Oxygen Art Centre

Education, Summer Residency, Zine + more Donate! Support your artist-run centre EDUCATION 𝐹𝒜𝐿𝐿 𝒮𝐸𝑀𝐸𝒮𝒯𝐸𝑅 PART ONE September 28 – October 31, 2026 PART TWO November 9 – December 5, 2026 Oxygen Art Centre’s Fall Semester: Part Two is now open ︎ Taking place from September 23, 2026, to December 5, 2026, at the artist-run centre’s downtown facility, the program features classes in textiles, drawing, and character design, and everything in between. The fall semester is broken into two parts, where students can sign-up for two different blocks of Life Drawing and the studio critique class, Art Speak with Emilie Leblanc-Kromberg. Running over five- and four-weeks each, the sections provide new and returning students with a myriad of opportunities to engage in creative praxis.  Part One takes place from September 28, 2026, to October 31, 2026, with the majority of registration deadlines now closed; however, registration is open for another week to participate in The Flax Lab with Danielle Soucie for an in-depth engagement with flax from seed to linen textile (all materials and equipment included).  Part Two takes from November 9, 2026, to December 5, 2026, featuring Life Drawing and Art Speak classes, with exciting new weekly classes, including Discover Screen Printing with new instructor Gaelle Lalonde (AFKO Serigraphie’s new resident screen printer!), Writing the Scholarly Poem with Susan Andrews Grace exploring research as a method into poetry, and Unfinished Business with Cath McIntosh which provides space to bring any lingering, unfinished artistic projects to the light in a group studio context. Over the weekends, we are delighted to offer an Introduction to Digital Photography intensive with Louis Bockner and a one-day lino printing class to make your own holiday cards with Cath McIntosh! Plus, we’re again partnering with the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society to offer a Remembrance Luminaria Workshop to provide the skills and materials to make your very own luminaria to contribute to the festival event. Learn about the classes and your instructors on Oxygen’s website. Register early to reserve your spot! Classes are small to create a dynamic experience for each student, but they fill up quickly. Materials and equipment provided for most classes. Oxygen’s Education program has offered professional art classes to adults and youth for over 23 years. The program is unique as it is developed and taught by established, professional local artists and art educators who share their skills and advanced education with the community. Interested participants can register to attend each class by signing up online through Google Forms. As a non-profit artist-run centre we rely on minimum registration to pay professional artist instructor rates and to ensure enough time for instructors and staff to prepare for your class. Community-focused classes are generously subsidized by the Province of British Columbia’s Community Gaming grants program. For information about Oxygen’s registration policies are available on our website and on each registration form. Contact education@oxygenartcentre.org with any questions or for support to register. PART ONEWeekendREGISTER The Flax Lab is a four-session exploration of flax from plant to textile. Through discussion, demonstration, and hands-on practice, participants will learn about growing, harvesting, retting, breaking, scutching, hackling, and preparing flax fibre. The course will then move into spinning and creating a small woven or knitted sample. Beginner-friendly and adaptable for experienced makers, the lab offers space to work at your own skill level while building a deeper understanding of flax, traditional processing methods, and the possibilities of locally grown fibre through shared experimentation. Course fee:  $290.00[all materials + equipment incl.]Deadline:      Friday, October 9, 2026LEARN MORE PART TWOMondaysOxygen’s Life Drawing sessions offer a weekly opportunity to draw from a professional model in a studio setting. Poses will typically begin with short (2-minute poses) for quick gestural studies and work up through increments to longer (15-20 minute) poses. No instruction is offered. Participants will have access to easels, donkeys, drawing boards and miscellaneous drawing materials and are encouraged to bring materials for the drawing medium of their choice. Classes are kept small to create a dynamic, engaging environment for creative and technical engagement. Course fee:          $90.00Deadline:             Friday, October 30, 2026REGISTER WednesdaysOxygen’s Life Drawing sessions offer a weekly opportunity to draw from a professional model in a studio setting. Poses will typically begin with short (2-minute poses) for quick gestural studies and work up through increments to longer (15-20 minute) poses. No instruction is offered. Participants will have access to easels, donkeys, drawing boards and miscellaneous drawing materials and are encouraged to bring materials for the drawing medium of their choice. Classes are kept small to create a dynamic, engaging environment for creative and technical engagement. Course fee:          $75.00Deadline:           Tuesday, November, 10, 2026REGISTER ThursdaysArt Speak is an opportunity to meet other artists and discuss artworks created within a common theme. It is a weekly challenge to listen, think, observe, elaborate, and commit to the creative process. Whatever skill level or medium used, the group supports an intimate space where all feels included, connected, respected, and excited to share courageous exploration. Course fee:          $75.00Deadline:             Thursday, November 5, 2026REGISTER SaturdayJoin our beginner-friendly holiday workshop to design, carve, and print your own custom holiday cards using traditional linocut techniques. All materials supplied. Course fee:          $50.00Deadline:             Thursday, November 5, 2026REGISTER TuesdaysThis course will introduce beginners to the fundamentals of screen printing in a supportive, creative environment. Participants will experiment with techniques such as paper stencils, direct drawing with drawing fluid, image burning with emulsion using two different colors, and monoprinting. Emphasizing artistic exploration, the class will empower students to use their own unique style with this technique. By the end, participants will be confident and inspired to continue creating with silkscreen, be it independently or with further help in the AFKO.Sérigraphie workshop. Course fee:       $160.00(all equipment + materials included)Deadline:           Friday, October 30, 2026REGISTER WednesdaysThe scholarly poem marries reading and writing, research and invention. Your research can be the subject of the poem, used as a constraint, or a filter for its composition. The scholarly poem uses an archive whether it’s philosophy, literature, science, metaphysic, pancakes, or sciatica as its source. Formally, the scholarly poem can be lyric or experimental. This course is suitable for anyone interested in writing poetry, regardless of prior experience. Course fee:         $90.00Deadline:             Tuesday, November 10, 2026REGISTER FridaysLooking for the dedicated time and space to create? Unfinished Business is a 4-week artist program designed to give your creative projects the momentum they need. Whether you’re starting a new project, pushing past a creative block, or finally putting the finishing touches on work in progress, you don’t have to do it alone. Set in a friendly, welcoming studio atmosphere, this program surrounds you with a supportive community of fellow artists. Share ideas, exchange constructive feedback, and find fresh motivation in a space built for growth and collaboration. Course fee:          $90.00Deadline:             Thursday, November 5, 2026REGISTER WeekendA four-class course aimed to get people understanding their digital camera and how to harness light to make better images. The course will cover photography basics such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, metering and metering. Course fee:          $180.00Deadline:             Friday, November 13, 2026REGISTER Remembrance Luminaria WorkshopSunday, October 25, 202610:00 AM – 12:00 PM Noonat Oxygen Art Centre Fee: Sliding Scale: $10 – $30Registration requiredDeadline: Friday, October 24, 2026REGISTERLEARN MORE RESIDENCY + ZINEWe’re excited to celebrate the Three Way Mirror residency with artists Daniel Barrow, Glenn Gear, and Paige Gratland through a new zine created by Residency Coordinator Dara van der Meulen. Drawing on time spent with the artists, interviews, and research into the intersections of queer theory and craft practices, the zine offers a vibrant look at the ideas and relationships that shaped the residency. A limited run of the zine available in print at Oxygen and digitally on our website. Printed by Hall Printing (Nelson, Canada), the zine features unique hand stitching and beadwork along each spine. Dara van der Meulen served as Oxygen’s Residency Coordinator for the Summer 2026 Residency project. Dara’s research into queer craft and with the Three Way Mirror collective provides context into the material and theoretical practices that underpin this project. Their position was made possible with support from the Canada Summer Jobs program. Three Way Mirror is the artist collective of Daniel Barrow, Glenn Gear, and Paige Gratland. Three Way Mirror were in residence at Oxygen Art Centre from July 3, 2026, to August 7, 2026. The residency is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, the Vancouver Foundation, and the Regional District of Central Kootenay ReDi program. All photographs by Kenton Doupe, Oxygen Art Centre, August 2026.LEARN MORE JOINSupport your artist-run centre by becoming an Oxygen Art Centre Member. Oxygen Memberships run from $2 (Senior/Student) to $5 (Single) to $10 (Families) and significantly help our organization. Become a member today! MEMBERSHIP BENEFITSEvents, Tours and Artist TalksVolunteer, Networking and Mentorship ExperienceRegular mailings and newslettersVoting Privileges at Oxygen Art Centre’s AGMDiscounted rental rate to document artwork at Oxygen’s studioAccess to current Exhibition Publications and CataloguesArtist-in-Residence and Exhibition ToursRegister ONLINE or by MAIL Already a Member? Consider making a Donation.REGISTER Images (top to bottom): (1-13) Oxygen Art Centre, Education program, 2026 Fall semester promotional infographics containing photographs from each instructor intended for promotional purposes, Courtesy the Artists, September 2026; (11) O2 Call to Artists, Exhibition & Residency program, Promotional infographic containing a collage of wikihow, O2 exhibition documentation of Bethany Pardoe’s exhibition “The Small Earth” from November 2025, and a Google Maps image of the O2 window location in downtown Nelson, BC, September 2026; (12-15) Three Way Mirror, All images by Kenton Doupe, Oxygen Art Centre, August 2026: (left, top) TWM Artist Collective Headshot, (right, top) Documentation of Dara van der Meulen’s printed and bound zine, (middle) documentations of artworks in progress installed at Oxygen Art Centre by Glenn Gear (left) and Paige Gratland (right), (bottom) documentation of artworks in progress installed at Oxygen Art Centre by Daniel Barrow, August 2026; (11) “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 Facility access information Office Hours: Tuesdays – Thursdays, 9:00am – 2:00pm (responses will be slow outside of this window) Hours of Operation: Wednesdays – Saturdays, 1:00 – 5:00pm (during exhibition run) Admission is free or by donation Oxygen Art Centre is is an artist-run centre located on the tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (land) of the Sn̓ʕaýckstx (Sinixt), Syilx and Ktunaxa Nations colonially known as the West Kootenay in the southeastern interior region of British Columbia, Canada. We strive to listen, learn and grow respectful relationships with all those who have deep connections with this land and its waterways, including Métis and many diverse Indigenous persons. We honour their ongoing presence as stewards and carriers of knowledge. We make this statement to recognize our privilege as uninvited guests and to reflect on our own connections to this place. Our responsibility as an artist-run centre is to uplift voices of justice, move at the speed of trust, and deepen understanding and relationships. We are grateful for the financial support we receive from the 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, Regional District of Central Kootenay’s ReDi program, Osprey Community Foundation, Hamber Foundation, United Way, Nelson Lions Club, and Nelson and District Credit Union. We offer thanks to the Polka Dot Dragon Festival, the Elephant Mountain Literary Festival and other key partners including Hall Printing, Speedpro Signs, and Selkirk College for their support. We especially thank our collaborators, volunteers, donors, and members. Oxygen Art Centre is committed to ensuring all exhibitions, programs, and events are accessible to visitors. Our facilities are wheelchair accessible and equipped with an all-genders washroom. Please contact Oxygen if you have any questions or concerns about your visit.