March 10 – April 14, 2023
Opening event March 10 at 5:00 pm
East Gallery
ʔax̌ʷmn ̓ – Brush the Water: Contemporary Indigenous work by Shawn Brigman
Dr. Shawn Brigman, an enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and descendant of northern Plateau bands (snʕáyckst – sinixt,
qlispe – kalispel, and tk’emlúps te secwepemc – shuswap). Dr. Brigman presents ʔax̌ʷmn ̓ — Brush the Water: The Renaissance of Plateau Canoe Culture on the Upper Columbia River (2012-2023). Through his art, Dr. Brigman aims to explore and transform the way Indigenous and settler people read Plateau architectural space by celebrating the physical revival of ancestral Plateau art and architectural heritage. The centre piece of the exhibit is a bark sturgeon-nose canoe, which is a unique combination of a traditional form and sculptural interpretation. Accompanying the exhibit will be a monograph, as well as original photography by the artist.
West Gallery
Smoke: Ceramics by Sarah Lawless
Sarah Lawless, a ceramic artist based in Kalso, BC, and graduate of the Kootenay School of the Arts, will present a body of work entitled Smoked. As counterpoint to the prevalant unease experienced by many in modern society when thinking about smoke resulting from climate change-induced forest fires and its effect on human health, the artist explores ways in which smoke
has positive connotations, both traditionally and historically. Examples include using smoke for spiritual and ritualistic cleansing purposes, in incense burners, or as herbs and chemicals which are smoked to support relaxation & recreation—some of the ways in which smoke has been deliberately incorporated into many cultural practices.
April 20 – May 27, 2023
Opening event April 20 at 5:00 pm
East and West Galleries
Young Visions: Art by students and staff of SD 20
Young Visions is an important part of the Kootenay Gallery’s community outreach program. In celebration of a year-long endeavour, the students and teachers from School District 20 are provided with the opportunity to exhibit their visual interpretations of life and community in the Kootenays. In mounting this exhibition, the gallery staff introduces the participants to the professionalism that is involved in an artist’s career, and provides a site where the many talents of students and teachers alike can be presented to the community at large. Visitors to the Gallery will be astounded by the talent exhibited by these young artists, who range from 13 to 18 years in age.
June 2 – 9, 2023
Opening event Friday June 2
East and West Galleries
West Kootenay Camera Club Salon
Photos by members of the West Kootenay Camera Club
The annual Photo Salon, presented by the West Kootenay Camera Club, is part of the Kootenay Gallery’s ongoing community outreach program. This exhibition provides an opportunity for both professional and amateur photographers to present their recent photographic work in a professional gallery setting. Participation in this exhibit is determined through an adjudication process carried out by adjudicators from the National Association of Photographic Arts.
June 16 – August 19, 2023
Opening event June 16, 5:00 pm
East Gallery
nothing is indifferent: by Jane Kidd
This exhibition draws together a collection of hand-woven tapestries constructed over the last ten years. Jane Kidd employs colour, pattern and detail as an aesthetic cornerstone in her practice, using representational and symbolic imagery to encourage viewers to consider our complex and often destructive relationship with the natural environment. Nothing in the natural world is indifferent or immune to human activities. Kidd is interested in this intense relationship and is perplexed by the human desire to control our environment and assimilate nature into material culture.
West Gallery
Layers of Connection: by Theshini Naicker
Drawing on primitive wet felting techniques and a more contemporary use of a variety of plant and wool fibres, and inspired by nature and fuelled by imagination, Theshini Naicker’s body of work explores the concept of connection. Physical manipulation, use of wood veneers and the incorporation of various textile techniques such as stitching, knotting, and shibori—a Japanese manual resist dyeing technique—are used to connect the various layers. As such, Theshini’s work seeks to explore the complex matrix of connection which underlies all life on this planet. However tenuous those connections may seem, embracing diversity and connection helps heal fractures and allows us to recognise our common humanity.
August 25 – October 28, 2023
Opening event August 25, 5:00 pm
East Gallery
Avoiding Eternity with Elegance: by the Z’otz* Collective
Z’otz* Collective (Nahúm Flores, Erik Jerezano, Ilyana Martínez) are artists of Latin American heritage living in Toronto. The Collective was formed in 2004 out of a shared interest in collaborative art making. Their work has a playful spirit, quirky subjects and hybrid characters that connect to the storytelling traditions of their culture, background, and history. They produce drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures, and site–specific installations and use a system of rotation: they each work on a different piece at the same time and then they exchange them. Intuition and chance drive the process, as they respond to each other’s forms
and marks. They have subsequently integrated terracotta and stoneware sculptures into their
practice with the same intuitive process. Z’otz* Collective has had over 25 solo exhibitions and
over 40 group exhibitions across Canada, Mexico, USA, Serbia, and China. In 2018, the Musée des Beaux- Arts de Montréal commissioned them to create a series of ceramic sculptures for their permanent collection.
West Gallery
Growing Roots from Shared Dreams: by Rocio Graham
Rocio Graham is a Mexican-Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Sinixt and Syilx territory. Offering an intimate glimpse into the nuanced identities of Mexican migrant workers that work in the farms of Interior BC, Rocio shares her own experience of uprooting herself and re-negotiating her identity. Growing roots from shared dreams presents work that is deeply rooted in ritual ceremony, performance, and relationality. Developing a friendship with her
compatriots becomes an attempt to collectively recreate their sense of community and place. This exploration of the Mexican diaspora is a reclaiming of sorts; seeking a way to rewrite stories of migration using a new visual language—one that emerges from shared roots and shared dreams.
November 17 – December 24, 2023
Opening event November 17, 5:00 pm
East and West Gallery
Christmas at the Gallery
This very popular exhibit and sale is a celebration of local and regional artists, craftspeople and collectors. While providing artists with an opportunity to bring their work to the marketplace, this event attracts viewers and buyers from throughout the region. Christmas at the Gallery serves as an artists’ showcase and audience building event.