As children, myth and magic are such a part of our world that make-believe just flows from us; it’s built in. At some point, the demands of “real life” cause many of us to push aside this inherent imagineering for one practical reason or another, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone—it’s just dormant for a while.
The news of KSA’s closure has come as a shock to the students, teachers and arts community in this region, particularly as just this year the ceramics program was expanded, due to strong demand.
As a visual artist, Deb works primarily in pastels, capturing landscapes as they shift and change. Her work in disaster recovery focuses on supporting small, rural and remote communities as they rebuild—a project that became immensely personal after her community of Argenta was severely threatened by fire last summer.
While B.C.’s arts and entertainment sector is thriving, data from WorkSafeBC reveals that injury rates persist and remain a key focus area. Each year, hundreds of workers experience injuries due to preventable incidents on sets, stages and event sites.
We need a narrative of impact and urgency that supports necessary investment in arts and culture. The conference keynote by Michelle Chawla, CEO of the Canada Council, was a masterclass in just that.
“Rob is a huge believer in finding art in unexpected places and has been involved with several public art projects over the years,” says Carol Palladino, Chair of the Revelstoke Public Art Committee, Director of Arts Revelstoke, and Board Member of Tourism Revelstoke. “His contributions are part of what makes Revelstoke an arts town that happens to have a ski hill!”
Kallee Lins, our Executive Director, and Lily Andersen, our Grants Officer and Operations Manager, headed in mid-September 2025 to a few communities we don’t often get to visit in person: Cranbrook, Fernie, Invermere and Golden, along with a pit stop in Revelstoke.
Perspectives in Eco-Art: an exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery in which nine women artists merged environmental activism, social commentary and innovative installation practices to challenge us to reconsider our relationship with the land.
“Inspired by hearing stories across our communities of residencies that didn’t focus on our well-being over the production of work, we built a space to cultivate a supportive ecosystem where collective knowledge and creativity can flourish,”
Clarkson’s relationship with the camera began at age 16 when he started working for the Nelson Daily News. “I spent one afternoon a week processing film in the darkroom,” he says.
Harrison Memorial Church has been a fixture in the East Shore community of Crawford Bay for over 100 years. The church was constructed in 1920 by Commander Matthew Harrison in memory of his departed family: two sons who were killed in the First World War; a young son who died from scarlet fever; and his wife of 45 years, Lucy.
On Thursday, June 19, filmmaker Carlo Alcos stood on stage at Nelson’s Capitol Theatre, humbly basking in the audience’s vibrant, joyous response to his first documentary film. The theatre held over 250 people – friends, family and strangers – celebrating the story he had just shared with us and his courage to tell it.
As A Celebration of India started to become a reality, Gonella collaborated with the Capitol on the project. While recognizing that it is very difficult to highlight the vastness of India in just two hours, Gonella has focused on capturing the varied traditions and ethnicities that comprise Indian culture. “I know there are so many people in Nelson that I’ve met who have been to India and have lived there for quite a bit. But for the others it [Indian culture] can be superficial, so I think knowing more would be much better,” says Gonella.
Have you ever eaten quinoa chocolate cake? I have, it came from Epiphany Cakes and it is the best darn chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Fortunately for us, it is one of the recipes that cookbook author Melissa Owen has included in her first baking book, Epiphany Bakes. Owen has chosen 60 recipes from her Nelson bakery to feature in the book and has interspersed them with profiles of individuals in her neighbourhood and community. Argenta’s Louis Bockner photographed the profile subjects and contributed the cover image. The photographs of the baked goods are by Owen.
In 2022, the Cranbrook Arts 1401 Gallery hosted a groundbreaking exhibit entitled “I Quilt.” This exhibit not only celebrated the unique and innovative quilting techniques of the Cranbrook Quilters Guild (CQG) members but also left the audience intrigued and inspired by their exceptional creativity and skill.
Fabric artist Shannon Fraser describes herself as “a little old lady who lives in the wilderness in the mountains on a lake near Kimberley,” but she is so much more than that.
Making art can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining.
Now imagine you are an artist with a disability. The challenges—and perhaps the rewards—may be even greater. This article is based on my conversation with four artists from across the Columbia Basin who create art while living with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
Amongst wildflowers or at the base of a snowy slope. In a school gym or in a city park. Such settings may not have much in common, except when Patrick Carrick encourages people there to sit in a circle, equips them with hand drums and with gentle guidance allows the participants’ own rhythms to arise.
Society is shifting, as are the expectations of funders, audiences and the communities we serve. The majority of arts, culture, and heritage organizations in B.C. are smaller, often volunteer-run non-profits operating in non-urban areas. All too often these organizations are doing their work in places of extreme precarity, with limited access to professional development resources or even the time to invest in learning and growth.
Floating into a cloud of dreams comes to mind as I search for a metaphor to describe my voyage into Tanya P. Johnson’s work. It only begins to describe her: suffice to say that Johnson is a prolific artist who shies away from nothing and bathes with pleasure in speculation and uncertainty.
At the heart of every successful organization is a sound set of financials that tell the story of the organization and forecast the future.
Southern Interior may be a wacky comedy, but it was important that the show have something unique to say—something that people from any walk of life can relate to. By using humour to tell relatable stories, the goal is to create connection and build community.
Lunatics: Last Men on the Moon Brian d’Eon Home Star Press, October 2024 Nelson author Brian d’Eon’s third novel follows the fortunes of men and women—mostly historical—intimately involved in a fictional last mission to land humans on the moon. Apollo XX is NASA’s...
The buckets of fear I had to swim through to get to where I am today would make you think I can breathe underwater. I can’t. What I can do is hold my breath for a long time and hope to come above water before it’s too late.
Slocan Valley artist Frantisek Strouhal’s second book brings together 44 images of his artwork, alongside poetry and prose written by Strouhal and his partner, Chantal Robert. The book also features the work of Valley writer and poet Corrina Calvert-Smith.