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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For Immediate Release
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sovereign Acts</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> opens at Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sovereign Acts<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Curated by Wanda Nanibush<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">November 30, 2019 to February 17, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">November 28, 2019 – Kelowna, BC:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening
of a new humourous and potentially shocking exhibition this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sovereign Acts</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> showcases photography, video, and installation works by eight well known
Indigenous contemporary artists: Rebecca Belmore, Lori Blondeau, Dayna Danger, Robert Houle, James Luna, Shelley Niro, Adrian Stimson, and Jeff Thomas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In
<i>Sovereign Acts</i>, the artists turn colonial representations on their head, showing Indigenous ideas of gender, sexuality, and culture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Visitors will encounter a variety of works ranging from
<i>In My Room</i>, by James Luna, a multi-media video installation of a sweat lodge ceremony; to four massive and striking photographic portraits honouring the strength of Indigenous women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The exhibition is curated by Wanda Nanibush, who is an Anishinaabe-kwe image and word warrior from the Beausoleil First Nation. She is currently the Curator of Indigenous
Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario and lives in Toronto.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Nanibush introduces the exhibition by saying, “the history of Indigenous Peoples performing cultural dances and practices for international and colonial audiences is an
important part of Indigenous art, generally, and performance art, specifically. From the early contact years onwards, the Indigenous performers known as ‘Indians’ faced the conundrum of maintaining traditional cultural practices by performing them on stage
while also having that performance fulfill the desires of a colonial imaginary. The exhibition seeks to highlight the artists’ works as performative ‘acts’ that negotiate expectations as much as represent culture and identity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sovereign Acts</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is organized and circulated by the Art Museum at the University of Toronto
with the financial support of the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. The exhibition runs from November 30, 2019 until February 17, 2020, at the Kelowna Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">An opening reception to celebrate the exhibition will be held on Friday, November 29, 2019, from 6 to 8 pm. Curator Wanda Nanibush will be in attendance and will offer an
exhibition tour at 6 pm. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">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></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">- 30 –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">[images]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Dayna Danger,
<i>Kandace, Adrienne, Lindsay, Sasha</i>, 4 digital inkjet prints, 89 x 60 in. each. Courtesy of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Jeff Thomas,
<i>Richard Poafpybitty (Pink Panther), Comanche/Omaha, </i>pigment print on archival paper, 25 x 20 in. Courtesy of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lori Blondeau,
<i>Asiniy Iskwew</i> (detail), 4 digital inkjet prints, 66 ½ x 44 in. each. Courtesy of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">James Luna,
<i>Ishi Speaks</i> (detail), 2011, 3 digital inkjet prints, </span>16 x 19 ea.<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Courtesy of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Adrian Stimson, Onward Upward (detail), 2 digital inkjet prints on archival paper, vinyl lettering, 23 x 17 in. each. Courtesy of the artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Webpage:
<a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/sovereign-acts/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/sovereign-acts/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Facebook Event:
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/679365445922564/">https://www.facebook.com/events/679365445922564/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Instagram:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/kelownaartgallery/">https://www.instagram.com/kelownaartgallery</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Media Inquiries<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Joshua Desnoyers | Marketing and Events Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">1315 Water Street | Kelowna, BC | V1Y 9R3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">250-762-2226 ext. 305 | 250-762-9875 fax<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a> | kelownaartgallery.com
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