sites, which brings together a dozen previously selected local artists to investigate the fragile skin and body of Knox Mountain Park through park walks, archival records, naturalists, recreational users, and indigenous knowledge keepers.
The workshop will conclude in a series of eco art proposals addressing human interaction and impact on the land of the Okanagan Valley.
"Through the art-making process our goal is to encourage dialogue amongst the various constituents and many voices," says Nancy Holmes, associate professor in creative studies in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. "Vivarium 1 has the potential to help people see the place they live more clearly and to participate in the creation of a vision of this place."
On Friday, June 8, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., there is a free public Stakeholders’ Soirée at the Rotary Centre for the Arts (421 Cawston Ave., Kelowna) that will bring together users of Knox Mountain Park with the artists who are participating in the four-day workshop.
Throughout the day on Sunday, June 10, Vivarium 1 is hosting a Knox Mountain Eco Art Event in various locations on Knox Mountain.
"Anyone interested is invited to visit us between 1 and 4 p.m. to see what the artists came up with for possible eco art interventions for this beloved local site," says Holmes.
For more information contact Holmes at 250-807-9369 or email nancy.holmes@ubc.ca . Vivarium 1 is sponsored by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC and the City of Kelowna. The artist talk is supported by the Kelowna Art Gallery.
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