Category: Oxygen Art Centre

  • Oxygen Art Centre

    MEDIA RELEASE: Oxygen presents “The Big Draw,” a series of open, free drawing sessions for the community
    Oxygen_PostCard-BigDraw
     
    Events:

    1. Sunday, September 29, 2019 from 11:00am-4:00pm
    2. Sunday, October 20, 2019 from 11:00am-4:00pm
    3. Sunday, November 17 from 11:00am-4:00pm

     
    Oxygen Art Centre transforms the gallery into a community open studio over three Sundays this Fall. This all-ages three-part series of collaborative drawing workshops is in connection with the world-wide event known as “The Big Draw.”
     
    Facilitated by Oxygen Art Centre member and artist Anita Levesque, “The Big Draw” theme for 2019 is #DrawnToLife and explores the healing and unifying impact of mark making and drawing.
     
    These family friendly drop-in art making sessions run from 11:00am to 4:00pm over three Sundays through the Fall. Each session will focus on a different theme. Events are free or by donation. Open to everyone, whatever age or experience.
     
    The first session will be held on Sunday, September 29, 2019 from 11:00am-4:00pm. The theme for this session is “The healing power of nature.” Nature has the power to calm and still the mind. To draw means to slow down, look meaningfully, and with curiosity. It is the difference between a long-held gaze versus a quick glance. Join us at Oxygen Art Centre to take part in this first drawing lab, providing opportunities to study, observe, and experience nature through observational drawing stations, rubbings, tracings, and drawing to audio landscapes.
     
    Oxygen Art Centre is committed to ensuring all exhibitions, programs, and events are accessible to visitors. Our facilities are wheelchair accessible and equipped with one accessible washroom. Please contact Oxygen if you have any questions or concerns about this event.
     
    “The Big Draw” is generously supported by Osprey Community Foundation, BC Lions Club, and Nelson and District Credit Union.
     
     
     
    —
    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
     

  • Oxygen Art Centre

    FOR   IMMEDIATE   RELEASE: Esker Foundation’s Director/Curator Naomi Potter presents free, public talk and workshop at Oxygen Art Centre

     

    Public Talk:                           Friday, October 4, 2019 @ 7:30 PM

    Workshop:                             Saturday, October 5, 2019 – Sunday, October 6, 2019

     

    Workshop Group sessions:

    Saturday, October 5 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    Sunday, October 6 from 1:00-4:00 PM

    Workshop Individual sessions:       Saturday, October 5 from TBA

    Sunday, October 6 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

     

    Group Workshop and Individual Session: Course Fee: $125 (7 spaces available) 

    Group Workshop Only: Course Fee: $75 (5 spaces available)

     

    Join us for a free, public talk held at Oxygen Art Centre on Friday, October 4 at 7:30 PM titled, ”Structurally Porous and Perpetually in Progress: Development & Progress of the Esker Foundation” by Naomi Potter.

     

    Potter will speak on the development and progress of the Esker Foundation as a generous, supportive, and caring contemporary art gallery. The talk will consider the delicate balancing act required of a contemporary art gallery and arts workers. In particular, Potter considers how to build an institution without becoming too institutional; how to support the local while participating in a global conversation; and, above all, how to bring relevance and accessibility to the diverse and complex communities.

     

    An anomaly in Canada’s arts and culture community, Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery located in Calgary, AB. Founded in 2012 by Jim and Susan Hill, Esker Foundation is a new model for institutional relevance, curatorial focus, and audience engagement. Potter will speak about developing this model, and the curatorial and engagement focus that supports it.

     

    Oxygen Art Centre is excited to offer this free, public talk to learn about the Esker Foundation’s model, Potter’s curatorial practice, and to create dialogue surrounding these topics. This event is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

     

    The workshop facilitated by Potter is for artists, curators, art writers and others. It will hinge upon both group and individual discussions about the various structures and institutions that make up the contemporary art world.

     

    With a focus on the interconnected spheres of the curator, the exhibition, the institution, and the various ways commercial can exist in an art practice, this workshop asks how does one navigate and participate with and through these as a professional artist, curator, cultural worker, or maker? What does it mean to be in the creative sector today? What are the responsibilities? And, how does one make informed decisions about the direction or impact their work will make?

    This workshop will push participants to think critically about the value of their work across a variety of settings in cultural institutions and commercial contexts. We are thrilled to be able to offer this professional development opportunity to artists and creatives living and working in our community.

     

    To register for the workshop, please visit Oxygen Art Centre’s website or contact the gallery.

     

    This event and workshop is part of Oxygen’s Masterclass Series that offers professional support, education, and discourse surrounding contemporary art practice for our community.
    This event is generously supported by Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance.

     

    Presenter Bio:

    Naomi Potter is the Director/Curator of Esker Foundation in Calgary. Over the last twenty years she developed numerous curatorial, artist, and residency projects in Canada and Central and Eastern Europe. From 2009-2011, she was curator of Walter Phillips Gallery at The Banff Centre where she produced solo projects and exhibitions with many artists including; Anthony Burnham, Geoffrey Farmer, Melanie Gilligan, Brian Jungen, Ragnar Kjartansson, Silke Otto-Knapp, and Ron Terada. More recently she has worked to develop solo projects at Esker Foundation with Peter von Tiesenhausen, Jason deHaan, Mia Feuer, Colleen Heslin, Etienne Zack, Jasmina Cibic, Tammi Campbell and Agnes Martin to name a few. In 2003, Potter was awarded a yearlong Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) artist residency in Istanbul, and from 2003 to 2007 was co-director of the international artist residency program at CESTA in the Czech Republic. In 2014, she was selected as one of Alberta’s 50 most influential people by Venture magazine, and in 2015 was a guest of both the Australian Arts Council and British Council International Curatorial Visit programs. She currently sits on the Board of Directors at Stride Gallery in Calgary. Potter holds a BFA from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and an MFA in sculpture from Concordia University, Montreal.

     

    Press Contact:

    Julia Prudhomme

    Executive Director

    Oxygen Art Centre

    info@oxygenartcentre.org

    250.352.6322

    —

    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
  • Oxygen Art Centre

    Upcoming Events: Fall Semester, Dinner, and Talks at Oxygen ArtCentre

    Closing Dinner for prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet’s exhibition Nostalgic Geography at Oxygen Art Centre
    Date:               Friday, September 27, 2019
    Time:              5:30 PM
    Location:        Oxygen Art Centre, #3-320 Vernon St. (alley entrance)
     
    Join us for the Closing Dinner of local artists prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet’s exhibition, “Nostalgic Geography: Mama and Papa have Trains, Orchards and Mountains in their Backyard” at Oxygen Art Centre.
     
    The Closing Dinner celebrates the exhibition and the support and collaboration that took place throughout the creation of the video and sound installation. The artists wish to invite the community to a shared meal in the gallery as a way to thank the many players that made this work possible, as well as to extend a seat at the table to others.
     
    The dinner will be held in the gallery among the installation. Prepared by the artists, the meal will be vegan, vegetarian, and sensitive to dietary restrictions. This event is by donation, everyone is welcome to attend.

    The Big Draw — Oxygen Community Open Studio
    3 sessions: Sept. 29, Oct. 20, Nov. 17
    Sundays 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
    Course Description:
    Oxygen is pleased to present an all-ages three-part series of collaborative drawing workshops in connection with the world-wide event known as The Big Draw, facilitated by artist and educator Anita Levesque. The Big Draw theme for 2019 is #DrawnToLife and explores the healing and unifying impact of mark making and drawing. These family friendly drop-in workshops will run from 11-4 on three Sundays through the fall: September 29th, October 20th and November 17th.
    Each event is free or by donation and open to all, whatever age or experience.
    https://www.facebook.com/events/1863689567110979/

    Moving into Abstraction with Natasha Smith
    4 classes: October 1, 8, 15, 22
    Tuesdays 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
    Course Description:
    Through a series of projects, students will explore various techniques and alternative ways to develop ideas and image that will encourage a more abstract way of working. Using various media students will investigate mark-making, texture, line, shape, colour and composition and challenge their current methodology of image creation in this process focused course. Appropriate for students of all levels.
    Course Fee: $150.00     Material Fee: $20.00
    TOTAL FEE: $170.00
    Click here for instructor biographies
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/517301622406425/
     
    Liminal Life Writing with Rayya Liebich               
    5 classes: October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
    Wednesdays 6 – 8 pm
    Course Description:
    Fuel for creativity and healing can be found by revisiting the liminal periods in our lives such as birth, grief and separation. Discover how to transform your life stories into powerful prose using literary genres such as micro memoir, creative non-fiction, and letter writing. Classes include guided prompts, peer feedback, and take home tools.
    Bring your courage and pen.  All skill levels and life experience welcome.
    Course Fee: $135.00     Material Fee: $5.00
    TOTAL FEE: $140.00 
    Click here for instructor biographies
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/405696953419726/
     
    The Artist’s Journey with Susan Andrews Grace               
    4 classes: Oct. 4, 11, Nov. 15, 29
    Fridays 1 – 3:30 pm
    Course Description:
    The Artist’s Journey is a cross-discipline seminar that invites artists and writers to examine their creative process. Every creative person carries a map in their heart but sometimes forgets how to read it. The Artist’s Journey by Steven Pressfield will be our text. This is for those who have just begun the journey as well as those who’ve been trudging for a while but especially for those who are ready to throw in the towel.
    Course Fee: $124.00    Material Fee: $21.00
    TOTAL FEE: $145.00
    Click here for instructor biographies
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/411463786390796/

    Structurally Porous and Perpetually in Progress – Naomi Potter, Director/Curator, Esker Foundation – Public Talk and Workshop
    Friday October 4: 7:30pm
    Structurally Porous and Perpetually in Progress – Public Talk – Free
    Potter will speak on the development and progress of Esker Foundation as a generous, supportive, and caring contemporary art gallery. How does one build an institution without becoming too institutional, support the local while participating in a global conversation, and above all how to bring relevance and accessibility to the diverse and complex communities. Potter will speak about developing this model, and the curatorial and engagement focus that supports it.
    Workshop: October 5 & 6
    Group sessions:  Saturday 9am – 12 pm Sunday 1 – 4 pm
    Individual sessions: TBA Saturday 1-5 Sunday 9-12
    Workshop Description:
    This workshop for artists, curators, art writers and others will hinge on both group and individual discussions about the various structures and institutions that make up the contemporary art world. With a focus on the interconnected spheres of the curator, the exhibition, the institution, and the various ways commercial can exist in an art practice, how does one navigate and participate with and through these as a professional artist, curator, cultural worker, or maker. This workshop will push participants to think critically about the value of their work across a variety of settings in cultural institutions and commercial contexts. Asking, what does it mean to be in the creative sector today?, what are the responsibilities?, and how does one make informed decisions about the direction or impact their work will make.
    Individual Session:
    Meet Naomi Potter one-on-one and tap into her knowledge and discuss your interests and practice. A One-on-one studio visit or time at Oxygen with Potter is available for Group Workshop participants for an additional fee of $50.
    Group Workshop and Individual Session: Course Fee: $125 (7 spaces available) 
    Group Workshop Only: Course Fee: $75 (5 spaces available)
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/1532756306849156/
     
    Ukulele 2 with Catherine McGrath  
    6 Classes: Oct. 6, 20, 27 Nov. 3, 17, 24
    Sundays 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
    Course Description:
    This course is designed for people who have taken the preceding beginner class, the summer ukulele intensive, or who are able to play three-chord songs in the keys of C and G with a steady rhythm.  The class will explore new keys, new chords, and more complex strumming patterns as they relate to a bunch of fun songs from a variety of genres.
    Course Fee: $150.00     Material Fee: $10.00
    TOTAL FEE: $160.00
    Click here for instructor biographies
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/2954375354590623/
     
    Idealand: Inspiring your imagination with perception games, facilitated by Kelly Shpeley  
    3 Classes: Oct. 7, 21, 28
    Monday 5:30 – 8:30 pm
    Course Description:
    Idealand is a series of exercises and perception games to help generate new ideas and ways of approaching your artistic practice. These techniques may be applied to any art form. This is a space for you to jumpstart your imagination.
    Course Fee: $110.00     Material Fee: $30.00
    TOTAL FEE: $140.00
    Click here for instructor biographies
    Click here to Register
    https://www.facebook.com/events/542401823182308/
    Oxygen keeps class sizes small, only hires experienced professional teaching artists and works hard to meet the needs of our creative community through the adult education programming.
    For more information on courses and to register: www.oxygenartcentre.org,  education@oxygenartcentre.org.
    Oxygen Art Centre is committed to ensuring all exhibitions, programs, and events are accessible to visitors. Our facilities are wheelchair accessible and equipped with one accessible washroom.
    —
    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

  • Oxygen Art Centre

    Fall Adult Education Semester Lineup is Launched!

     
     

    Oxygen has been busily building a fabulous lineup of courses to spark your creativity this fall. With landscape, portraiture, figure drawing, writing, ukulele and courses that dive into the creative process, there is something for everyone.

    New this year Oxygen is pleased to present an all-ages three-part series of collaborative drawing workshops in connection with the world-wide event known as The Big Draw, facilitated by artist and educator Anita Levesque. The Big Draw theme for 2019 is #DrawnToLife and explores the healing and unifying impact of mark making and drawing. These family friendly drop-in workshops will run from 11-4 on three Sundays through the fall: September 29th, October 20th and November 17th. Each event is free or by donation and open to all, whatever age or experience.

    Oxygen is offering two courses for all creative people, no matter your discipline. Kelly Shpeley will facilitate a series of exercises and perception games in her signature course Idealand to help generate new ideas and ways of approaching your artistic practice. The Artist’s Journey with Susan Andrews Grace is a cross-discipline seminar that invites artists and writers to examine their creative process. Susan explains “The Artist’s Journey by Steven Pressfield will be our text. Every creative person carries a map in their heart but sometimes forgets how to read it. This is for those who have just begun the journey as well as those who’ve been trudging for a while but especially for those who are ready to throw in the towel.”

    Oxygen is committed to offering professional development programming for artists, and this fall is excited to offer a public talk and workshop with Naomi Potter, Director/Curator of the Esker Foundation entitled Structurally Porous and Perpetually in Progress. Potter will speak on the development and progress of Esker Foundation as a generous, supportive, and caring contemporary art gallery. The workshop for artists, curators, art writers and others will hinge on both group and individual discussions about the various structures and institutions that make up the contemporary art world.

    For the writers out there, there is Liminal Life Writing with Rayya Liebich. By revisiting liminal periods such as birth, grief and separation, discover how to transform your life stories to create powerful prose using literary genres such as micro memoir, creative non-fiction, and letter writing. Ukulele 2 with Catherine McGrath is designed for people who have taken the preceding beginner class, the summer ukulele intensive, or who are able to play three-chord songs in the keys of C and G with a steady rhythm.  The class will explore new keys, new chords, and more complex strumming patterns as they relate to a bunch of fun songs from a variety of genres.

    There is a variety of visual art programming this fall with artists Deborah Thompson, Kristy Gordon and Natasha Smith. Deborah Thompson is offering two courses this fall: Luminous: Exploring the Human Figure in Drawing and Creating a Series. Luminous starts with a lecture and discussion on Friday night followed by two days of studio sessions, with a model in the morning and working from imagination, photographs and memory in the afternoon. Creating a Series is a four-day studio-based intensive workshop that will offer participants an opportunity to concentrate on the creation of a series of paintings and /or drawings towards the development of a body of work.

    Oxygen is excited to have Kristy Gordon join the team this fall to teach a two-day workshop Painting the Portrait Using Photographic Reference. This course is designed to help students of all levels learn how to work from photographic reference while still achieving the appeal of a painting done from a live model. Participants will learn how to achieve a better likeness as well as how to paint convincing flesh tones.

    Natasha Smith will be teaching two courses Moving into Abstraction and Landscape as Muse this fall, both courses feed from her current studio practice and focus on exploring materials and process and pushing participants to challenge their preconceptions of what is possible.

    Oxygen keeps class sizes small, only hires experienced professional teaching artists and works hard to meet the needs of our creative community through the adult education programming.

    For more information on courses and to register: www.oxygenartcentre.org,  education@oxygenartcentre.org.

     
     

  • Oxygen Art Centre


    Local artists prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet produce ‘Nostalgic Geography: Mama and Papa have Trains, Orchards and Mountains in their Backyard’ a multi-channel audio video exhibition at Oxygen Art Centre.
     

    Residency Dates: August 19 – September 5
    Opening Reception: Friday September 6 | 6:00pm (before Art Walk Gala)
    Artist Talk: Saturday September 7 | 4:00pm
    Closing Dinner: Friday September 27th | 5:30pm
    Exhibition Dates: September 6 – 28, Wednesday-Saturday 1-5pm
     
    Oxygen Art Centre is pleased to host resident artists prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet for the creation ofNostalgic Geography: Mama and Papa have Trains, Orchards and Mountains in their Backyard, a multi-channel AV installation exploring the history and geography of Harrop-Procter. prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet have been working collaboratively since 2009 and currently live in Nelson BC with their two children. Their shared work includes writing, curation, visual art, music and sound compositions. In their latest project to be presented at Oxygen Art Centre, they will focus on a series of fictional aerial vignettes and sound environments created with drone and smartphone technologies.This exhibition is a meditation on the relational networks of technology, economy, landscape and memory that have shifted the geography of Harrop-Procter, prOphecy sun’s parental residence.
     
    sun and Fleet will be in residence at Oxygen from August 19th through September 5th 2019. There will be a reception for the artists on Friday September 6 at 6:00pm, before the Nelson Art Walk Gala at Hall Street Plaza. An artist talk with both artists present will take place on Saturday September 7th at 4pm. The exhibition will run from September 6 through 28th, with a closing dinner open to the public on September 27th at 5:30pm at Oxygen Art Centre, where they will prepare a meal using food harvested from their family’s farm in Harrop-Procter. During the exhibition, Oxygen Art Centre will be open to the public Wednesday – Saturday 1pm-5pm. Admission is free or by donation, and Oxygen is located at 320 Vernon street (alley entrance behind Hipperson’s Hardware).
     
    Harrop-Procter is a rural community surrounded by historical fruit orchards, mountainous meadows and a train rail line that hugs the lakeside and rides from west to east daily. Where once paddleboats used to navigate the lake, now cars, trucks and fibre optic cables connect us together. “Yet, these historical relations remain, shaping our imaginaries with deep grooves in the senses of the land,” says sun. On the hillsides in and around Sunshine Bay, neatly parceled residential lots now cut through what was once a thriving fruit producing region. The aged trees, many of them grey, gnarled, and half broken, are buried up to their branches in tall grass, yet continue to produce apples. In Nostalgic Geography: Mama and Papa have Trains, Orchards and Mountains in their Backyard artists prOphecy sun and Darren Fleet use AV technology to reveal the complex social and economic relations that have shaped the historical orchards and surrounding landscape. An ambient soundscore composed of field recordings taken in-situ will accompany the moving imagery, amplified throughout the gallery.
     
    ABOUT prOphecy sun & Darren Fleet
    prOphecy sun is an interdisciplinary performance artist, feminist, movement, video and sound maker, mother and PhD Candidate at the School of Interactive Arts + Technology at Simon Fraser University.She holds a BFA and MFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Her practice celebrates both conscious and unconscious moments, and the vulnerable spaces of the in-between in which art and life overlap. She performs and exhibits regularly in local, national and international settings, festivals, conferences and galleries. She is also the recipient of the Governor Generals Award and the Lakehead Jurors Prize and has authored several peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and journal publications.
     
    Darren Fleet is an ex-poet from Aldergrove, schooled in the Fukovian theory of aesthetics. He is also a writer, journalist, photographer and PhD candidate and instructor at the SFU School of Communication. His interests include consumer culture, environmental discourse and the cultural politics of fossil fuels. He holds an MA in Journalism from UBC and was part of the editorial team at Adbusters magazine that launched the #occupywallstreet meme into the world. His work has been featured in numerous publications and forums including: Vice, Public, Journalists for Human Rights, UTNE Reader, Al-Jazeera, The National Observer, The Tyee, The Globe & Mail, and at the Istanbul Biennial of Art.
     
    ABOUT Oxygen Art Centre
    Based in Nelson BC, Oxygen Art Centre is a rural artist-run centre that provides space and programming for artists and the public to engage in the creation, study, exhibition and performance of contemporary art in all disciplines. Oxygen Art Centre is particularly interested in work with regional relevance, interdisciplinary work and work that engages audiences in participatory processes. Oxygen’s Exhibition and Residency Program supports process-based projects that encourage experimentation and push conventional practice. Founded in 2002, Oxygen is an integral and long-standing cultural hub for artists of all disciplines and professional levels in the West Kootenays and beyond.
     
     
     

     

  • Oxygen Art Centre

    Press Release: Oxygen Art Centre Welcomes New Executive Director

    Oxygen Art Centre has named Julia Prudhomme as the new Executive Director, effective August 2019. Prudhomme, who lived in the Kootenays back in 2013-14, has contributed to small town art galleries and artist-run centres in numerous capacities for over ten years.
     
    She was Curator at the Campbell River Public Art Gallery for three years where she developed community-based programming that balanced educational courses, events, exhibits and artist talks, many in conjunction with internationally renowned artists, including Samuel Roy-Bois and Sonny Assu. Her artistic practice is often collaborative, working in video and installation, zine and mixtapes, much of which has been presented across North America and Europe.
     
    She is currently in her third year as a PhD Candidate in the Communications, New Media and Cultural Studies program at McMaster University. Prudhomme holds a Masters in Fine Arts from University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Brock University. She is particularly interested how contemporary art exhibitions investigate histories and possibilities of feminist curatorial practice.
     
    “I am excited to assume the role of Executive Director. Oxygen Art Centre is an integral space for artists and arts engagement.”
     
    Prudhomme comes to Nelson to assume her new role at an opportune moment for Oxygen Art Centre given Genevieve Robertson, the outgoing Executive Director, successfully obtained multi-year funding from Canada Council for the Arts to significantly increase organizational capacity for years to come.
     
    “It is thrilling to be continuing the work that is ongoing in the community. I look forward to supporting and expanding on these labours.”