Printmaking’s best in the world are coming to town for the Okanagan Print Triennial.
The Vernon Public Art Gallery hosts the fifth international printmaking exhibition along with live virtual artist talks with artists across the globe. This award-winning project was launched in 2009 as a national open juried print exhibition and this year represents 28 selected artists from 15 countries on display until May 19, 2021.
New to this year’s OPT will be free, live, virtual artist talks featuring a select number of participating artists. Every week, on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays at 7 p.m. a new artist will be speaking live from their home country via Zoom. Due to language barriers and time differences, some of the artist talks will be pre-recorded presentations. The complete schedule, including Zoom links, can be accessed on the VPAG website, and includes April 1 talk with Australia’s Victoria Bilogan.
“The VPAG is excited to be able to offer this series for viewers everywhere to be able to connect with the artists and the exhibit in a unique way. Many people may not be able to attend in person due to health restrictions. It is our goal that the live artist talks, as well as the virtual aspects of the exhibit, will give viewers a chance to connect with not only the artist but the arts community,” executive director Dauna Kennedy said. “The OPT project enables the VPAG to contribute in a significant way to the discourse regarding contemporary art practices while making it accessible and relevant to the residents and visitors of the North Okanagan.”
The Kelowna Art Gallery and the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus collaborated on the project. With 680 works from 101 artists submitted this year, the jurors carefully selected a strong, curated collection of work that highlights the best in contemporary printmaking. The varieties of printmaking range from traditional to experimental, and include methods such as screen printing, intaglio, relief printing, lithography, and more.
This project would not have been possible without a project grant from the Regional District of the North Okanagan and UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, as well as the continued support from the Province of British Columbia, and the BC Arts Council.
The VPAG has teamed up with the local Prestige Vernon Hotel and Conference Centre to offer visitors to the exhibition a discounted room rate of $97.99 on standard guestrooms through to April 30, 2021.
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Yuri Auney’s Yangbin Park, Wave 5, 2019 is one of the works featured in the Okanagan Print Triennial, on display at the Vernon Public Art Gallery until May 19, 2021. (VPAG photo)
