<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin-top:24.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#365F91;}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Body Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing
{mso-style-priority:1;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#365F91;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.BodyTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Body Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Body Text";
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle25
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.EmailStyle26
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
span.apple-converted-space
{mso-style-name:apple-converted-space;}
span.EmailStyle28
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
span.mytext11
{mso-style-name:mytext11;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black;}
span.EmailStyle30
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
span.EmailStyle31
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
span.apple-style-span
{mso-style-name:apple-style-span;}
span.style781
{mso-style-name:style781;}
span.textexposedshow
{mso-style-name:text_exposed_show;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:216481404;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:219479558 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:245070728;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-572107994 1709768636 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-start-at:0;
mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:-;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:1327705612;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1686724464 1709768636 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-start-at:0;
mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:-;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:1425765717;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1150175692 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">For Immediate Release <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">New exhibition focuses on the Okanagan’s Mexican seasonal agricultural workers</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Deborah Koenker: Grapes and Tortillas<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">on view through October 30, 2016<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b>August 3, 2016 – Kelowna, BC:</b> With a bounty of fresh fruit being offered at local markets and stands across the Okanagan Valley at this time of year, have you ever stopped to consider just how it all gets
there?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">A new exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery focuses<span style="color:#444444">
</span>on the 2,000 temporary agricultural workers from Mexico hired each year by the Okanagan Valley’s fruit orchards, vineyards, and plant nurseries. The installation is entitled
<i>Deborah Koenker: Grapes and Tortillas</i>. It is intended by the artist as a tribute to and a celebration of the hard work and the personal sacrifices of these migrant workers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Visitors can explore the varied aspects of Koenker’s immersive installation, including 160 photographic portraits of these men and women, as well as a giant curtain made from orchard netting threaded with 2,000
coloured ribbons – a visual reference to Mexican shrines and acknowledgement of the number of workers here. In addition, there is a nod to a Mexican kitchen that also serves to convey the story of Doña Vicky, an activist from Oaxaca. Also, viewers will see
a shrine-like area, centred on an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is the patron saint of Mexico. Additionally, there is an 80-foot long
<i>Tortilla Wall</i> piece comprised of photographs, and strung with barbed wire, which is accompanied by quotations from a poem called
<i>187 REASONS MEXICANOS CAN’T CROSS THE BORDER</i> by Juan Felipe Herrera, the current US poet laureate. With all these components and more, the artist hopes to give viewers some sense of the issues around the situation of these workers as well as a taste
of the culture of Mexico.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Deborah Koenker is a Vancouver-based interdisciplinary artist with interests in writing and curatorial projects. She holds a BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and completed post graduate work
at Central Saint Martins in London, England. She has an MFA from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Koenker has an extensive record of exhibitions in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated, 152-page, full-colour catalogue with four texts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">To complement this exhibition, a <i>
Fiesta Mexicana</i> has been scheduled for Thursday, <br>
August 18, from 7 to 9 pm. The public is invited to join us for an evening of celebration as we enjoy the company of Sandy Diaz Hart, activist and co-founder of the El Faro Society (For Agricultural Workers in the Okanagan), along with some of the workers.
Learn more about life for the temporary agricultural workers in the Okanagan while enjoying authentic Mexican cuisine and music.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><i>Deborah Koenker: Grapes and Tortillas</i><i>
</i>will be on view until October 30, 2016. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street in downtown Kelowna. For more information about current exhibitions, public programming or special events, please visit the Kelowna Art Gallery online at
www.kelownaartgallery.com or call 250-762-2226.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>30 –<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">[images attached]<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Poster graphic to share, circulate, and print<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Installation photos from <i>Deborah Koenker: Grapes and Tortillas</i></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Deborah Koenker,<i> Abelardo Estrada García, Miacatlán, Morelos,
</i></span>2015, ink jet print, 21 x 16 in. (53.3 x 40.6 cm)<span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Deborah Koenker,<i> </i></span><i>Bely Ramón Martinez, San Luis Potosi,</i> 2014, ink jet print, 21 x 16 in. (53.3 x 40.6 cm)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For more information, to schedule an interview, or for additional high-res images please contact:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">Media Inquiries<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">Joshua Desnoyers | Marketing and Events Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">1315 Water Street | Kelowna, BC | V1Y 9R3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">250-762-2226 ext. 305 | 250-762-9875 fax<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a>
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">| <a href="http://www.kelownaartgallery.com">
kelownaartgallery.com</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:blue"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:black">|
</span><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:blue">facebook.com/KelownaArtGallery<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="color:blue"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;color:#1F497D"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com?subject=Please%20unsubscribe%20me%20from%20your%20email%20list">unsubscribe</a> |
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Click on “unsubscribe’ or reply with unsubscribe in the subject line to be removed from
<i>media release</i> email list<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>