[BCMA] For Immediate Release: New Executive Director at the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan

Tue Oct 13 13:45:34 PDT 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 13th, 2015. Kelowna, BC.

 New Executive Director at the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan

The Arts Council of the Central Okanagan is pleased to welcome Katie
Brennan as the new Executive Director. Brennan is a professional artist,
who has served the last four years at the Curator of the Lake Country Art
Gallery. She holds an MFA in studio art from the University of Guelph and
an BFA, also in studio art, from Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
She has taught in UBC Okanagan’s visual art department and maintains strong
ties to UBC Okanagan - in 2013 she co-curated an off-campus showcase of
student work in downtown Kelowna. This past summer, she was part of UBC
Okanagan’s inaugural summer artist in residence program for June, July and
August. Brennan is also the Founder and Editor in Chief of the OKanagan Art
Review, an online magazine and hub for visual arts in the area.

This is not Brennan’s first association with ARTSCO. She served on the
board of directors in 2013 during which she conceived the  “60 Artists in
60 spaces to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of ARTSCO” for which she
designed the accompanying exhibition / participant catalogue.

For the last number of years, ARTSCO has presented the Okanagan Arts Awards
and the Mad Hatter pop-up / temporary exhibition, held last year at the
Tree Fruits Packing house on Clement to much acclaim and huge attendance.
ARTSCO also runs the Artscape exhibition program which places artwork by
local artists in venues such as the downtown public library, Okanagan
College Library and Cottonwoods Extended care, among others. New this past
year is a collaboration between ARTSCO and the Uptown Rutland Business
Association, called “Art in Empty Spaces” which has placed artwork by local
artists in vacant retail spaces in Rutland.

Brennan has a great love and passion for the arts and has lots of ideas of
what will be next for ARTSCO. “I’m want to see ARTSCO support and amplify
the great work already being done by local artists, musicians, writers and
dancers. Let’s build on what is already here”.

In Brennan’s open letter, currently up on the ARTSCO website, she positions
ARTSCO as a service group for Art Makers and Art Lovers.

“To serve ART MAKERS by supporting and providing resources and
opportunities that support all the extra things that artists, dancers,
writers, musicians, etc. need to do get their work out there and make it as
easy as possible for them to get that support and get them back into the
studio, and making, as soon as possible.

And to serve ART LOVERS by making the finding out about the arts as easy as
possible – so that you practically have to trip over it”, Brennan explains.

Also in this letter, Brennan invites anyone with ideas of how ARTSCO could
be of even greater service to the Central Okanagan, to reach out to her
with their ideas. To facilitate this, she will be holding open office hours
on Mondays 1 - 6pm, Oct 19th & 26th, Nov 2nd & 9th, on a first come, first
serve basic. She also welcomes others to make appointments with her at
other times, if that is more suitable. Katie Brennan can be reached at
250-861-4123 / director at artsco.ca

-30-

Media Contact:   Katie Brennan - Executive Director, ARTSCO    250-861-4213
// director at artsco.ca

-- 
Arts Council of the Central Okanagan
250-861-4123   //  heythere at artsco.ca  <heythere at artsco.ca> //  artsco.ca
<http://artsco.ca/>

*Located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts at 421 Cawston Ave, Kelowna*
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