Home on Syilx Territory

Vernon & District Immigrant & Community Services Society Project

Community Gallery
January 9 – March 5, 2025

Opening Reception: January 9, 2025 from 6-8 PM

The focus of the project was to introduce recent newcomers to visitor protocols of engagement with local Syilx First Nation people’s culture and the land itself. The four-day series of workshops were focused on Land Acknowledgement, Allyship, traditional Tule mat making and the cultural importance of marshlands. In the final session the participants created a series of collages which will be on display at the gallery. The intent of the final workshop was aimed towards appreciation of culture and building relationship through art. The workshops were led by Syilx Nation members Mariel Belanger and her daughter Sienna.

Chrystal Phan

Community Gallery & Up-Front Galleryy
January 9 – March 5, 2025

Opening Reception: January 9, 2025 from 6-8 PM

Chrystal Phan is a representational artist who integrates the Vietnamese-Canadian experience into narrative oil paintings to challenge the ways in which we imagine Canadian identity, drawing particular attention to how the reification of racial stereotypes in art and media can actually reinforce social divisions that prevent racialized people from ever feeling “Canadian”. Using personal narratives Phan’s work collapses the boundary between public and private so that viewers can connect their own lives and experiences to the paintings at an intimate level.

Once for A While is a series of oil paintings that explore a Vietnamese family’s awkward attempts at integrating into Canadian life. Using examples from Phan’s own childhood and those of her friends, Phan’s intention is to capture humorous moments where cultural values have clashed.

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

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.

Join us for the opening of our member’s exhibition, Exposed! The reception will take place on October 17 from 6-8 PM at the Vernon Public Art Gallery.

The community is warmly invited to join in the celebration, meet the artists, and enjoy a short talk by some of the artists about their exhibition. Light bites and drinks will be served, and entry is by donation.

The opening reception for our new exhibition, Rewilding: The Forest Will Forget Us, will take place on October 3 from 6-8 PM at the Vernon Public Art Gallery.

The community is warmly invited to join in the celebration, meet the artists, and enjoy a short talk by some of the artists about their exhibition. Light bites and drinks will be served, and entry is by donation.

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.

Photography: Digital Perfections