[Bcma-l] For Immediate Release – April 30, 200
8
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*MediaRelease*
*For Immediate Release – April 30, 2008*
*Major National Festival, /On Common Ground/, Promotes Indigenous
Film, Video and Cross-Cultural Exchange*
KELOWNA, B.C. – The Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art is
pleased to announce a major cultural gathering to celebrate Indigenous
film, video and new media art by international, national and local
artists from June 10 to June 15, 2008.
/On Common Ground/ is the national media arts conference and
festival of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, a non-profit
organization that serves some 12,000 independent artists and cultural
workers across Canada.
An inclusive celebration supported by local Indigenous communities,
/On Common Ground/ will welcome hundreds of groundbreaking artists for
screenings, exhibitions, performances, keynote speeches, panel
discussions and an exciting array of other cross-cultural exchanges.
The six-day festival – organized in partnership with the Ullus
Collective, an aboriginal media arts group based in Penticton, B.C., the
National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition, and UBC Okanagan – is the
largest media arts event ever held in the British Columbia Interior.
Indigenous filmmakers will showcase stories about social issues,
political histories and cultural traditions as a way to foster
understanding between artists and audiences from all communities, says
organizer Tracey Jack, a member of the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation and chair
of the Ullus Collective.
“Any time we can eat together, any time we can be festive and
celebrate together it brings us ‘on common ground,’” says Jack. “To
reach that common ground we want to ensure the festival is a place to
freely engage in important issues that are sometimes not easy to discuss
– topics like racism, equality, censorship and cultural survival.”
/ On Common Ground/ kicks off Tuesday, June 10 with a feast and
honoring at the En’owkin Centre, an aboriginal educational and cultural
institution in Penticton, where Alanis Obomsawin, one of Canada’s most
distinguished documentary filmmakers, will deliver a keynote speech.
The festival continues at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna
with panel discussions on improving the visibility of aboriginal
artists, establishing cross-cultural partnerships, mediating identity
issues and protecting intellectual property rights, a hot topic in First
Nations communities that want to control use of their cultural heritage.
Evening screenings feature work by Canadian aboriginal filmmakers
Gail Maurice, Darlene Naponse, Zoe Hopkins, Wanda Nanibush, Helen Haig
Brown, Reil Munro, Finlay Harper, Bernice Morin and Martha Stiegman. As
well, a regional video commission by Jayce Salloum and emerging artist
Bracken Ha’nuse Corlett will premiere at the festival.
In conjunction with /On Common Ground/, the Alternator is presenting
a special program of exhibitions, Edges of Diversity, which features
work commissioned from three leading B.C.-based contemporary artists –
Dana Claxton, Jayce Salloum and Henry Tsang.
-The Mustang Suite, which opens Thursday, June 12, features
photo-based and video work that re-imagines native culture in a consumer
society, blending spiritual traditions of Claxton’s Lakota heritage with
pop-culture icons.
-Opening the same night is an exhibition, co-presented with
SAVAC, the Toronto-based South Asian Visual Arts Centre, by Kelowna-born
Jayce Salloum, who worked in collaboration with Afghani artist Khadim
Ali. Their work documents issues of loss and displacement based on their
recent journey to the site of Buddha sculptures destroyed by the Taliban
in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.
-On Wednesday, June 11, Tsang, head of Critical and Cultural
Studies at the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver, presents Napa North, a
photo-based and video installation at the Kelowna Art Gallery that
explores urbanization and the growth of the Okanagan wine industry.
The Alternator will also exhibit its commissioned project,/ Fault
Lines/, from June 8 to June 17 in the Galleria of the Rotary Centre. It
features new work by eight local video artists who consider potential
impacts of emerging mass-media technologies on individuals, cultural
traditions, social networks and power structures.
Jennifer Pickering, Artistic and Administrative Director of the
Alternator, says the festival is a major coup for the Okanagan arts
community, and it will encourage a climate of reconciliation between
diverse communities.
“Although this project has been a tremendous amount of work for a
small and under-funded artist-run centre, our board of directors is
convinced that it is an important initiative that will not only provide
much-needed dialogue, but also increase the Alternator’s national
profile as a centre that dares to challenge the status quo.”
The festival wraps up Sunday, June 15 with a free outdoor cultural
celebration with a youth focus, organized by the Westbank First Nation,
the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the En’owkin Centre and the Alternator.
The party starts at noon at the Rotary Centre and includes music,
drumming, dancing, storytelling, a children’s choir, a craft market and
a fashion show.
All events are open to the public. Evening screenings and most
receptions are free to all. A five-day conference pass, including the
opening feast, is being offered at half-price to Okanagan residents for
just $100 for adults and $50 for youth, elders and students. Local day
passes are also available. Passes go on sale May 2 through Ticketmaster
at (250) 860-1470 or www.ticketmaster.ca.
The Alternator Gallery for Contemporary art is grateful for the
generous support of Arts Partners in Creative Development, the Canada
Council for the Arts, the Regional District of the Central Okanagan,
Service Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Audain Foundation,
the Hamber Foundation, SW Audio Visual and Tree Brewing.
For information, or to volunteer, visit www.imaa.ca, e-mail
ocg@alternatorgallery.com or call the Alternator at (250) 868-2298.
-30-
*Interviews and photo opportunities can be arranged by contacting Event
Coordinator Dorothy Spahan at (250) 868-2298 or ocg@alternatorgallery.com.*
-
Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art
#103-421 Cawston Ave.
Kelowna, BC
V1Y 6Z1
250-868-2298
www.alternatorgallery.com <http://www.alternatorgallery.com/>
info@alternatorgallery.com <mailto:info@alternatorgallery.com>
The Alternator Gallery is proud to present ON COMMON GROUND National
Media Arts Festival & Conference, June 10-14 2008.
Exploring common visions while showcasing the history of Indigenous
media art in the traditional territory of the Syilx Nation in beautiful
Kelowna BC.
www.imaa.ca <http://www.imaa.ca/> or www.alternatorgallery.com
<http://www.alternatorgallery.com/>
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<big><big><big><b><font color="#009900">Media</font><font
color="#3366ff">Release</font></b></big></big></big><br>
<big><br>
<b>For Immediate Release – April 30, 2008</b></big><br>
<br>
<div align="center">
<blockquote><font color="#ff0000" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><big><big><big><b>Major
National Festival, <i>On Common Ground</i>, Promotes Indigenous Film,
Video and Cross-Cultural Exchange</b></big></big></big></font><br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
KELOWNA, B.C. – The Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art is
pleased to announce a major cultural gathering to celebrate Indigenous
film, video and new media art by international, national and local
artists from June 10 to June 15, 2008.<br>
<i>On Common Ground</i> is the national media arts conference and
festival of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, a non-profit
organization that serves some 12,000 independent artists and cultural
workers across Canada.<br>
An inclusive celebration supported by local Indigenous communities,
<i>On Common Ground</i> will welcome hundreds of groundbreaking artists
for screenings, exhibitions, performances, keynote speeches, panel
discussions and an exciting array of other cross-cultural exchanges. <br>
The six-day festival – organized in partnership with the Ullus
Collective, an aboriginal media arts group based in Penticton, B.C.,
the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition, and UBC Okanagan – is the
largest media arts event ever held in the British Columbia Interior.<br>
Indigenous filmmakers will showcase stories about social issues,
political histories and cultural traditions as a way to foster
understanding between artists and audiences from all communities, says
organizer Tracey Jack, a member of the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation and
chair of the Ullus Collective.<br>
“Any time we can eat together, any time we can be festive and
celebrate together it brings us ‘on common ground,’” says Jack. “To
reach that common ground we want to ensure the festival is a place to
freely engage in important issues that are sometimes not easy to
discuss – topics like racism, equality, censorship and cultural
survival.” <br>
<i> On Common Ground</i> kicks off Tuesday, June 10 with a feast
and honoring at the En’owkin Centre, an aboriginal educational and
cultural institution in Penticton, where Alanis Obomsawin, one of
Canada’s most distinguished documentary filmmakers, will deliver a
keynote speech.<br>
The festival continues at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna
with panel discussions on improving the visibility of aboriginal
artists, establishing cross-cultural partnerships, mediating identity
issues and protecting intellectual property rights, a hot topic in
First Nations communities that want to control use of their cultural
heritage. <br>
Evening screenings feature work by Canadian aboriginal filmmakers
Gail Maurice, Darlene Naponse, Zoe Hopkins, Wanda Nanibush, Helen Haig
Brown, Reil Munro, Finlay Harper, Bernice Morin and Martha Stiegman. As
well, a regional video commission by Jayce Salloum and emerging artist
Bracken Ha’nuse Corlett will premiere at the festival.<br>
In conjunction with <i>On Common Ground</i>, the Alternator is
presenting a special program of exhibitions, Edges of Diversity, which
features work commissioned from three leading B.C.-based contemporary
artists – Dana Claxton, Jayce Salloum and Henry Tsang.<br>
-The Mustang Suite, which opens Thursday, June 12,
features photo-based and video work that re-imagines native culture in
a consumer society, blending spiritual traditions of Claxton’s Lakota
heritage with pop-culture icons.<br>
-Opening the same night is an exhibition, co-presented with
SAVAC, the Toronto-based South Asian Visual Arts Centre, by
Kelowna-born Jayce Salloum, who worked in collaboration with Afghani
artist Khadim Ali. Their work documents issues of loss and displacement
based on their recent journey to the site of Buddha sculptures
destroyed by the Taliban in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. <br>
-On Wednesday, June 11, Tsang, head of Critical and
Cultural Studies at the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver, presents
Napa North, a photo-based and video installation at the Kelowna Art
Gallery that explores urbanization and the growth of the Okanagan wine
industry.<br>
The Alternator will also exhibit its commissioned project,<i> Fault
Lines</i>, from June 8 to June 17 in the Galleria of the Rotary Centre.
It features new work by eight local video artists who consider
potential impacts of emerging mass-media technologies on individuals,
cultural traditions, social networks and power structures. <br>
Jennifer Pickering, Artistic and Administrative Director of the
Alternator, says the festival is a major coup for the Okanagan arts
community, and it will encourage a climate of reconciliation between
diverse communities.<br>
“Although this project has been a tremendous amount of work for a
small and under-funded artist-run centre, our board of directors is
convinced that it is an important initiative that will not only provide
much-needed dialogue, but also increase the Alternator’s national
profile as a centre that dares to challenge the status quo.” <br>
The festival wraps up Sunday, June 15 with a free outdoor cultural
celebration with a youth focus, organized by the Westbank First Nation,
the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the En’owkin Centre and the Alternator.
The party starts at noon at the Rotary Centre and includes music,
drumming, dancing, storytelling, a children’s choir, a craft market and
a fashion show. <br>
All events are open to the public. Evening screenings and most
receptions are free to all. A five-day conference pass, including the
opening feast, is being offered at half-price to Okanagan residents for
just $100 for adults and $50 for youth, elders and students. Local day
passes are also available. Passes go on sale May 2 through Ticketmaster
at (250) 860-1470 or <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.ticketmaster.ca">www.ticketmaster.ca</a>.<br>
The Alternator Gallery for Contemporary art is grateful for the
generous support of Arts Partners in Creative Development, the Canada
Council for the Arts, the Regional District of the Central Okanagan,
Service Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Audain
Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, SW Audio Visual and Tree Brewing.<br>
For information, or to volunteer, visit <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.imaa.ca">www.imaa.ca</a>,
e-mail
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:ocg@alternatorgallery.com">ocg@alternatorgallery.com</a>
or call the Alternator at (250) 868-2298.<br>
<br>
-30-<br>
<br>
<big><b>Interviews and photo opportunities can be arranged by
contacting Event
Coordinator Dorothy Spahan at (250) 868-2298 or
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:ocg@alternatorgallery.com">ocg@alternatorgallery.com</a>.</b></big><br>
- <br>
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Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art<br>
#103-421 Cawston Ave.<br>
Kelowna, BC<br>
V1Y 6Z1<br>
250-868-2298<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.alternatorgallery.com/">www.alternatorgallery.com</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:info@alternatorgallery.com">info@alternatorgallery.com</a><br>
<br>
<br>
The Alternator Gallery is proud to present ON COMMON GROUND National
Media Arts
Festival & Conference, June 10-14 2008.<br>
<br>
Exploring common visions while showcasing the history of Indigenous
media art
in the traditional territory of the Syilx Nation in beautiful Kelowna
BC. <br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.imaa.ca/">www.imaa.ca</a> or
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.alternatorgallery.com/">www.alternatorgallery.com</a></span></p>
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