Category: Oxygen Art Centre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MEMOIRS BY WOMEN-IN-TRADES’ KATE BRAID AND THE WEST KOOTENAY’S VERA MALOFF FEATURED AT ZOOM AUTHOR READING FEB. 24 FOR NELSON, B.C.’s OXYGEN ART CENTRE
 

The authors of two new memoirs—one on the experience of a journeywoman carpenter, and the other on growing up in a Doukhobor activist family—will be featured at the third Zoom reading in the 2020-21 author reading series presented by Nelson, B.C.’s Oxygen Art Centre. Reading from and talking about their work on Wed., Feb. 24 will be Victoria, B.C.’s Kate Braid and Shoreacres, B.C.’s Vera Maloff.
The event begins at 7 p.m. Those interested in attending need to R.S.V.P. by emailing info@oxygenartcentre.org to receive the Zoom link and accompanying event information. The reading is free and everyone welcome to attend. Donations are encouraged: $2 – $5 via Oxygen’s CanadaHelps page.
Oxygen Art Centre, at 320 Vernon St. (alley entrance), is Nelson’s only artist-run centre. Oxygen programming in a variety of artistic disciplines supports local professional-level artists and engages the wider community.
Braid’s new memoir, Hammer & Nail: Notes of a Journeywoman, arises out of 15 years she worked in construction and as a contractor and trades instructor. The book is a collection of essays and stories that reflect on her career in a very male-dominated profession. Hammer & Nail is a follow-up to her 2012 memoir, Journeywoman; Swinging a Hammer in a Man’s World.
Braid, who also taught writing for Nanaimo’s Malaspina University-College, has published seven collections of poems as well, most recently Elemental from B.C.’s Caitlin Press in 2018. In 2015 she received the Vancouver Mayor’s Literary Arts Award for her contribution to the city’s cultural community.
Maloff’s memoir, Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life, deals with her grandparents’ and other Doubkhobor families’ activism on behalf of peace and justice during the past 100 years, as lived through and remembered by her mother.
Maloff was born in Nelson, and taught in the Kootenay Lake and Kootenay Columbia school districts for more than 30 years. She has remained active in Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ functions, and has taught after-school Russian classes. One chapter in Our Backs Warmed by the Sun won first prize in the non-fiction category of the Kootenay Literary Competition.  Other material in the memoir was published in Nelson’s literary magazine, The New Orphic Review.
Both Braid’s and Maloff’s memoirs appeared from Caitlin Press in 2020.
Forthcoming Zoom author readings in the 2020-21 series include UBC Okanagan author Matt Rader along with students from Selkirk College’s creative writing courses on March 24. Kicking off National Poetry Month on March 31 will be a previously postponed book launch by Winlaw, B.C. author Tom Wayman, including readings and music provided by Vernon, B.C. writer and musician John Lent.
Oxygen’s author reading series is supported in part by the B.C. Arts Council and the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, and is co-presented by Nelson’s Elephant Mountain Literary Festival.

 
Contact: Julia Prudhomme, Executive Director, Oxygen Art Centre: info@oxygenartcentre.org, 250-352-6322
 
CUTLINES: (L) Kate Braid; (R) Vera Maloff, Courtesy the Authors
 

 BRIAN LYE EXHIBITION OPENS AT OXYGEN ART CENTRE 20 FEBRUARY 2021

ABOVE ABOVE BELOW BELOW

Exhibition: 20 February – 20 March 2021

By appointment only

Oxygen Art Centre welcomed Brian Lye as Artist-in-Residence throughout December and January where he created works for the exhibition ABOVE ABOVE BELOW BELOW, on view from 20 February – 20 March 2021.

Lye is an internationally renowned filmmaker, artist, and educator who lives and works in Nelson, BC. His practice is focused in analogue film production, merging the everyday with formal experimentations in play, special effects, and psychogeography.

Lye’s current body of work begins with crystals. Having conducted research for an experimental documentary on crystalline minerals across scientific, mining, and healing fields, Lye investigates the human and natural relation to crystals through discussion-based research. Interviewing experts on crystals from the region forms the foundational material for Lye’s experiments in 16mm analogue film.

Fascinated by the semiprecious stones and their capacity for transmission, amplification, and new age applications, Lye draws upon his background in filmmaking and installation to create an immersive body of work on view in the exhibition, ABOVE ABOVE BELOW BELOW.

During his residency Lye experimented with traditional 16mm film titling techniques, growing crystals, developing film, and creating a series of projection installations. Updates from the residency were posted on Oxygen’s social media channels. The resultant works will be on view from 20 February – 20 March 2021 at the Centre Thursdays – Saturdays between 1:00 – 5:00 PM by appointment only. *Please contact us if you would prefer to book an online tour appointment*

Due to the ongoing pandemic Oxygen Art Centre will be welcoming individuals and groups (up to 6, same household) to visit the exhibition by creating an appointment, below. Visitors will be greeted by a projectionist who will assist in the presentation of the 16mm film installations. Appointments run up to 20 minutes each to allow for cleaning of the space before and afterwards. Visitors are required to comply with and review Oxygen’s COVID-19 prevention protocols prior to their appointment.

We are committed to reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our community and thank you in advance for your continued support. If you would like to plan ahead for your visit, make an appointment to view the exhibition, or learn more about our cleaning and prevention protocols, please click here and/or contact us.

ABOVE ABOVE BELOW BELOW opens on Saturday, February 20, 2021 and runs until Saturday, March 20, 2021, by appointment only. To make an appointment, visit Oxygen’s website or contact us at info@oxygenartcentre.ord for more information.

Artist Bio:

 

Brian Lye

https://www.brianlye.com/

 

Brian Lye is a filmmaker and visual artist from Vancouver, Canada, now based in Nelson. His lens-based works are preoccupied with magic, humour, and the everyday. He holds a BA in Film Studies and Japanese Studies from the University of Victoria, a Diploma in Screen Production from Sydney Film School, was a guest student at The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and recently completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in visual art from The University of British Columbia.  His films and animations have won awards and screened internationally at venues such as Sundance Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, The Contemporary Culture Centre of Barcelona, and LIVE! Vancouver’s performance art biennale. He has been an artist in residence with the Klondike Institute for Art and Culture and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.

 

Image Credit: Image courtesy Brian Lye, Residency documentation (Amethyst in hand as 3378 bucket processed negative. Tungsten + Daylight tests. In caffenol), 2021

OKANAGAN AUTHORS HANNAH CALDER AND MICHAEL V. SMITH READ VIRTUALLY JAN. 27 FOR NELSON, B.C.’s OXYGEN ART CENTRE
 

 
The focus is on writers from B.C.’s Okanagan Valley for the second Zoom reading event in the 2021 Author Reading Series presented by Nelson, B.C.’s Oxygen Art Centre. Reading from and talking about their work on Wed., Jan. 27 will be Vernon fiction writer and poet Hannah Calder, and Kelowna writer, performer, and filmmaker, Michael V. Smith.
The event begins at 7 p.m. Those interested in attending the event need to R.S.V.P. by emailing info@oxygenartcentre.org. Attendees will receive the Zoom link and accompanying event information once they R.S.V.P. The event is free and everyone welcome to attend. Donations are encouraged: $2 – $5 via Oxygen’s CanadaHelps page.
Calder has published two novels, most recently Piranesi’s Figures from New Star Books in 2016. She has also published poetry and short fiction in various literary journals. Born and raised in Great Britain, she now teaches English and writing for Okanagan College.
Smith’s books include Bad Ideas, a 2017 collection of poems from Nightwood Editions, and the memoir My Body is Yours, from Pulp Press in 2015. His films include the 2019 NFB short documentary, The Hook Up, about gay men from different generations. As a drag artist and clown he has presented at many cabarets and festivals, including the Vancouver Fringe Festival, the Vancouver Comedy Festival, and internationally in the Netherlands and Germany. He teaches in the Creative Studies Department of UBC’s Okanagan campus.
A short film featuring Calder and Smith, accompanied by a piece on addiction by the latter, is available on Oxygen’s website. Forthcoming author readings in the 2020-2021 series include memoirists Kate Braid from Victoria and Vera Maloff from the West Kootenay’s Shoreacres on Feb. 24, and UBC Okanagan author Matt Rader along with students from Selkirk College’s creative writing courses on March 24. Alongside the virtual events, the Author Reading Series presents W. Mark Giles’s Making Light: Pandemic Winter, a digital presentation of daily haiku poems available on Oxygen’s website and social media channels.
The Author Reading Series is supported in part by the B.C. Arts Council and the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, and is co-sponsored by Nelson’s Elephant Mountain Literary Festival.
 
 
Contact: Julia Prudhomme
Executive Director, Oxygen Art Centre
info@oxygenartcentre.org, 250-352-6322
CUTLINES: Hannah Calder (L), Michael V. Smith (R), Images Courtesy the Authors
CUTLINES (Below): Author Reading Series poster for January 2021 virtual event

Julia Prudhomme
Executive Director / oxygen art centre
info@oxygenartcentre.org
www.oxygenartcentre.org
#3 – 320 Vernon St. Alley Entrance.
Nelson, British Columbia
(1) 250-352-6322
 
Preview YouTube video The Hook Up
The Hook Up
 

Oxygen Adult Education 2021 Art Courses Begin in February
 

 
Oxygen Art Centre launches ten new courses scheduled for 2021 with a rich plethora of experiences waiting to be had! Dive into poetry, dabble in painting, cut and paste (old style) with collage, be consumed by colour theory, channel your inner fashion designer, or discover the diversity of sound-based inquiry.
“Oxygen feels incredibly fortunate to have such a skilled and creative faculty,” says Education Coordinator Natasha Smith. “Our Instructors have once again proposed a rich, unique collection of courses for 2021. They teach what they love, drawing on their unique experiences and research, I think that’s what makes Oxygen courses so special,” says Smith.
 
In February discover painting over a series of four sessions in Beginners Brush 1 and develop an eye for the sometimes subtle and always dynamic nature of colour in an Introduction to Colour Theory, both instructed by the talented Deborah Thompson before she heads to Alert Bay for an artist residency in March.
 
Natasha Smith is offering online collage and painting courses in 2021 including, Mapping Memory: Collaging a Personal History, where students will cut, paste and map personal memories and share personal experiences, histories, and stories visually, and Abstract Collage Painting, which explores how to use physical textures and build complex, intricate abstract designs on wooden panels.
 
Starting later in February learn the elements of fashion design and wearable art with designer, curator, and entrepreneur, Seathra Bell in Designing for Fashion and Wearable Art held over three classes online. In Sonic Imaginaries 2: Voice, Performance and Creative Composition interdisciplinary artist, prOphecy sun will uncover the diverse ways sound is implemented as a creative expression in contemporary art practices, installations, soundwalks, public art, theatre, live performance and musical production.
 
April is Poetry Month and Oxygen is celebrating! Instructor Rayya Liebich will help demystify reading and writing poetry. “Delight in language play, have fun creating poems collaboratively, and most importantly discover that poetry is a gift for everyone,” says Rayya, who is offering three different writing classes online, which include: Be Not Afeard: A Poetry Workshop for Beginners; Tapping the Poetic Unconscious; and, April Poetry Challenge: 30 Days, 30 Poems!  In addition to Leibich’s classes, Reading and Writing Rilke with Susan Andrews Grace will employ a close reading of Rainer Marie Rilke’s poetry as inception for the participants’ own composition. The exploration of sound, rhythm, image, and mystery/soul in Rilke will take place over four online classes.
 
During these difficult COVID times we are all missing spending time with our friends and family, so take an online course together! Oxygen is now offering a 10% discount for bringing a friend to any of our art classes. Or, if you prefer, you could give the gift of creativity with the new Oxygen Education Gift Certificates, available for purchase online.
 
For more information and to register: www.oxygenartcentre.org,  education@oxygenartcentre.org.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Share the Gift of Creativity this Season! Oxygen Adult Education 2021 Semester Lineup Launched, Gift Cards and Bring a Friend!

Give the gift of creativity this year! An Oxygen GiftCertificate is the perfect gift for the creative in your life and it is so much more than an educational experience! Taking a creative class can help build social connections, reduce anxiety and stress, create meaningful memories and exercise an enquiring mind! With ten new courses scheduled for 2021 there is a great variety to choose from with poetry, painting, collage, colour theory, wearable art and sound-based inquiry.
“Online courses are a great addition to Oxygen’s education programming” says Education Coordinator Natasha Smith. “Our instructors have created classes to be specifically taught online, utilizing the many tools that we now have available to make this learning experience rewarding, interactive and convenient for our students. We now have students joining us from across the country and courses are filling fast” says Smith.
 
Bring a Friend is another new Oxygen initiative. During these difficult COVID times we are all missing spending time with our friends and family, so Oxygen is encouraging you to take a course together by offering a 10% bring-a-friend discount!
 
For more information on courses, Oxygen Gift Certificates, Bring a Friend and to register: www.oxygenartcentre.org,  education@oxygenartcentre.org.
 
 
 
Image credit: Courtesy Instructor Rayya Liebich, 2020
 
Press Contact: Natasha Smith, education@oxygenartcentre.org