Gathered celebrates the creativity, cultural knowledge, and artistic expression of Indigenous students from across School District No. 22. Showcasing work by students from elementary through high school, this exhibition highlights a wide range of media.
The exhibition reflects both traditional knowledge and contemporary influences, with many students drawing from their cultural heritage while engaging with present-day themes and personal experiences. The result is a vibrant and diverse collection that speaks to identity, community, and the evolving nature of Indigenous art.
Amy Bugera, Brenna Lam Kennedy, Ella Cottier, Faith Bye, Fredrik Thacker, & Kate Nicholson
Topham Brown Gallery May 22 – July 12, 2025
Emergence is an annual group exhibition showcasing the work of graduating students from the University of British Columbia Okanagan’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Media Studies programs. This year’s exhibition features six emerging artists working across painting, photography, sculpture, installation, assemblage, and digital media.
Each artist draws from personal experience, critical theory, or cultural observation to create work that engages with pressing contemporary themes. From interrogations of consumerism and environmental degradation to explorations of memory, grief, sexuality, and identity; Emergence presents a deeply considered and diverse body of work. These practices traverse the boundaries between tradition and experimentation—some manipulating family archives and found materials, others working with digital manipulation or painterly abstraction.
Since 2009, the Vernon Public Art Gallery has proudly supported the final exhibitions of BFA/BMS graduates from UBC Okanagan. This annual showcase continues to serve as a platform for emerging artists to present ambitious work to new audiences and step into the next phase of their creative journeys. Emergence invites viewers into intimate, challenging, and thoughtful visual worlds shaped by a generation of artists who are attuned to the complexities of the present moment.
Amy Bugera Amy Bugera critiques the spectacle of consumer culture through print-based installation. Drawing influence from Guy Debord’s theories on media, advertising, and capitalist disillusionment, Bugera examines the ways in which platforms like Amazon mediate our experiences through reductive, persuasive design. Her work manipulates familiar digital commands such as “Add to cart” or “Buy now,” transforming them through encaustic print processes to highlight their absurdity and ubiquity. By repeating and distorting these icons, Bugera reveals how advertising functions as a tool of disconnection—encouraging consumption while suppressing reflection. Her practice is both satirical and sincere, inviting viewers to pause and reconsider the systems we navigate daily.
Brenna Lam Kennedy Brenna Lam Kennedy is a multimedia artist and photographer whose work reflects on intimacy, time, and digital mediation. In her photographic series Proximity, Kennedy captures tender moments between subjects, where these images exist outside linear time, imbued with warmth and a quiet sense of longing. Subtle digital interventions and filmic colour grading collapse the distance between viewer and subject, heightening the emotional resonance of touch and gesture. Kennedy’s interest in the temporality of relationships is central to her practice: how we mark moments of closeness, how we remember them, and how digital technologies alter our perception of time itself.
Ella Cottier Ella Cottier’s sculptural installation Cans investigates the ecological, archaeological, and philosophical implications of what we leave behind. Working with slip-cast ceramic forms derived from discarded aluminum cans, Cottier explores the tension between the “natural” and “unnatural” in the Anthropocene. Her practice considers trash as artifact, reframing the overlooked or unwanted as future remnants of our current civilization. While the work is rooted in environmental concern, it also evokes a meditative sensibility—drawing attention to our embeddedness in ecological systems. By casting everyday waste in fragile ceramic, Cottier prompts viewers to reflect on legacy, permanence, and the quiet material traces of human activity.
Faith Bye Faith Bye’s mixed-media paintings explore the emotional weight of everyday objects through acts of memorialization. Created in the aftermath of her grandmother’s sudden passing, Bye’s assemblages incorporate inherited domestic items—band-aids, sheets, household ephemera—embedded into sculptural grounds of modeling paste, gesso, and acrylic medium. These physical materials are then overlaid with painted still-life scenes, allowing the boundary between the real and the represented to blur. Her work speaks to the quiet rituals of grief and remembrance, and how material things—once ordinary—become saturated with memory. Through painterly layering, Bye constructs intimate dialogues between loss, family, and the texture of daily life.
Fredrik Thacker Fredrik Thacker’s expressive paintings are visceral interrogations of queer desire, sexual consumption, and the politics of visibility. Drawing on pornography as both subject and conceptual framework, Thacker collapses bodies into abstracted forms that pulse with intensity and urgency. Influenced by theorists like Linda Williams, his work probes the ways pornographic images are consumed, fragmented, and fetishized—particularly in relation to queer and trans identity. Through rapid paint application, mixed media layering, and disrupted figuration, Thacker recreates a “frenzy of the visible,” evoking what he describes as visual “regurgitation” of desire and disgust. His paintings simultaneously seduce and resist, offering no stable ground for interpretation.
Kate Nicholson Kate Nicholson’s paintings reflect on the instability of memory, the complexities of growing up, and the disorientation of nostalgia. Using family photographs as source material, Nicholson reinterprets childhood scenes through a mix of figuration and gestural abstraction. Her works disrupt the original images with energetic markings and overlays, creating a sense of interference—like a corrupted digital file or fleeting mental image. The result is a visual language that is both deeply personal and broadly relatable, capturing the tension between sentimentality and unease. Nicholson’s practice sits at the intersection of memory and media, probing how we reconstruct the past and contend with its emotional residues.
In Conclusion
Together, the works in this years Emergence exhibition reflect a generation of artists attuned to the social, environmental, and emotional contours of contemporary life. With practices grounded in research, lived experience, and material experimentation, these artists offer not only a snapshot of where they are now, but a glimpse of where they are headed. The Vernon Public Art Gallery is proud to support these emerging voices at a pivotal moment in their creative evolution, and we look forward to seeing how their practices continue to develop and resonate beyond this exhibition.
Gathered celebrates the creativity, cultural knowledge, and artistic expression of Indigenous students from across School District No. 22. Showcasing work by students from elementary through high school, this exhibition highlights a wide range of media.
The exhibition reflects both traditional knowledge and contemporary influences, with many students drawing from their cultural heritage while engaging with present-day themes and personal experiences. The result is a vibrant and diverse collection that speaks to identity, community, and the evolving nature of Indigenous art.
March 15, 2025
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10:00 am
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April 10, 2025
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5:00 pm
SD#22 Elementary Students
Community Gallery & Up-Front Gallery March 15 – April 10, 2025
Opening Reception: March 15, 2025
Art from the Heart is the annual exhibition by elementary students from School District No.22. Their artwork delights viewers with their creativeness under the guidance of their art teacher. The opening day for the exhibition is Saturday, March 15th, please join us in celebrating this beautiful exhibition with all the artists and their loved ones.
Caleb T: Heart, mixed media collage, Hillview Elementary, Gr. 3
January 9, 2025
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10:00 am
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March 5, 2025
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5:00 pm
David Wilson Sookinakin
Topham Brown Memorial Gallery January 9 – March 5, 2025
Opening Reception: January 9, 2025 from 6-8 PM
Over the years, David Wilson Sookinakin has developed a signature style of paintings based on the traditional pictographs found on numerous locations throughout Syilx Nation Territory. He uses pictorial elements which often illustrate some of the stories and narratives passed down through oral tradition and storytelling. In addition to the traditional narratives, Wilson creates narratives which he invents to highlight the context of post-contact experiences of First Nations peoples. Nevertheless, Wilson’s artforms have been evolving over several decades of his prolific artistic career.
“My art is ever evolving and is a true representation of my identity as an Interior Salish person. It is natural evolution of pictographs from their ancient form to a contemporary interpretation using form lines unique to First Nations art. I am a storyteller through art and words and my message to the Interior Salish people and the world is that we Interior Salish have at least one beautiful and vibrant First Nations art form totally unique and must be shared with the world.”
David Wilson Sookinakin
David Wilson Sookinakin: White Birch Creek – Fish Chief 2024, acrylic on canvas, 66 x 66 in
October 3, 2024
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10:00 am
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December 18, 2024
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5:00 pm
Featuring: Sophie Atkinson, Allan Brooks, Joe Plaskett, Paul Jones, Holly Middleton
Community Gallery October 3 – December 18, 2024
The Vernon Public Art Gallery (VPAG) is pleased to present From the Vault, an exhibition highlighting select works from its permanent collection, on display from October 3 to December 18, 2024. This showcase offers the public a rare opportunity to view pieces by influential artists with ties to the region, including Allan Brooks, Sophie Atkinson, Janet Holly Middleton, and Paul Jones, with additional works by renowned BC artist Joe Plaskett.
VPAG’s permanent collection consists of over 670 artworks by 154 artists. The earliest piece dates to 1909, while the latest acquisitions were made as recently as 2022. Each piece contributes to the story of the region’s artistic heritage and evolution.
Featured artist Allan Brooks (1869–1946), known worldwide as a naturalist and illustrator, made significant contributions to North American wildlife studies, especially of Canadian bird species. Brooks, honored by Canadian Heritage in 2000 as a person of Canadian Historical Importance, devoted his career to capturing the unique fauna of British Columbia and beyond.
Trailblazing artist Sophie Atkinson (1876–1972) was among the first women to document the Okanagan landscape in her work. After WWI, she traveled internationally before settling in Canada, where she painted commissioned works for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Her art captured the rugged beauty of Western Canada, establishing a legacy that would inspire future generations.
Janet Holly Middleton (1922–2018) combined her artistic talent with a passion for education. Her career included teaching positions at the University of Alberta, Banff School of Fine Arts, and University of Guelph, where she influenced countless Canadian artists. Known for her adventurous spirit, Middleton drew inspiration from her travels, producing works with scenes from across the globe.
Joe Plaskett (1918–2014) brought his artistic vision to an international stage, with works held in collections from Prince Edward Island to Vancouver Island, including the National Gallery of Canada. Plaskett’s talent was recognized early on by Lawren Harris, and he was awarded the first Emily Carr Scholarship in 1946. This opportunity took him from San Francisco to New York, and eventually to Paris, where he created some of his most celebrated pieces.
The exhibition also includes pieces by Paul Jones (1921–2018), a Vernon-based artist and writer who served on the VPAG board in the 1990s. Jones’s work integrates sand and acrylic resin to evoke the landscapes of his youth near the Pembina River, creating textured pieces that speak to both personal memory and place.
Sophie Atkinson, Oyama, 1948, watercolour on paper, 8 x 12 in
Paul Jones, Big Coulee, 1970, acrylic and sand on canvas, 32 x 52 in
Allan Brooks, Grosbeak/Waxwing, 1944, watercolour on paper, 7 x 10 in
Janet Holly Middleton, Untitled (Kalamalka Lake), 1976, oil on canvas, 23 x 43 in
Joe Plaskett, Untitled (Fraser River), 1971, chalk pastel on canvas, 18 x 24 in
October 3, 2024
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10:00 am
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December 20, 2024
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5:00 pm
Lyndal Osborne, John Freeman, Liz Ingram, Bernd Hildebrandt
Topham Brown Memorial Gallery October 3 – December 20, 2024
The exhibition Rewilding: The Forest Will Forget Us, created by Lyndal Osborne and John Freeman, and Liz Ingram and Bernd Hildebrandt, is an exhibit about the resilience of nature as witnessed in land sited on a boreal forest lake in Alberta. In the process they acknowledge the many other stories that go back millennia, and which have been shaped by people living and surviving on the land. These legends and beliefs are now re-emerging from oral histories of the original peoples of these lands and help us to shape our common existence within nature.
October 17, 2024
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10:00 am
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December 20, 2024
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5:00 pm
Members’ Exhibition
Caroline Galbraith Gallery & Up-Front Gallery October 17 – December 20, 2024
This group exhibition of artwork produced by the Vernon Public Art Gallery’s members give the public a view of a variety of different media used to create works of art in various artistic genres ranging from abstract art to landscapes, still lives, and portraiture.
July 25, 2024
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10:00 am
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September 17, 2024
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5:00 pm
Lana Schuster
Caroline Galbraith Gallery & Up-Front Gallery July 25 – September 17, 2024
Artist statement:
I am interested in so many things about painting. The paint for one. I love to scoop it up, squeeze it out, and mix it around, watch the colours develop, spread it around, see what happens, how the colours and forms look against each other. The brushes for another. I have my favourites. Mostly the ones that hold a lot of paint. The ‘Why paint?’ Because I am compelled to, I can’t not. The ‘How to paint?’ Now it’s getting really interesting. Because this is what it’s really all about. I try to stay open to new ideas, to the suggestions of my voice inside, my outside voice. It is all about trusting the process and being willing to paint authentically, to be part of something new.
The beginnings of my process may start with observing what’s around me. Or it could be a response with something going on internally that I may or may not be aware of. That can be as dramatic as the experience of losing a loved one or simply just wanting to spread some paint around. I’m often moved to paint after I’ve spent time outdoors. Sometimes I start with a plan for a landscape or a concrete image and then I get lost in the paint and process and something completely non-objective emerges. My intuition takes over, if I let it, if I trust it, if I allow myself.
Creating these works surprise me every time. What you see in them is an expression of an experience, a record of an experience in time, something in the past that has passed but truly lives on in the painting. What you see in them is what you see in them – what is evoked or personally meaningful for you. I hope that in looking at them, you will feel something, see something, perhaps even experience something that resonates with you.
July 25, 2024
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September 17, 2024
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5:00 pm
Glenn Clark
Topham Brown Memorial Gallery July 25 – September 17, 2024
Artist statement:
When I was young, I dreamed and schemed of creating neo-classical paintings. There are a lot of ducks one must put in a row before mural size classical themed paintings can develop. Fifteen years ago, I took a couple years off my regular practice to build a studio and that opened the gate of possibilities.
I always get there it just takes me longer. Beyond the space and gumption, an artist needs the reason, finances, imagery, time, ambition and lots of practice to create this type of work. After visiting the Louvre in 2016 there was a jolt, my paintings would look to the past for guidance. It finally all came together and I suspect this descent is turning into something more akin to a spiral.
It always seemed to me that classical artists from previous centuries had better props to work with; horses, armor, castles and archaic ruins. I needed new models to push ahead and a photo shoot at a jousting event in Osoyoos was perfect to get started.
What drives an artist; is it the fear of death? The love for life and art are interconnected. When you look at centuries old work you sense a window into the past, a connection, a message or warning through this time hole called a painting. You see how things were, the humor, mood, fashion, cruelty of the time. It’s like the artists were reaching out through a one-way portal to the future, never wanting to let go, hanging on through their art.
Timing is everything and it’s a good time for artists to take cues from the eighteenth century and beyond when art famously rebelled against the status quo. People are consistent, history repeats. Neo-classicism, the art of the time of the French Revolution, arguably the most important chapter in the history of modern civilization; the perfect art for a time of upheaval. All these influences; art history, my own history, and the current events that are making history. You throw that in a studio with yours truly and this is what shakes out.
