Register today for Oxygen’s Spring 2023 Semester! We are thrilled to share an exciting offering of classes ranging from drawing and painting to acting and screen printing, and more!
Oxygen’s education program is designed to inspire, promote, and support creativity for our regional and expanded communities.
Scroll down the newsletter to learn more about each class or visit our website.
22 February 2023 @ 6:00 PM PST (Zoom) Joshua Whitehead Kaitlyn Purcell + Peyton Ernst (Selkirk College Creative Writing student)Register via EventBrite to attend Joshua Whitehead is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies (Treaty 7).
In the last few years, following the publication of his debut novel Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead has emerged as one of the most exciting and important new voices on Turtle Island.
Joining Whitehead is artist, poet, storyteller, and scholar, Kaitlyn Purcell who is a proud member of Smith’s Landing First Nation, and the Writing Revolution in Place creative research collective. She is a PhD student at the University of Calgary studying Indigenous Literatures, Creative Writing, and Community-Based Learning.
Purcell’s debut book, ʔbédayine (2019, Metatron Press) follows narrator, Ronnie, who learns what it is to be a young Indigenous woman, almost-alone in the city; unable to hear herself over its noise, see through the glare of its lights to find the ground beneath her feet. Winner of the 2018 Metatron Prize for Rising Authors and nominated for a 2020 Indigenous Voices Award, Purcell’s writing is a poetic force to reckon with the complexities of an Indigenous female narrator.Everyone welcome to attend. Admission is free. This event is generously supported by the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Oxygen Art Centre announces their Board of Directors for 2023!
We are delighted that Anita Levesque (Chair), Carol Wallace (Secretary), Samonte Cruz (Director), and Gabby Asbell (Youth Chair) are returning for another term! Alison Talbot-Kelly and Chelsea Freyta have been working with the board in an interim capacity since 2022, and we welcome them officially this year, along with new members, Marilyn Lee, who is stepping into the Treasurer position, Suzanne Simoni, and Laurel Terlesky.
As artists and volunteers, Oxygen’s Board of Directors are excited to work together on youth outreach initiatives, our accessibility action plan, non-hierarchical organizational structures, and developing new ways to support arts and culture in our community.
Oxygen Art Centre’s Author Reading Series begins its 2023 season on Wednesday February 22nd at 6:00 PM PST on Zoom featuring Joshua Whitehead and Kaitlyn Purcell.
Joshua Whitehead is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies (Treaty 7).
In the last few years, following the publication of his debut novel Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead has emerged as one of the most exciting and important new voices on Turtle Island.
In his first non-fiction work, Whitehead explores Indigeneity, queerness, and the relationships between body, language, and land through a variety of genres (essay, memoir, notes, confession). Making Love with the Land (2022, Knopf Canada) is a startling, heart wrenching look at what it means to live as a queer Indigenous person “in the rupture” between identities.
Whitehead’s Jonny Appleseed won Canada Reads 2021, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction and the Canada First Novel Award and won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for gay fiction, in addition to having been optioned for a four-part digital miniseries.
Joining Whitehead is artist, poet, storyteller, and scholar, Kaitlyn Purcell who is a proud member of Smith’s Landing First Nation, and the Writing Revolution in Place creative research collective. She is a PhD student at the University of Calgary studying Indigenous Literatures, Creative Writing, and Community-Based Learning.
Purcell’s debut book, ʔbédayine (2019, Metatron Press) follows narrator, Ronnie, who learns what it is to be a young Indigenous woman, almost-alone in the city; unable to hear herself over its noise, see through the glare of its lights to find the ground beneath her feet. Winner of the 2018 Metatron Prize for Rising Authors and nominated for a 2020 Indigenous Voices Award, Purcell’s writing is a poetic force to reckon with the complexities of an Indigenous female narrator.
In talking about the book, Purcell shares that “ʔbédayine is a series of stories inspired by my adolescent years in Edmonton. ʔbédayine is about sexual sovereignty. It’s about Indigenous ways of knowing, the importance of community, and the effects of intergenerational trauma. I’ve always loved my mother’s hometown Fort Smith, but, like most small communities, it seems like a difficult place for queerness to exist” (2018, Metatron Press).
Copies of Whitehead’s and Purcell’s books will be available at Nelson’s Otter Books or can be ordered online in advance of the reading. Those interested in attending the event can register via Eventbrite through the link on Oxygen’s website and social media accounts.
Join us on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 @ 6:00 PM PST on Zoom to participate in the first instalment of the Author Reading Series featuring Joshua Whitehead and Kaitlyn Purcell. Admission is free or by donation. Register via EventBrite to attend.
This event is generously supported by this Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance. ABOUT THE AUTHORSJoshua Whitehead (he/him) is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies (Treaty 7).
He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer (Talonbooks 2017) which was shortlisted for the inaugural Indigenous Voices Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. He is also the author of Jonny Appleseed(Arsenal Pulp Press 2018) which was long listed for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and Canada Reads 2021.
Whitehead’s latest book Making Love with the Land was published in 2022 with Knopf Canada, exploring the intersections of Indigeneity, queerness, and, most prominently, mental health through a nêhiyaw lens. The book was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Award for Nonfiction.
You can also find his work published widely in such venues as Prairie Fire, CV2, EVENT, Arc Poetry Magazine, The Fiddlehead, Grain, CNQ, Write, and Red Rising Magazine.
Kaitlyn Purcell (she/her) is Denesuline-Irish and an urban member of Smith’s Landing First Nation. Kaitlyn is a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary whose creative research meditates on mommy issues and intergenerational healing. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a doctoral SSHRC award and the Metatron Prize for her debut poetic novella ʔbédayine. Her writing can be found on Artspeak, Esker Foundation, and YYZ Artist Outlet.REGISTERMOREEDUCATIONRegister today for Oxygen’s Spring 2023 Semester! We are thrilled to share an exciting line up of classes ranging from drawing and painting to acting and screen printing and more! Spaces are limited + going quickly! Register via www.oxygenartcentre.org
*Please note a few updates to the semester and schedule as of 11 January 2023.Sculptural Lantern Making w/ Myra RasmussenIN PERSON 1 Class: Feb. 4 Saturday 9:30am – 3:30pm (1hr lunch)Explore a lantern making technique that combines wire, string and paper, which instructor Myra Rasmussen learned from artist Chiba Sakuryu at the Aomori Nebuta Lantern festival. Participants will make a wire frame, cover it with paper, and paint with ink, wax, and dye. Lanterns will be lit with battery powered LEDs. Myra will demonstrate how to make a wearable headpiece resembling a frog. Students can follow her example, or make their own shape. Following the class, we encourage all participants to bring their lanterns to the Polka Dot Dragon Lantern Festival, held at Lakeside Park on the evening of Feb. 11th, 5 – 7pm.All Materials provided by The Polka Dot Dragon Arts SocietyTOTAL FEE: $75Moth Catchers w/ Jim HolyoakONLINE 5 Classes: Feb. 6 – Mar. 6 Mondays: 8 – 10pmMoth Catchers is a nighttime sketchbooking club. As a relaxed, exploratory practice, drawing can be an effective form of mindfulness. Via Zoom, and with a webcam above his hands for demonstration, artist Jim Holyoak will lead participants through weekly sketchbook exercises, including: warmups, air/water drawing, speed/pressure/cadence, drawing two-handed and with the non-dominant hand, blind self-portraits by touch, automatism, asemic writing (handwriting without semantic content), synesthetic drawing (drawing from sound, touch, etc.), modes of hatching, modes of contour drawing, drawing from video/film, drawings as gift exchange, negative-space creatures, hybrid drawings (such as animal/machine and house/mountain), scale (microcosm/macrocosm), drawing from memory, and approaches to drawing cartoons and comics. These exercises will be punctuated with discussion, creative writing exercises, and presentations about nighttime as subject matter, including Nocturnes, Lullabies, and ecologies of silence and darkness. Material Fee: Material ListCourse Fee: $120TOTAL FEE: $120REGISTERWriting What We Love w/ Susan Andrews GraceONLINE 5 Classes: Feb. 8 – Mar. 8 Wednesdays: 1:30 – 3:30pmThis workshop will prompt students to bring poems that they love and admire to then develop skills and techniques to develop your own craft. Together we will investigate theory and poetic form. Through this course students will develop skills to move beyond self-consciousness in composition and come to see poetry with fresh eyes. The formal response to your study will be in your own writing. TOTAL FEE: $120Fantastical Futures: Drawing from the Imagination w/ Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON 4 Classes: Feb. 8, 22, Mar. 1, 8 (no class Feb.15) Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pmThis four week playful, process-based drawing course will focus on drawing from our imaginations to create a variety of hybrid creatures. Numerous prompt-like exercises from photographs, dreams, text, sound, and a model will aid in the development of an imaginative world in your drawings. Students will engage in collaborative drawing exercises to encourage a non-rational mind. Each class will highlight the work of a contemporary artist whose work exemplifies the ideas and processes presented. Some attention will be given to drawing materials and techniques such as line quality, proportion, scale, tonal range, and texture development, as well as the use of graphite, ink, chalk, and pencil crayon.Material Fee: $25 + Material ListCourse Fee: $180TOTAL FEE: $205REGISTERBeginner Drawing w/ Catherine McIntoshIN PERSON 6 Classes: Feb. 24 – Apr. 21 (no class Apr.7) Fridays: 5:30 – 8:30pmThrough a mixture of experimental exercises and longer observational drawings, this course will cover the basics of drawing to build awareness of line, volume, and form. Whether you are doing this for pleasure or wanting to develop your drawing technique, this is a great foundational course that is broadly applicable to a range of creative processes. Material Fee: $25 + Material ListCourse Fee: $260TOTAL FEE: $285Solo Performance Development w/ Bessie WappIN PERSON 8 Classes: Feb. 16 – Apr. 20 (no classes Mar. 16 & 23) Thursdays: 7 – 9pmIs there a particular story you’re burning to tell? An entire show already written in your head? Or maybe just a few words scrawled on a scrap of paper? Whatever the starting place, through writing exercises, improvisation, and supportive peer feedback we will move everyone’s projects forward, and share what we get up to with invited guests in the last class. Material List: Notebook pen/pencilTOTAL FEE: $230REGISTERPainting from a Model #1 (no instruction)IN PERSON 1 Class: Feb. 19 Sunday: 1-5pmParticipants will have the opportunity to work from a model holding a single pose for an extended session (3.5 hours). No instruction is offered. Participants will be asked to bring their own materials in their preferred medium.TOTAL FEE: $35Investigating the Actor’s Process w/ Valerie CampbellIN PERSON 1 Class: Feb. 18 Saturday: 10am – 4pm (1/2hr lunch)This workshop will offer an immersive day of exploration and investigation to open the doors to actor’s work.The course will increase spontaneity, playfulness, and freedom with the intention to move out of comfort zones towards an expanded, fuller expression of your creative self.Suitable for both aspiring actors and those interested in the creative process.TOTAL FEE: $90REGISTERA Brush with Colour w/ Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON 2 Classes: Feb. 25 & 26 Sat. & Sun.: 10am – 4pmThis two-day painting course focuses on a specific approach to painting–the exploration of colour! The study of colour mixing followed by its application through hands-on painting exercises will be the central working process of the course. It is perfect for students who have some painting experience and wish to expand both their understanding of colour mixing and their application of paint. Some of the ideas covered will include: colour as value or tone, warm /cool colour contrasts, complimentary colour palette, and how to create movement and depth in a painting. The class will include demonstrations on colour mixing, paint application, and underpainting techniques. References from artists throughout history will be utilized to illustrate the ideas presented. Ongoing feedback and sharing work will be part of the class.Material Fee: $25Course Fee: $145TOTAL FEE: $170Magic of Memory w/ Rayya LiebichONLINE 4 Classes: May 23 – June 15 Tuesdays: 6:30 – 8:30pmWe often recall memories in fragments. By accessing our scattered memories and borrowing from the container of non-linear structures we can record our life stories in authentic and innovative ways. Each week we will take a deep dive into a different literary form (prose poetry, flash non-fiction, epistolary writing, and the hermit crab essay) to enter our material sideways and find new shapes to unpack our experiences. Each class will include a study of the craft, guided writing prompts, and readings by authors who push the boundaries of hybrid creative non-fiction (CNF) forms. If you are working on a difficult memoir or looking for new ways to tell your familiar stories, this series will give you a chance to play, experiment, and come back to the magic of memory and the importance of meaning-making. TOTAL FEE: $95REGISTERPainting from a Model #2 (no instruction)IN PERSON 1 Class: Mar.12 Sunday: 1-5pmParticipants will have the opportunity to work from a model holding a single pose for an extended session (3.5 hours). No instruction is offered. Participants will be asked to bring their own materials in their preferred medium.TOTAL FEE: $35Figure Drawing #2 (no instruction)IN PERSON 4 Classes: Mar. 26, April 2, 17 & 23 Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm
*UPDATE*Drawing sessions will provide the opportunity to draw from a model with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes. No instruction is offered. Participants are expected to provide the drawing materials of their choice.TOTAL FEE: $60REGISTERArt Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergONLINE 4 Classes: Mar. 27, Apr. 24, May 8 & 15 Mondays: 5-6:30pm
*UPDATE*Artists of all disciplines (professional or not) are invited to share their work in a safe space and engage in contemporary art dialogue with other open-minded art loving individuals. Themes will be proposed as a potential starting point for exchanges and artistic practices to grow collectively. The objective for this workshop is for artists to make, share, discuss, and learn together.TOTAL FEE: $40Low-tech Printmaking w/ Natasha SmithIN PERSON 4 Classes: Mar. 28 – Apr. 18 Tuesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pmExplore the basics of low-tech printmaking to investigate processes that can be done without the use of a printmaking press. Simple plate-making and image transfer methods will be demonstrated and students will learn a variety of printmaking techniques including monoprinting and collagraphy. This is a very fun, process-based course and is appropriate for artists of all levels.Material Fee: $20 + Material ListCourse Fee: $170TOTAL FEE: $190REGISTERIntro to Screen Printing w/ Marcus DénomméIN PERSON 4 Classes: Mar. 29 – Apr. 19 Wednesdays: 6-9pmIntro to screen printing is an open and welcoming course to all folks regardless of creative and artistic experience. It will take place over four sessions and cover every step involved in the screen printing process. Each member of the class will leave with a limited edition run of their artwork printed on a variety of substrates and a thorough understanding of how to silkscreen.Material Fee: $60Course Fee: $170TOTAL FEE: $230Intro to Bolex Camera, Film Processing + Cameraless Animation w/ Brian LyeIN PERSON 2 Classes: Apr. 1 & 2 Sat. 10am – 4pm & Sun. 10am – 3pmIn this two-day, hands-on workshop participants will be introduced to the Bolex film camera and how to process black and white 16mm film using a non-toxic, homemade film developer consisting of instant coffee, washing soda, and vitamin C powder.
Oxygen Art Centre has launched their education program for the whole of 2023 including a range of course formats for all levels. Oxygen’s education program is designed to inspire, promote, and support creativity for our regional and expanded communities.
The education program is continually developing and expanding with new artist instructors joining the faculty each semester. Oxygen’s faculty teach what they know and what they are passionate about, and this is translated into their course design by sharing their practices with students.
“Oxygen’s classes are not just about learning an artistic or writing technique, they are an opportunity to delve into a creative process and develop your personal creative voice in an intimate, nurturing, and supportive environment” says Natasha Smith, Oxygen’s Education Coordinator.
To register and learn more about the semesters, classes, and instructors, visit Oxygen’s website. Registration takes place through Google Forms on a first-come first-serve basis. Class sizes are small, ranging from seven to twelve students in each.
Not sure where to start? Contact Oxygen’s Education Coordinator, Natasha Smith at education@oxygenartcentre.org or 250-551-6329 with any questions.
Join the magic that is learning a new skill and exploring creative processes this year at Oxygen Art Centre.
Oxygen Art Centre acknowledges with gratitude that we are located on the tum xula7xw/ traditional territory of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx/the Sinixt People. As uninvited guests we honour their ongoing presence on this land. We recognize that the Sinixt Arrow Lakes, Sylix, Ktuxana, and Yaqan Nukij Lower Kootenay Band peoples are also connected with this land, as are Métis and many diverse Indigenous persons.
Oxygen Art Centre is excited to launch their education program for the whole of 2023.
The program features 36 different courses in a myriad of disciplines including writing, film, singing, acting, printmaking, painting, and drawing. Oxygen’s unique programming and incredible local artist instructors provide a rich experience to learn creatively together.
The spring semester is broken into two four-week sessions that span spring break, and the fall semester runs for 8 weeks straight starting mid-September. There are a variety of different course formats from one-day intensives to multi-week with both online and in-person options.
“There is so much to look forward to at Oxygen in 2023! Come to Oxygen to be inspired and creative all year long” says Education Coordinator, Natasha Smith. She hopes the year-long format and extra classes will help people plan for all their arts education explorations through the year.
Oxygen is also adding some affordable community-based programming to their semesters.
Starting in February, Oxygen will be partnering with the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society to offer lantern-making workshops prior to their festival in February. Following this is a new opportunity: Art Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharingthat invites artists of all disciplines (professional or not) to share their work in a safe space and engage in contemporary art dialogue with other open-minded art loving individuals.
Learn the fundamentals of drawing, build your painting skills, try out lino, silkscreen, and low-tech printmaking, bind some books, learn 16mm low-tech film processing, develop your solo performance, be an actor, recall memories, start dreaming, and write what you love!
To register and learn more about the semesters, classes, and instructors, click here. Registration takes place through Google Forms on a first-come first-serve basis. Class sizes are small, ranging from seven to twelve students in each.
Join the magic that is learning a new skill and exploring creative processes this year at Oxygen Art Centre. Learn more about the Spring semester on our website.
Oxygen is thrilled to announce our call for submissions for our exhibition and residency programs. We are excited to welcome proposals from artists of any discipline that engage our mandate in experimental and challenging ways.
As of 2022, we no longer seek submissions for specific projects or exhibitions. Instead, we are interested in receiving applications that present your practice, interests, and research questions. This could include a summary of current concerns, methodologies, mediums, and research interests that you are working with or are interested in exploring further. While we do not expect that you apply with a resolved project in mind, you are welcome to propose solo, group, curated, or major exhibition projects and screenings, workshops, performances, and collaborations.
The shift in our submission model seeks to build some flexibility in how artists and Oxygen may approach programming together, and allow for more reflexive engagements with the space. This work is inspired by the curatorial and programming approach that Oxygen is already cultivating as well as models from different ARCs around the country.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals expressing interest in an exhibition, a residency, or both. Oxygen’s Submission Guidelines are structured to offer an introduction to you and your practice; you are not expected to have a resolved project at the time of application. We are interested in hearing about your approaches, ideas, and methodologies with which you might approach collaboration with us.
We encourage you to take a moment to consider Oxygen’s history, our past exhibitions and our current accessibility initiatives as you prepare your submission. Click here to visit our website.
Click here for full submission guidelines including what to send us, a floor plan of the gallery and a breakdown of the compensation that OAC provides professional (CARFAC) exhibition and artist presentation fees are paid for all programming.
We are now accepting applications via Google Form. We suggest familiarizing yourself with the form in advance of submitting your application. Deadline: December 3, 2022 Questions? Please contact the gallery with any questions about the exhibitions and residency program, the application process, or preparing your submission.
We look forward to hearing from you!Images (top to bottom): (1) OAC Call for Submissions promotional image by Megan Quigley, 2022; (2) “Become a Member” text overlaid on an image documenting an installation in progress at Oxygen Art Centre, 2015;
Oxygen Art Centre info@oxygenartcentre.org #3- 320 Vernon St. (alley entrance) Nelson, B.C. V1L 4E4 Canada 250-352-6322
Hours of Operation: Wednesdays – Saturdays, 1:00 – 5:00pm (during exhibition run) Admission by donation
Oxygen Art Centre acknowledges with gratitude that we are located on the tum xula7xw/ traditional territory of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx/the Sinixt People. As uninvited guests we honour their ongoing presence on this land. We recognize that the Sinixt Arrow Lakes, Sylix, Ktuxana, and Yaqan Nukij Lower Kootenay Band peoples are also connected with this land, as are Métis and many diverse Indigenous persons.
We are grateful for the financial support we receive from Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming, Province of BC, Government of Canada, Vancouver Foundation, Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, Columbia Basin Trust, United Way, Osprey Community Foundation, Nelson Lions Club, and Nelson and District Credit Union.
We offer thanks to Elephant Mountain Literary Festival and other key partners including Hall Printing, Speedpro Signs, and Selkirk College for their support.
We especially thank all of our volunteers, donors, and members.
Oxygen Art Centre is committed to ensuring all exhibitions, programs, and events are accessible to visitors. Our facilities are wheelchair accessible and equipped with an all-genders washroom. Please contact Oxygen if you have any questions or concerns about your visit.
OXYGEN TO HOST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ON NOVEMBER 21, 2022
Oxygen Art Centre invites the public to attend their Annual General Meeting on Monday, November 21, 2022, at 7:00 PM PST (Zoom).
Oxygen Art Centre was founded as the Nelson Fine Art Centre Society in 2002 by former writing and visual art faculty at the Kootenay School of the Arts. Oxygen spent its first two years establishing its educational focus and in January 2005, the Society opened the Oxygen Art Centre in downtown Nelson, BC.
The Annual General Meeting will provide an overview of the artist-run centre’s 2021-2022 year, including reports from staff and board, as well as artistic “palette cleaners” contributed by the directors.
Please ensure your membership is up to date before the meeting to vote. Renew or become a member by visiting Oxygen’s website.
Register today for Oxygen’s Spring 2023 Semester! 
