The sculptural design selected to be presented as the 2013 Okanagan Arts Awards is Okanagan Refractured, a work of art by Lake Country glass artist Bruce Taiji.
Taiji’s unrivalled ability to harness light and use it with creative energy has earned him some of the country’s largest commissions featuring art glass.
Taiji’s winning design was announced earlier this month at the launch party for the Okanagan Arts Awards, planned for March 2.
Seven artists submitted sculpture designs for consideration. Kamloops sculptor Terry Shewchuk’s design The Harlequin was the runner up.
External light enters Taiji’s Okanagan Refractured sculpture, reflects, refracts dances within. It is an abstracted, energized Okanagan vista floating in glass.
The sculpture is proposed as a solid column of laminated glass, kiln cast for exterior texture, with copper and silver mirror finishes and acrylic painted multi-surfaces, then cold laminated. It is intended that the glass column wrap around the stone base leaving a front surface and /or top surface of the base available for an engraving plate.
Each award sculpture is to be individually hand painted and constructed by the artist. As such, while similar in structure and motif, each will be singularly unique.
The Arts Council of the Central Okanagan created the Okanagan Arts Awards to celebrate excellence in the arts in the Okanagan-Thompson region of British Columbia. These awards serve to underline the importance of the arts to the people and communities in the region.
The Arts Awards recognize individuals and groups for their outstanding achievement in the arts; for their significant contribution to the arts; or to their noteworthy support of the arts.
The arts are the soul of any community. They make a significant contribution to the social, physical and economic well being of any community. As such, it is important to support and encourage those who are instrumental in ensuring the arts survive and thrive in the Okanagan and Thompson Valleys.
Celebrating its sixth year, the Okanagan Arts Awards are an integral part of the Arts Community in the Okanagan-Thompson and is becoming a province wide event. The Okanagan Thompson regions have some of the most talented individuals who deserve recognition for their continued contributions to the arts.
Nominations for Okanagan Arts Awards remain open until Jan. 11. To nominate your favourite artist just fill out the short on-line application at www.artsco.ca.
