Oxygen launches Fall semester with an open house event on September 8
Oxygen Art Centre (OAC) is excited to launch their education program for Fall of 2023 with an Open House event on Friday September 8, 2023, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.
Oxygen welcomes the community to meet the artist instructors, take part in demonstrations, readings, and art-making activities, and learn more about the upcoming classes and workshops. Admission is free or by donation. Light refreshments will be available. Everyone is welcome.
The Fall semester features twenty courses in a myriad of disciplines including writing, film, singing, acting, painting, and drawing. Oxygen’s unique programming and incredible local artist instructors provide a rich experience to learn creatively together.
Throughout the semester Oxygen will offer affordable community-based programming including Figure Drawing, Painting the Model, and Art Speak and is once again partnering with the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society to offer two workshops: Remembrance Luminaria and Letters to the Beyond where participants are encouraged to bring their creations to the celebration of All Souls on Sunday November 5th.
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.
Registration is now open. 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 Fall 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 delighted to announce Jaymie Johnson + Keiko Lee-Hem as artists-in-residence from August 2 – 16, 2023 for the bathroom installation project! The artists will be working on an immersive installation that is “inspired by the perfect pink and purple poppies growing in [their] gardens, and the refuge [they] each find in nature.” The installation will replicate the inside of a poppy flower with the intention to “invite the occupant to escape the busy-ness of the outside world, into a serene yet whimsical space of year-round summertime simplicity.” This project is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and will be on view (and use) for one-year. Stay tuned for updates, install documentation, and more!Jaymie Johnson is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in investigating and building relationship with place through engagement with plants as subject matter and material. Her work spans drawing, printmaking, textiles, and community-engaged art.
Jaymie holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2015) accompanied by mentorship in community engagement and public art from Sharon Kallis and Dr. Cameron Cartiere. She’s facilitated public art projects and participated in residencies and exhibitions throughout BC.
Jaymie is from the East Shore of Kootenay Lake and is grateful to currently reside in Nelson, BC, the təmxʷulaʔxʷ of the Sinixt, and land connected to the Ktunaxa, Syilx, and Métis. Keiko Lee-Hem’s art practice allows her to slow down and slip into the present moment, escaping the busy-ness and distraction of the modern world and the digital life of her day job. Her practice allows her quality time noticing, savouring and recording the exquisite design and detail of her natural surroundings and helps her cope with sadness and anxiety caused by the passing of time, made evident by the waxing and waning of her garden and the growing up of her child on a changing planet.
Keiko holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University, which formed the foundation for her work today as a freelance graphic designer. In recent years she returned to the tactile experience of drawing, paper cut and printmaking, partly as a way to escape the digital realm, but also as a means for savouring the seasonal beauty of her natural surroundings, and for arresting the passage of time. LEARN MORECLOSUREOxygen Art Centre will be closed to the public from August 20 to September 4, 2023, to prepare for the second half of the year. We look forward to returning with the Fall semester, events, workshops, and more! XO2OPEN HOUSEJoin us on Friday, September 8, 2023, for an Education program Open House from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The public are invited to meet the artist instructors, take part in demonstrations, readings, and art-making activities, and learn more about the upcoming classes and workshops! Stop by to renew your membership or become a member, too! Everyone welcome to attend. Admission is free or by donation.Light refreshments will be available.YOUTH EDUCATIONROCK /PAPER / SCISSORS /IN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 6 classes: September 18 – October 30, 2023 (no Class Oct. 9) /Mondays, 4:15 pm – 5.45 pmWho: Youth, 11-14 yrsWith: 2 artist instructors:// Brian Lye – Filmmaker// Rayya Liebich – Poet & Writer What: Join filmmaker Brian Lye, and poet Rayya Liebich on a multidisciplinary adventure to create a stop-motion animation film using an altered book as a springboard for story. Rayya will demonstrate how to write blackout poems, create book folds, and use decoupage techniques inside a hardcover book. Brian will then show you how to bring objects, words, and drawings to life using stop-motion animation. The culminating project will be a short movie of your chosen figurine/narrator literally jumping out of your book to tell a story through voice, image, and fun filming techniques. Come ready to learn, explore, and be amazed! Student Fee: $60 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERWORM /HOLEIN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 8 classes: September 22 – November 10, 2023 (no Class Oct. 6)/Fridays, 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm (2 hours)Who: Youth, 15-18 yrsWith: 3 artist instructors:// Catherine McIntosh – Visual Artist// Myra Rasmussen – Multi-disciplinary Artist// Marcus Dénommé – Printmaker What: Join artists Myra Rasmussen, Marcus Dénommé, and Cath McIntosh on a journey into printmaking. Students will learn a variety of techniques and printmaking practices including monoprinting, lino printing, screenprinting, dry point + experimental low-tech methods. In the final session students will combine these techniques in a printmaking marathon to create unique art books, portfolio pieces, printed bags and clothes or posterzines. You choose! Enter a new spacetime continuum with a fun group of artists and fellow students to explore the dimensions of printmaking! Student Fee: $85 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTEROxygen’s youth arts education programming is generously sponsored by the Nelson & District Credit Union and the Urban Systems Foundation.FALL SEMESTERPlan ahead! Oxygen’s Fall 2023 Semester is now open for registration. Continue learning a medium, explore a new one, dream, sing, and gather together, make your own screen printed artist book, and learn to paint!
Learn about the classes, instructors, and how to register via our website. Spaces limited. Contact Natasha Smith (Education Coordinator) with questions or registration support.LEARN MOREFigure Drawing #3 (no instruction)IN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 17, 24 Oct 1, 8Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm Drawing sessions will provide the opportunity to draw from a model with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes. No instruction is offered. Students are expected to provide the drawing materials of their choice.TOTAL FEE: $60Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 8Only one space left, registration confirmation required.REGISTERArt Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergIN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pm 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: $40Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 14REGISTERDreaming into Poetry with Rose NielsenIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 19, 21, 26, 28, Oct. 3, 5, 10, 12Tues. & Thurs.: 10am – 12pm This course offers a poetry-writing approach that looks through the lens of Jungian dreamwork as we search for images, symbols, and metaphors in our dreams, bringing unconscious material into consciousness. In the process, we will explore a variety of fixed form and free verse poetry to learn which forms might best serve the dream’s tone and theme. TOTAL FEE: $230Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 12REGISTERBalkan Choir with Bessie WappIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 21 – Nov. 9Thursdays: 7 – 9pm Add your voice to the bold dissonance and clear sweetness of ancient multipart Eastern European a cappella songs of love and lust, harvest and hearth, wartime, badly arranged marriages, and drunken husbands. No prior experience required. In the last class we will enchant an audience with what we’ve learned. Material Fee: $10Course Fee: $230TOTAL FEE: $240Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 14REGISTERLino Printing – Making Greeting Cards and Exploring Colour with Myra RasmussenIN PERSON1 Class: Sept. 24Sunday: 1-4pm In this class we will explore a few different ways to use colour in lino relief printmaking including rainbow rolls, coloured backgrounds, and reduction technique. Each participant will then carve and print one or two lino blocks (depending on time). We will work with 4” x 4.5” blocks, which are a perfect size to experiment with new techniques and to make handmade greeting cards. No previous lino printmaking experience required.Material Fee: $15 (all materials provided)Course Fee: $50TOTAL FEE: $65Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 15REGISTERDrawing The Costumed Figure with Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 4 – 25Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pm This four week imaginative and process-based course will focus on drawing skills through the study of the costumed figure. Staged poses with a costumed model will serve as the main prompt throughout the course. Review of primary drawing elements such as line, mark, value, and space will be covered as an introduction to the language of drawing. Specific exercises will explore compositional strategies, use of value or tonal range, and contrasting textures will be part of the curriculum. Studies will be used to develop a narrative drawing. Photographs taken of the model or from other sources will also be explored towards their use in developing a drawing. One-on-one and group critiques will be ongoing. Attention will be drawn to the use of the costumed figure throughout the history of art. Materials: graphite, coloured chalks, charcoal, conté, and a variety of papers.Note: This course is best suited to students with some previous drawing experience and an interest in exploring narrative qualities of the figure. Material Fee: $20 + Material ListCourse Fee: $205TOTAL FEE: $225Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 27REGISTERThe Screen Printed Artist Book with Marcus DénomméIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 3 – 24Tuesdays: 6 – 9 pm A “Part 2” of the Intro to Screen Printing course from the spring semester, The Screen Printed Artist Book will take on a more ambitious project involving many colour layers and the complex nature of publication design and bookmaking. Each participant will leave with a limited edition of artist books, which will be hand bound and printed. Participants will also have a chance to learn about the process of publication design that uses tools such as Adobe InDesign. Basic screen printing knowledge is an asset.2 classes @ Afko.Sérigraphie studio (807 Baker St.), and 2 classes at OxygenMaterial Fee: $60 (all materials provided)Course Fee: $175TOTAL FEE: $235Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 26REGISTERKeep on Keeping on with Susan Andrews GraceONLINE5 Classes: Oct. 4 – Nov. 1Wednesdays: 1:30 – 3:30 pm Sometimes the hardest thing is keeping on. This workshop is suitable for poets at all levels; it offers a new beginning and keys to a sustainable practice. Whether you want to begin new poems or finish a book manuscript this writing workshop will help you trigger new energy and habits in your poetry practice.TOTAL FEE: $180Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 27REGISTERGenerative Sound for Analogue Film Projection with Kyle WhiteheadIN PERSON1 Class: Oct. 7Saturday: 10 am – 4:30 pm (1/2 hr lunch) Kyle Whitehead’s expanded-cinema projects IMMANENT UNION, Draft for a Scenario and Circles of Confusion leverage different approaches for creating generative soundscapes from analogue Super 8 film projections. In this workshop he will share strategies for creating custom electronic devices for the purpose of generating or modulating sound with light. Focusing on the use of Arduino and the powerful Mozzi synthesis library, workshop participants will learn how to build and customize their own light-controlled synthesizers to be used with projected film images, or any other light source.TOTAL FEE: $90 (All materials Included)Only 6 spaces availableRegistration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 29
CALL FOR PROPOSALS Oxygen Art Centre is currently accepting project proposals for an installation project in our facility’s bathroom. The installation will be on view for one-year and must be functional.
We accept submissions from professional and emerging artists and collectives who live and work in the Columbia Basin region. Oxygen Art Centre encourages applications from BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and persons with disabilities.
Applicants can submit proposals via this form Please review submission guidelines on our website for more informationDeadline to apply: July 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST *extension* SUPPORT AND COMPENSATION: Oxygen Art Centre is committed to paying CARFAC fees for exhibitions and artist talks. Selected artists for the bathroom installation will be supported in the following ways:— CARFAC Artist fees for installation and exhibition— Material budget— Digital photographic documentation— Social media, print, and digital publicity through organizational channels— Oxygen will support the artist(s) in the execution of their project through installation and technical support, wherever possible TIMELINE: Deadline to apply: July 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST *extension*Successful artist(s) will be notified by July 20, 2023Installation period: July 31 – August 16, 2023Installation will be on view from August 16, 2023 to August 16, 2024 HOW TO APPLY:Applications are to be submitted by Google Form and should include the following: Artist Bio (150 words) Please provide a summary of your practice history, training, and any contexts that inform your work. We value diverse forms of arts education and arts practices and invite you to note lived experiences, mentorships, employment, exhibition histories, and any learning experiences, that have led you to cultivate the work you are proposing. *For group or collaborative proposals, please submit one bio per participating artist.Include artist(s) website or social media where applicable. Project Proposals (500 words)Please describe your vision or proposal for the bathroom installation. The final installation *must* be functional (i.e. full access range to toilet, support bar, and sink, as well as incorporate toilet paper roll holder and hand towel dispenser in the design). Include any logistical or material details as necessary, as well as any connections to existing work(s) included in the application. Documentation (Maximum of 10 images)Any media or content that demonstrates your artistic practice. Note: Applications for the Exhibition & Residency program will re-open in December 2023. Applications submitted for this call will not be considered for the Exhibition & Residency program. Contact info@oxygenartcentre.org or call 250-551-6329 with any questions, support to apply, and/or how to apply via a different method.LEARN MOREYOUTH EDUCATIONROCK /PAPER / SCISSORS /IN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 6 classes: September 18 – October 30, 2023 (no Class Oct. 9) /Mondays, 4:15 pm – 5.45 pmWho: Youth, 11-14 yrsWith: 2 artist instructors:// Brian Lye – Filmmaker// Rayya Liebich – Poet & Writer What: Join filmmaker Brian Lye, and poet Rayya Liebich on a multidisciplinary adventure to create a stop-motion animation film using an altered book as a springboard for story. Rayya will demonstrate how to write blackout poems, create book folds, and use decoupage techniques inside a hardcover book. Brian will then show you how to bring objects, words, and drawings to life using stop-motion animation. The culminating project will be a short movie of your chosen figurine/narrator literally jumping out of your book to tell a story through voice, image, and fun filming techniques. Come ready to learn, explore, and be amazed! Student Fee: $60 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERWORM /HOLEIN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 8 classes: September 22 – November 10, 2023 (no Class Oct. 6)/Fridays, 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm (2 hours)Who: Youth, 15-18 yrsWith: 3 artist instructors:// Catherine McIntosh – Visual Artist// Myra Rasmussen – Multi-disciplinary Artist// Marcus Dénommé – Printmaker What: Join artists Myra Rasmussen, Marcus Dénommé, and Cath McIntosh on a journey into printmaking. Students will learn a variety of techniques and printmaking practices including monoprinting, lino printing, screenprinting, dry point + experimental low-tech methods. In the final session students will combine these techniques in a printmaking marathon to create unique art books, portfolio pieces, printed bags and clothes or posterzines. You choose! Enter a new spacetime continuum with a fun group of artists and fellow students to explore the dimensions of printmaking! Student Fee: $85 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERFALL SEMESTERPlan ahead! Oxygen’s Fall 2023 Semester is now open for registration. Continue learning a medium, explore a new one, dream, sing, and gather together, make your own screen printed artist book, and learn to paint!
Learn about the classes, instructors, and how to register via our website. Spaces limited. Contact Natasha Smith (Education Coordinator) with questions or registration support.LEARN MOREFigure Drawing #3 (no instruction)IN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 17, 24 Oct 1, 8Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm Drawing sessions will provide the opportunity to draw from a model with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes. No instruction is offered. Students are expected to provide the drawing materials of their choice.TOTAL FEE: $60REGISTERArt Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergIN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pm 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: $40REGISTERDreaming into Poetry with Rose NielsenIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 19, 21, 26, 28, Oct. 3, 5, 10, 12Tues. & Thurs.: 10am – 12pm This course offers a poetry-writing approach that looks through the lens of Jungian dreamwork as we search for images, symbols, and metaphors in our dreams, bringing unconscious material into consciousness. In the process, we will explore a variety of fixed form and free verse poetry to learn which forms might best serve the dream’s tone and theme. TOTAL FEE: $230Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 12REGISTERBalkan Choir with Bessie WappIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 21 – Nov. 9Thursdays: 7 – 9pm Add your voice to the bold dissonance and clear sweetness of ancient multipart Eastern European a cappella songs of love and lust, harvest and hearth, wartime, badly arranged marriages, and drunken husbands. No prior experience required. In the last class we will enchant an audience with what we’ve learned. Material Fee: $10Course Fee: $230TOTAL FEE: $240Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 14REGISTERLino Printing – Making Greeting Cards and Exploring Colour with Myra RasmussenIN PERSON1 Class: Sept. 24Sunday: 1-4pm In this class we will explore a few different ways to use colour in lino relief printmaking including rainbow rolls, coloured backgrounds, and reduction technique. Each participant will then carve and print one or two lino blocks (depending on time). We will work with 4” x 4.5” blocks, which are a perfect size to experiment with new techniques and to make handmade greeting cards. No previous lino printmaking experience required.Material Fee: $15 (all materials provided)Course Fee: $50TOTAL FEE: $65Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 15REGISTERDrawing The Costumed Figure with Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 4 – 25Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pm This four week imaginative and process-based course will focus on drawing skills through the study of the costumed figure. Staged poses with a costumed model will serve as the main prompt throughout the course. Review of primary drawing elements such as line, mark, value, and space will be covered as an introduction to the language of drawing. Specific exercises will explore compositional strategies, use of value or tonal range, and contrasting textures will be part of the curriculum. Studies will be used to develop a narrative drawing. Photographs taken of the model or from other sources will also be explored towards their use in developing a drawing. One-on-one and group critiques will be ongoing. Attention will be drawn to the use of the costumed figure throughout the history of art. Materials: graphite, coloured chalks, charcoal, conté, and a variety of papers.Note: This course is best suited to students with some previous drawing experience and an interest in exploring narrative qualities of the figure. Material Fee: $20 + Material ListCourse Fee: $205TOTAL FEE: $225REGISTERJOINSupport 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) Call for Proposals: Bathroom, Promotional image, 2023; (2-8) OAC 2023 Fall Semester promo images, 2023; (9) “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 250-551-6329 Facility access information
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 currently accepting project proposals for an installation project in our facility’s bathroom. The installation will be on view for one-year and must be functional.
We accept submissions from professional and emerging artists and collectives who live and work in the Columbia Basin region. Oxygen Art Centre encourages applications from BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and persons with disabilities.
Applicants can submit proposals via this form Please review submission guidelines on our website for more informationDeadline to apply: July 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST *extension* SUPPORT AND COMPENSATION: Oxygen Art Centre is committed to paying CARFAC fees for exhibitions and artist talks. Selected artists for the bathroom installation will be supported in the following ways:— CARFAC Artist fees for installation and exhibition— Material budget— Digital photographic documentation— Social media, print, and digital publicity through organizational channels— Oxygen will support the artist(s) in the execution of their project through installation and technical support, wherever possible TIMELINE: Deadline to apply: July 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST *extension*Successful artist(s) will be notified by July 20, 2023Installation period: July 31 – August 16, 2023Installation will be on view from August 16, 2023 to August 16, 2024 HOW TO APPLY:Applications are to be submitted by Google Form and should include the following: Artist Bio (150 words) Please provide a summary of your practice history, training, and any contexts that inform your work. We value diverse forms of arts education and arts practices and invite you to note lived experiences, mentorships, employment, exhibition histories, and any learning experiences, that have led you to cultivate the work you are proposing. *For group or collaborative proposals, please submit one bio per participating artist.Include artist(s) website or social media where applicable. Project Proposals (500 words)Please describe your vision or proposal for the bathroom installation. The final installation *must* be functional (i.e. full access range to toilet, support bar, and sink, as well as incorporate toilet paper roll holder and hand towel dispenser in the design). Include any logistical or material details as necessary, as well as any connections to existing work(s) included in the application. Documentation (Maximum of 10 images)Any media or content that demonstrates your artistic practice. Note: Applications for the Exhibition & Residency program will re-open in December 2023. Applications submitted for this call will not be considered for the Exhibition & Residency program. Contact info@oxygenartcentre.org or call 250-551-6329 with any questions, support to apply, and/or how to apply via a different method.LEARN MOREYOUTH EDUCATIONROCK /PAPER / SCISSORS /IN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 6 classes: September 18 – October 30, 2023 (no Class Oct. 9) /Mondays, 4:15 pm – 5.45 pmWho: Youth, 11-14 yrsWith: 2 artist instructors:// Brian Lye – Filmmaker// Rayya Liebich – Poet & Writer What: Join filmmaker Brian Lye, and poet Rayya Liebich on a multidisciplinary adventure to create a stop-motion animation film using an altered book as a springboard for story. Rayya will demonstrate how to write blackout poems, create book folds, and use decoupage techniques inside a hardcover book. Brian will then show you how to bring objects, words, and drawings to life using stop-motion animation. The culminating project will be a short movie of your chosen figurine/narrator literally jumping out of your book to tell a story through voice, image, and fun filming techniques. Come ready to learn, explore, and be amazed! Student Fee: $60 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERWORM /HOLEIN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 8 classes: September 22 – November 10, 2023 (no Class Oct. 6)/Fridays, 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm (2 hours)Who: Youth, 15-18 yrsWith: 3 artist instructors:// Catherine McIntosh – Visual Artist// Myra Rasmussen – Multi-disciplinary Artist// Marcus Dénommé – Printmaker What: Join artists Myra Rasmussen, Marcus Dénommé, and Cath McIntosh on a journey into printmaking. Students will learn a variety of techniques and printmaking practices including monoprinting, lino printing, screenprinting, dry point + experimental low-tech methods. In the final session students will combine these techniques in a printmaking marathon to create unique art books, portfolio pieces, printed bags and clothes or posterzines. You choose! Enter a new spacetime continuum with a fun group of artists and fellow students to explore the dimensions of printmaking! Student Fee: $85 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERFALL SEMESTERPlan ahead! Oxygen’s Fall 2023 Semester is now open for registration. Continue learning a medium, explore a new one, dream, sing, and gather together, make your own screen printed artist book, and learn to paint!
Learn about the classes, instructors, and how to register via our website. Spaces limited. Contact Natasha Smith (Education Coordinator) with questions or registration support.LEARN MOREFigure Drawing #3 (no instruction)IN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 17, 24 Oct 1, 8Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm Drawing sessions will provide the opportunity to draw from a model with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes. No instruction is offered. Students are expected to provide the drawing materials of their choice.TOTAL FEE: $60REGISTERArt Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergIN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pm 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: $40REGISTERDreaming into Poetry with Rose NielsenIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 19, 21, 26, 28, Oct. 3, 5, 10, 12Tues. & Thurs.: 10am – 12pm This course offers a poetry-writing approach that looks through the lens of Jungian dreamwork as we search for images, symbols, and metaphors in our dreams, bringing unconscious material into consciousness. In the process, we will explore a variety of fixed form and free verse poetry to learn which forms might best serve the dream’s tone and theme. TOTAL FEE: $230Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 12REGISTERBalkan Choir with Bessie WappIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 21 – Nov. 9Thursdays: 7 – 9pm Add your voice to the bold dissonance and clear sweetness of ancient multipart Eastern European a cappella songs of love and lust, harvest and hearth, wartime, badly arranged marriages, and drunken husbands. No prior experience required. In the last class we will enchant an audience with what we’ve learned. Material Fee: $10Course Fee: $230TOTAL FEE: $240Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 14REGISTERLino Printing – Making Greeting Cards and Exploring Colour with Myra RasmussenIN PERSON1 Class: Sept. 24Sunday: 1-4pm In this class we will explore a few different ways to use colour in lino relief printmaking including rainbow rolls, coloured backgrounds, and reduction technique. Each participant will then carve and print one or two lino blocks (depending on time). We will work with 4” x 4.5” blocks, which are a perfect size to experiment with new techniques and to make handmade greeting cards. No previous lino printmaking experience required.Material Fee: $15 (all materials provided)Course Fee: $50TOTAL FEE: $65Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 15REGISTERDrawing The Costumed Figure with Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 4 – 25Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pm This four week imaginative and process-based course will focus on drawing skills through the study of the costumed figure. Staged poses with a costumed model will serve as the main prompt throughout the course. Review of primary drawing elements such as line, mark, value, and space will be covered as an introduction to the language of drawing. Specific exercises will explore compositional strategies, use of value or tonal range, and contrasting textures will be part of the curriculum. Studies will be used to develop a narrative drawing. Photographs taken of the model or from other sources will also be explored towards their use in developing a drawing. One-on-one and group critiques will be ongoing. Attention will be drawn to the use of the costumed figure throughout the history of art. Materials: graphite, coloured chalks, charcoal, conté, and a variety of papers.Note: This course is best suited to students with some previous drawing experience and an interest in exploring narrative qualities of the figure. Material Fee: $20 + Material ListCourse Fee: $205TOTAL FEE: $225REGISTERJOINSupport 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) Call for Proposals: Bathroom, Promotional image, 2023; (2-8) OAC 2023 Fall Semester promo images, 2023; (9) “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 250-551-6329 Facility access information
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 currently accepting project proposals for an installation project in the facility’s bathroom.
Applicants are encouraged to submit project proposals expressing interest specifically for the bathroom installation project. The installation will be on view for one-year and must be functional. Eligible artists and collectives must live and work in the Columbia Basin and have access to Oxygen’s facility during the installation period.
Oxygen supports exhibitions and projects that engage our mandate in exciting and challenging ways. We welcome project proposals in a variety of mediums that are suitable for a functioning bathroom.
Artists should anticipate spending 20 to 25 minutes completing the application form. The application requests an artist bio, short project proposal, and a selection of images representing the artist’s practice or vision for the installation.
Successful artist(s) will be notified by July 20, 2023 and will be compensated according to CARFAC rates. They will also have access to materials, tools, and support necessary to complete the proposed installation.
The installation period is to occur from July 31, 2023, to August 16, 2023, at the Oxygen Art Centre facility. The final installation will be on view for one-year, from August 16, 2023, to August 16, 2024.
For more information about the application process, the bathroom project, and how to apply, please visit Oxygen’s website. Please forward any questions to info@oxygenartcentre.org
The Call for Proposals to the Bathroom Installation Project is open from June 23, 2023, to July 12, 2023, at 5:00 PM. Proposals are to be submitted via the Google Forms available through Oxygen’s website.
This project is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
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Image Credits: 1. Promotional image for call, Oxygen Art Centre, 2023; 2. Exterior image of Oxygen Art Centre’s facility by Thomas Nowaczynski, 2022
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.
NEW EMPLOYEESOxygen Art Centre welcomes two new employees, Gabby Asbell as our Education Assistant and Daniel Reilly as our Gallery Assistant this Summer! Gabby Asbell (She/They (L)) is a local highschool student and aspiring artist. Gabby is looking to pursue a career in filmmaking, and is very grateful to be a part of Nelson’s thriving art community through local theatre, choir, film and organizations like Oxygen. Recently she has been working on her portfolio through photography work at Tiny Lights, videography for social media and her own creative writing. Daniel Reilly (He/They (R)) is a film production student at Concordia University, Montreal. Having grown up queer in Nelson, Daniel strives to create more queer representation and outreach for people who live in small communities and rural areas through his filmmaking. The positions are generously supported by the Canada Summer Jobs and Young Canada Works programs. Welcome, Gabby + Daniel!YOUTH EDUCATIONROCK /PAPER / SCISSORS /IN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 6 classes: September 18 – October 30, 2023 (no Class Oct. 9) /Mondays, 4:15 pm – 5.45 pmWho: Youth, 11-14 yrsWith: 2 artist instructors:// Brian Lye – Filmmaker// Rayya Liebich – Poet & Writer What: Join filmmaker Brian Lye, and poet Rayya Liebich on a multidisciplinary adventure to create a stop-motion animation film using an altered book as a springboard for story. Rayya will demonstrate how to write blackout poems, create book folds, and use decoupage techniques inside a hardcover book. Brian will then show you how to bring objects, words, and drawings to life using stop-motion animation. The culminating project will be a short movie of your chosen figurine/narrator literally jumping out of your book to tell a story through voice, image, and fun filming techniques. Come ready to learn, explore, and be amazed! Student Fee: $60 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERWORM /HOLEIN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 8 classes: September 22 – November 10, 2023 (no Class Oct. 6)/Fridays, 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm (2 hours)Who: Youth, 15-18 yrsWith: 3 artist instructors:// Catherine McIntosh – Visual Artist// Myra Rasmussen – Multi-disciplinary Artist// Marcus Dénommé – Printmaker What: Join artists Myra Rasmussen, Marcus Dénommé, and Cath McIntosh on a journey into printmaking. Students will learn a variety of techniques and printmaking practices including monoprinting, lino printing, screenprinting, dry point + experimental low-tech methods. In the final session students will combine these techniques in a printmaking marathon to create unique art books, portfolio pieces, printed bags and clothes or posterzines. You choose! Enter a new spacetime continuum with a fun group of artists and fellow students to explore the dimensions of printmaking! Student Fee: $85 (All materials included)Spaces limited!REGISTERFALL SEMESTER
Plan ahead! Oxygen’s Fall 2023 Semester is now open for registration. Continue learning a medium, explore a new one, dream, sing, and gather together, make your own screen printed artist book, and learn to paint!
Learn about the classes, instructors, and how to register via our website. Spaces limited. Contact Natasha Smith (Education Coordinator) with questions or registration support.
LEARN MOREFigure Drawing #3 (no instruction)IN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 17, 24 Oct 1, 8Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm Drawing sessions will provide the opportunity to draw from a model with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes. No instruction is offered. Students are expected to provide the drawing materials of their choice.TOTAL FEE: $60REGISTERArt Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergIN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pm 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: $40REGISTERDreaming into Poetry with Rose NielsenIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 19, 21, 26, 28, Oct. 3, 5, 10, 12Tues. & Thurs.: 10am – 12pm This course offers a poetry-writing approach that looks through the lens of Jungian dreamwork as we search for images, symbols, and metaphors in our dreams, bringing unconscious material into consciousness. In the process, we will explore a variety of fixed form and free verse poetry to learn which forms might best serve the dream’s tone and theme. TOTAL FEE: $230Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 12REGISTERBalkan Choir with Bessie WappIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 21 – Nov. 9Thursdays: 7 – 9pm Add your voice to the bold dissonance and clear sweetness of ancient multipart Eastern European a cappella songs of love and lust, harvest and hearth, wartime, badly arranged marriages, and drunken husbands. No prior experience required. In the last class we will enchant an audience with what we’ve learned. Material Fee: $10Course Fee: $230TOTAL FEE: $240Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 14REGISTERLino Printing – Making Greeting Cards and Exploring Colour with Myra RasmussenIN PERSON1 Class: Sept. 24Sunday: 1-4pm In this class we will explore a few different ways to use colour in lino relief printmaking including rainbow rolls, coloured backgrounds, and reduction technique. Each participant will then carve and print one or two lino blocks (depending on time). We will work with 4” x 4.5” blocks, which are a perfect size to experiment with new techniques and to make handmade greeting cards. No previous lino printmaking experience required.Material Fee: $15 (all materials provided)Course Fee: $50TOTAL FEE: $65Registration Deadline: SEPTEMBER 15REGISTERDrawing The Costumed Figure with Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 4 – 25Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pm This four week imaginative and process-based course will focus on drawing skills through the study of the costumed figure. Staged poses with a costumed model will serve as the main prompt throughout the course. Review of primary drawing elements such as line, mark, value, and space will be covered as an introduction to the language of drawing. Specific exercises will explore compositional strategies, use of value or tonal range, and contrasting textures will be part of the curriculum. Studies will be used to develop a narrative drawing. Photographs taken of the model or from other sources will also be explored towards their use in developing a drawing. One-on-one and group critiques will be ongoing. Attention will be drawn to the use of the costumed figure throughout the history of art. Materials: graphite, coloured chalks, charcoal, conté, and a variety of papers.Note: This course is best suited to students with some previous drawing experience and an interest in exploring narrative qualities of the figure. Material Fee: $20 + Material ListCourse Fee: $205TOTAL FEE: $225REGISTERJOINSupport 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) Tracelines exhibition documentation by Kenton Doupe, 2023; (2) OAC Summer Employees: Gabby Asbell (L) + Daniel Reilly (R), 2023; (3-9) OAC 2023 Fall Semester promo images, 2023; (7) “Become a Member” text overlaid on an image documenting an installation in progress at Oxygen Art Centre, 2015;
TWO SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT OXYGEN ART CENTRE
Oxygen Art Centre is currently looking for candidates to fulfil two (2) summer employment opportunities: Education Assistant (Remote, CSJ) and Gallery Assistant (In-person, YCW).
The Education Assistant position is a remote research-focused position funded by Canada Summer Jobs. The Gallery Assistant position is an in-person position funded by Young Canada Works.
Both positions are open to students currently enrolled in secondary or post-secondary programs with the intent to return in the Fall of 2023. Ideal candidates will be studying and/or have a background in contemporary art, art history, curatorial practice, cultural studies, or a related discipline. The positions run for nine weeks throughout the Summer of 2023 at $17 an hour. Candidates must be eligible for the respective funding programs to be considered.
Oxygen Art Centre is an artist-run centre located on the tum xula7xw of the sn̓ʕay̓ckstx (otherwise known as Nelson, B.C.) engaging communities throughout Nelson and the West Kootenay, and wider audiences provincially and nationally. Oxygen Art Centre provides space and programming for artists and the public to engage with the creation, study, exhibition, and performance of contemporary art in all disciplines.
Oxygen Art Centre’s activities include Exhibition & Residency Program, Adult Arts Education, Children and Youth Arts Education, and a Presentation Series which consists of literary, film, music, and theatre events. We are currently looking for a Summer Gallery Assistant and Education Assistant to add to our dynamic team.
More details on each position and how to apply via Oxygen’s website and social media. Interested candidates can contact the artist-run centre with questions via ino@oxygenartcentre.org or direct messaging on social media.
The deadline to apply to both positions is Wednesday, May 31, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST. To apply, submit a Cover Letter and Resume via email to info@oxygenartcentre.org stating eligibility for YCW and/or CSJ.
Oxygen Art Centre is an equal opportunity employer. We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Learn more information about Oxygen Art Centre by visiting their website, www.oxygenartcentre.org and social media.
Photo: Exterior photo of Oxygen Art Centre by Thomas Nowaczynski, 2022
Jaymie Johnson is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in investigating and building relationship with place through engagement with plants as subject matter and material. Her work spans drawing, printmaking, textiles, and community-engaged art.
Keiko Lee-Hem’s art practice allows her to slow down and slip into the present moment, escaping the busy-ness and distraction of the modern world and the digital life of her day job. Her practice allows her quality time noticing, savouring and recording the exquisite design and detail of her natural surroundings and helps her cope with sadness and anxiety caused by the passing of time, made evident by the waxing and waning of her garden and the growing up of her child on a changing planet.
OPEN HOUSE
Join us on Friday, September 8, 2023, for an Education program Open House from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The public are invited to meet the artist instructors, take part in demonstrations, readings, and art-making activities, and learn more about the upcoming classes and workshops! Stop by to renew your membership or become a member, too!
ROCK /PAPER / SCISSORS /IN PERSON @ OXYGEN ART CENTREWhen: 6 classes: September 18 – October 30, 2023 (no Class Oct. 9)
FALL SEMESTERPlan ahead! Oxygen’s Fall 2023 Semester is now open for registration. Continue learning a medium, explore a new one, dream, sing, and gather together, make your own screen printed artist book, and learn to paint!
Figure Drawing #3 (no instruction)IN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 17, 24 Oct 1, 8Sundays: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Art Speak – Peer to Peer Work Sharing Facilitated by Emilie Leblanc KrombergIN PERSON4 Classes: Sept 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12Thursdays: 5 – 6:45pm
Dreaming into Poetry with Rose NielsenIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 19, 21, 26, 28, Oct. 3, 5, 10, 12Tues. & Thurs.: 10am – 12pm
Balkan Choir with Bessie WappIN PERSON8 Classes: Sept. 21 – Nov. 9Thursdays: 7 – 9pm
Lino Printing – Making Greeting Cards and Exploring Colour with Myra RasmussenIN PERSON1 Class: Sept. 24Sunday: 1-4pm
Drawing The Costumed Figure with Deborah ThompsonIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 4 – 25Wednesdays: 5:30 – 8:30pm
The Screen Printed Artist Book with Marcus DénomméIN PERSON4 Classes: Oct. 3 – 24Tuesdays: 6 – 9 pm
Keep on Keeping on with Susan Andrews GraceONLINE5 Classes: Oct. 4 – Nov. 1Wednesdays: 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Generative Sound for Analogue Film Projection with Kyle WhiteheadIN PERSON1 Class: Oct. 7Saturday: 10 am – 4:30 pm (1/2 hr lunch)
Applicants can submit proposals 
Deadline to apply: July 14, 2023 by 5:00 PM PST *extension*
Oxygen Art Centre
Oxygen Art Centre welcomes two new employees, Gabby Asbell as our Education Assistant and Daniel Reilly as our Gallery Assistant this Summer!