Oxygen Art Centre - I Love Nelson

WINTER BREAK

Oxygen Art Centre will be closed for the winter holidays from December 23, 2023, to January 7, 2024.
We look forward to re-opening to the public on Wednesday, January 9, 2024 from 1 – 4PM with our current exhibition, “The Hungry Mist (A Névoa Faminta)” guest curated by Rodrigo D’Alcântara and featuring artists Bento Leite, Dyó Potyguara, Simon(e) Jakiriuma Paetau w/ guest artist Cecilia Vilca.

We wish you all a safe and cozy break

See you in 2024!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Oxygen Art Centre welcomes the newly elected 2023-24 Board of Directors!
Carol Wallace (Secretary), Marilyn Lee (Treasurer), Alison Talbot-Kelly, and Laurel Terlesky return for their second terms. Gabby Asbell returns in a voting capacity as the Youth Chair. Christine Wallace officially joins the board after serving in an interim capacity since February 2023, along with Vincent Karcher and Riya Garg who were voted in at the November 2023 Annual General Meeting.
Special thank you to Samonte Cruz for their time and expertise as they step down this year.
Oxygen is an artist-run centre governed by a volunteer Board of Directors primarily composed of practicing artists elected by the membership. The governance board fulfills key responsibilities of a non-profit board. In addition, the board develops and executes fundraising campaigns and undertakes projects that enhance the centre’s overall sustainability. Directors are elected for a term of two years and may be re-elected or reappointed two more times for a maximum of six years.
The 2023-24 Board of Directors are committed to their ongoing anti-oppression and decolonialization work with focus on developing organizational practices and protocols to enact radical care. We look forward to a year of collaboration and planning, and are grateful for their contribution to the artist-run centre.LEARN MOREEDUCATIONOxygen Art Centre’s Spring 2024 semester is now open for registration! Offered in two parts—February to April and May to June—reserve your spot to learn a new technique or advance an existing one, take part in life drawing sessions and critical discourse, get creative with our incredible professional artist instructors and fellow students across screen printing, digital photography, performance, drawing, and everything in between! Course offerings available both in-person and online.
To register, visit Oxygen’s website to access extended details and Google Form links for each course. Payment can be made via e-transfer, credit card, PayPal, and cheque. Contact Natasha Smith (Education Coordinator) via education@oxygenartcentre.org with any questions about the courses or how to apply.

Art Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing #1
Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc Kromberg
IN PERSON
6 Classes: February 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7, 14
Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pmTOTAL FEE: $72Registration Deadline: February 1, 2024REGISTER

Intro to Digital Photography (Part 1) with Louis Bockner
IN PERSON
2 Classes: February 10 & 11
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 2pmTOTAL FEE: $140Registration Deadline: February 2, 2024REGISTER

Beginner Painting: An Introduction to Colour (Part 1) with Catherine MacIntosh
IN PERSON
4 Classes: Feb. 13, 20, 27, Mar. 5
Tuesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pmTOTAL FEE: $230Registration Deadline: February 6, 2024REGISTER

Investigating the Art of Acting: Clown to Naturalism with Marya Folinsbee & Valerie Campbell
IN PERSON
1 Class: Feb. 25
Sunday: 10am – 5pmTOTAL FEE: $150Registration Deadline: February 16, 2024REGISTER

Painting from a Model #1 (No Instruction)
IN PERSON
1 Class: March 3
Sunday: 1 – 5 pmTOTAL FEE: $40Registration Deadline: February 23, 2024REGISTER

Sanctuary with fanny kearse
ONLINE
4 Classes: Feb 5, 12, 26, March 4 (no class Feb. 19)
Mondays: 6:30pm – 8:30pmTOTAL FEE: $105Registration Deadline: January 29, 2024REGISTER

What the F#$% Do They Want or How to Write Successful Exhibition Proposals
w/ Susan Andrews Grace and Maggie Shirley
ONLINE
3 Classes: Feb. 13, 20, 27
Tuesdays: 6:30 – 8:30pmTOTAL FEE: $120 / $190Registration Deadline: February 6, 2024REGISTER

ONLINE Figure Drawing (No Instruction)
By ZOOM
5 Classes: Apr. 3, 10, 17, 24 May 1
Wednesdays: 6 – 8 pmTOTAL FEE: $80Registration Deadline: March 27, 2024REGISTER

Balkan Choir with Bessie Wapp
IN PERSON
6 Classes: February 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7, 14
Thursdays: 7 – 9pmTOTAL FEE: $190Registration Deadline: February 1, 2024REGISTER

Figure Drawing #1 (no instruction)
IN PERSON
4 Classes: Feb. 12, 26, Mar. 4, 11 (no class Feb 19)
Mondays: 6:30 – 8:30pmTOTAL FEE: $48Registration Deadline: February 5, 2024REGISTER

Fine Art Screen Printing with Marcus Dénommé
IN PERSON
4 Classes: Feb. 14, 21, 28, Mar. 6
Wednesdays: 6 – 9pmTOTAL FEE: $265Registration Deadline: February 7, 2024REGISTER

Lino Printing in Colour – Reduction Technique with Myra Rasmussen
IN PERSON
1 Class: Mar. 2
Saturday: 10am – 4pm
TOTAL FEE: $125Registration Deadline: February 23, 2024REGISTER

Intro to Digital Photography (Part 2) with Louis Bockner
IN PERSON
2 Classes: March 9 & 10
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 2pmTOTAL FEE: $140Registration Deadline: March 1, 2024REGISTER

Leaning On / Leaning Against: An Introduction to Autotheory w/ Eimear Laffan
ONLINE
6 Classes: Feb 8, 15, 22, 29 March 7, 14
Thursdays: 6 – 8pmTOTAL FEE: $155Registration Deadline: February 1, 2024REGISTER

Dreaming into Poetry with Rose Nielsen
ONLINE
5 Classes: Feb. 14, 21, 28, Mar. 6, 13
Wednesdays 6:30pm – 8:30pm
TOTAL FEE: $130Registration Deadline: February 5, 2024REGISTEREXHIBITION

The Hungry Mist (A Névoa Faminta)
Curated by Rodrigo D’Alcântara
Artists: Bento Leite, Dyó Potyguara, Simon(e) Jakiriuma Paetau + Cecilia Vilca1 December 2023 – 3 February 2024
Hours of Operation: Wednesdays + Thursdays, 1:00 to 4:00 PM; Fridays + Saturdays, 1:00 to 5:00 PM
Admission is free.
Oxygen Art Centre presents the group exhibition, The Hungry Mist (A Névoa Faminta) guest curated by Rodrigo D’Alcântara (Brazil/Canada) featuring international artists Bento Leite (Brazil), Dyó Potyguara (Brazil), and Simon(e) Jakiriuma Paetau (Germany/Colombia), with a digital exhibition by Cecilia Vilca (Peru).
Guest curator Rodrigo D’Alcântara conceived of the exhibition as a response to the global pandemic alongside the very state of collapse and acute uncertainties of life caused by the current neo-colonial system. D’Alcântara’s curatorial practice focuses on Brazilian contemporary art and Latin American futurisms and continues this research as a doctoral candidate at Concordia University (Montréal, Canada).
The Hungry Mist (A Névoa Faminta) as a concept and exhibition title draws on spiritual implications of the pandemic. It directly alludes to an Indigenous Brazilian Guarani-Nhadeva cosmology that foresaw an invisible smoke arriving to take people’s lives. At once concerning the material and ephemeral, The Hungry Mist (A Névoa Faminta) looks to repetitions of systemic colonial violence on bodies, the land, and our communities to contend with the present towards alternative futurities.
Promotional materials feature design by Keiko Lee-Hem (Nelson, Canada). An exhibition catalogue including documentation, curatorial texts and art writing responding to the project will be available shortly following the exhibition close with text in both Portuguese and English, translated by Lara Bourdin (Montréal, Canada).This project is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, and the Regional District of Central Kootenay.LEARN MOREO2 EXHIBITION

Oxygen Art Centre announces the second exhibition in the window project entitled O2, featuring the Ink & Moon Collective now on view from4 December 2023 to 8 February 2024.
Located on the Stanley Avenue side of the Nelson Trading Company building (430 Baker Street) in downtown Nelson, B.C., O2 is a window-turned-gallery.
The exhibition features a retrospective of prints from their 2023 and previous calendars. Artists:Keiko Lee-Hem, Myra Rasmussen, Melissa Owen, Slava Doval, Carron Mulligan, Rayya Liebich, Gina Sanche, Katie Sawyer, Catherine McIntosh, Tammy Everts, Andrea Levin, Brandy Erin, Nikki Pelletier
Artist Statement: We are a group of women passionate about making art and social change. Since 2012, we have produced a calendar with original lino prints. Over the years we have shared skills, evolved, and ventured from black and white to the world of colour. Each year we choose a theme to interpret through carved and printed lino block. What started as a way to create connection and inspiration, has grown into an opportunity to raise funds for organizations that are close to our hearts. In this window exhibition we will display our past calendars as well as some of our favourite prints from past years. The theme for the 2024 calendar is Wild Hope and all proceeds from calendar sales will be donated to youth-led climate initiatives. Calendars can be purchased at Notably Books, Zinnia Textiles, or online. LEARN MORE

JOINSupport your artist-run centre by becoming an Oxygen Art Centre Member.

Oxygen Memberships run from $2 (Senior/Student) to $5 (Single) to $10 (Families) and significantly help our organization. Become a member today!

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITSEvents, Tours and Artist TalksVolunteer, Networking and Mentorship ExperienceRegular mailings and newslettersVoting Privileges at Oxygen Art Centre’s AGMAccess to current Exhibition Publications and CataloguesArtist-in-Residence and Exhibition ToursRegister ONLINE or by MAIL
Already a Member? Consider making a Donation.REGISTERImages (top to bottom): (1-15) OAC Education program promotional images, 2023; (16) Youth Art Retreat promotional graphic w/extension, 2023; (17) The Hungry Mist, Promotional graphic for the project, Design by Keiko Lee-Hem, 2023; (18) Documentation of the O2 window exhibition featuring work by the Ink & Moon Collective, December 2023; (19) “Become a Member” text overlaid on an image documenting an installation in progress at Oxygen Art Centre, 2015;