May 22 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
We invite you to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibitions: UBCO Emergence, Smoky Summers by Nicola Tibbetts, and Gathered, SD#22’s Indigenous Students Art Exhibition.
Join us on May 22nd from 6-8 PM at the Vernon Public Art Gallery for an evening of art and conversation. The community is warmly welcomed to attend, meet the artists, and enjoy brief talks where some will share insights about their exhibitions. We’ll be serving light bites and drinks, and entry is by donation.
May 22 @ 10:00 am – June 13 @ 5:00 pm
Exhibition on view from May 22 – June 13
Image Description: Juliet Logan, gr. 5, Baeirsto
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May 22 @ 10:00 am – July 16 @ 5:00 pm
Exhibition on view from May 22 – July 16
In Nicola Tibbetts’ Smokey Summers, the landscapes we think we know are rendered through the soft veil of smoke – a filter that is no longer temporary, but emblematic of a broader ecological shift. These quiet, expansive oil paintings speak to the visceral and visual impact of climate change on the West Coast of Canada. They are not overtly didactic or alarmist; rather, they are quietly devastating in their familiarity. The scenes Tibbetts depicts – recreational lakes, basketball courts, mountain ranges – are recognizable to many who live in British Columbia. But beneath their calm surfaces lies a shared, unsettling truth: summer is not what it used to be.
The title of the exhibition, Smokey Summers, evokes both nostalgia and disruption. Where summer once meant blue skies, carefree days, and a reliable rhythm of warmth and recreation, it now increasingly signals evacuation alerts, smoke advisories, and the dread of escalating wildfire conditions. In her artist statement, Tibbetts reflects on the changing character of summer: “Wildfires, a new summer reality, and the smoke that envelops the landscape in inescapable.” The work emerges from lived experience – both personal and collective – offering a visual archive of summers marked by crisis yet tinged with beauty and resilience.
Image Description: Nicola Tibbetts, Airplane with Pink, 2024, Oil on Panel
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May 22 @ 10:00 am – July 16 @ 5:00 pm
Exhibition on view from May 22 – July 16
Emergence is a group exhibition featuring the works of five recent graduates from UBCO’s BFA program. The exhibition showcases a range of art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media printmaking installation, and experimental film. The various artworks explore themes related to art history, the human condition, mental health and gender identity.
The artists in the exhibition draw on a variety of influences, including art history and traditional modes of artistic production, but include contemporary digital art forms as well as sculptural installation. Many of the works are based on research, and some are also informed by personal experiences and exploration.
The exhibition Emergence offers a diverse and thought-provoking collection of works that highlight the talent and creativity of these emerging artists, as well as their engagement with important social and cultural issues.
Image Description: Brenna Lam Kennedy
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April 17 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
We invite you to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition: Art and Soul
Art and Soul is made up of artwork created by secondary school students from School District No.22 displaying a maturity of handling various mediums and more importantly, demonstrating a strong conceptual approach.
Image Description: River Schaffner, Eternal Flame, 2025, Acrylic, Grade 10, WL Seaton
April 17 @ 10:00 am – May 14 @ 5:00 pm
SD 22 Secondary School Students
Art and Soul
Exhibition on view from April 17 – May 14
Art and Soul is made up of artwork created by secondary school students from School District No.22 displaying a maturity of handling various mediums and more importantly, demonstrating a strong conceptual approach.
Image Description: River Schaffner, Eternal Flame, 2025, Acrylic, Grade 10, WL Seaton
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March 15 @ 10:00 am – April 10 @ 5:00 pm
SD 22 Elementary Students
Art from the Heart
Exhibition on view from March 15 – April 10
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.
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March 15 @ 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
We invite you to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition: Art from the Heart
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.
March 13 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
We invite you to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition: Wild Times by Isabelle Hayeur.
Join us on March 13th from 6-8 PM at the Vernon Public Art Gallery for an evening of art and conversation. The community is warmly welcomed to attend, meet the artist, and enjoy brief talks where some will share insights about their exhibitions. We’ll be serving light bites and drinks, and entry is by donation.
March 13 @ 10:00 am – May 13 @ 5:00 pm
Isabelle Hayeur: Wild Times
Exhibition on view from March 13 – May 13
Major bodies of works in Hayeur’s studio practice are focused on environmental changes caused by human development or natural causes. Her photographs document the destruction of natural habitats and whole ecosystems. The exhibition titled Wild Times presented at the Vernon Public Art Gallery consist of photographs of landscapes affected by forest fires in Quebec and British Columbia in the 2020 and 2021 summer seasons. The photographs from sites near Las Saint-Jean depict the after effects of the wildfire which changed the ecosystems in the largest forest fire in the province’s history. The images captured in 2021 show the active fires in British Columbia. The oppressive plumes of raising smoke changed the appearance of the landscape and the thick smoke was hardly penetrated by the sun’s rays. The toxic smoke drifted through large areas and the images captured from satellite views exemplified the apocalyptic scale of the burning infernos.
Hayeur’s focus on environmental changes is also a critique of environmental stewardship and management of the forests. Western Canada and the United States have been affected by the climate change and, specifically, prolonged droughts contribute negatively to the fragile ecosystems. In her statement she points out that forest companies harvest timber from ecologically diverse ecosystems, but replant logged areas with monocrop species which inevitably do not contribute to the ecological diversity of healthy forests. She also questions the continuous suppression of forest fires which results in the excessive fuel load on the forest floor. Her works advocate indirectly for prescribed burning, a practice which reintroduces fire as natural part of a healthy ecosystem. Hayeur’s exhibition Wild Times contains images of cataclysmic active fires and resulting destruction of natural environments. The images of burnt forests invoke the feeling of existential angst which serve as powerful memento mori for all humanity to contemplate.
inkjet on photo paper mounted on aluminum panel, 42″ x 41″ / 107 cm x 104 cm
