Opera Obscura
2026-08-07 10:00 - 2026-10-10 16:00 (America/Vancouver)
Mary Kavanagh

Caroline Galbraith GalleryAugust 7 – October 10, 2026

Opera Obscura is a large-scale installation by Canadian artist Mary Kavanagh. For nearly three decades, Kavanagh has examined archives, memory, and sites where knowledge is classified, withheld, or at risk of disappearing — through an art practice consistently attentive to material evidence linked to histories and territories. In this new work, she turns her attention to one of the defining institutions of civic life: the library. At the exhibition’s centre are approximately 2,000 deaccessioned books sourced from the annual collection review of the University of Lethbridge Library. Spanning disciplines, languages, and eras, each volume has been individually hand-inked to black and arranged in a dense gridded field. Serial and austere, the installation evokes both catalogue and cenotaph. Gilded titles, embossed surfaces, library markings, and traces of use remain partially visible beneath layers of ink — a tension between erasure and preservation extended through a companion series of black-on-black photographs, where individual volumes are isolated, lit, and slowly disclosed.The project investigates the library as a site of cultural negotiation — an institution through which knowledge is ordered, preserved, overwritten, and lost. Blackening becomes a form of witnessing — of sitting with what Walter Benjamin describes as the collector’s bind: that books do not belong to us so much as we belong to them, inhabited by what we have gathered.¹ Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s argument that attention is itself a civic act, Opera Obscura gives loss a body and registers its weight.² The work reflects on the incremental transformations reshaping public institutions — technological change, economic pressure, shifting political priorities — that quietly alter the conditions through which knowledge circulates and endures. Opera — from the Latin opus: work, labour, effort; its plural form suggesting not a single work but a body of works, the cumulative product of sustained human toil. Obscura — from obscurus: dark, hidden, withdrawn — names both a material condition and a state of disappearance. The title carries an echo of camera obscura, where darkness becomes the condition of seeing — a logic extended through the photographic series, where blackened surfaces yield rather than withhold. Monumental in scale and elegiac in tone, the project registers the slow erosion of the material record, the institutions entrusted with its keeping, and the accelerating political forces that now threaten both.

¹ Walter Benjamin, “Unpacking My Library,” in Illuminations, trans. Harry Zohn (New York: Schocken Books, 1969), 59–67. Originally published 1931.² Hannah Arendt, Men in Dark Times (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968).

Black Book Study 01a (covers) | Agrippa von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius. Opera. 2 vols. Facsimile reprint of Lyon: per Beringos fratres, [c. 1580]. With an introduction by Richard H. Popkin. Hildesheim and New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 1970. Deaccessioned from the University of Lethbridge Library, 2025.

Black Book Study 01b (interior pages fan) | Agrippa von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius. Opera. 2 vols. Facsimile reprint of Lyon: per Beringos fratres, [c. 1580]. With an introduction by Richard H. Popkin. Hildesheim and New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 1970. Deaccessioned from the University of Lethbridge Library, 2025.

Riot on the Roof
2026-08-22 19:00 - 23:00
Save the Date: August 22, 2026 | 7–11 PM

Hosted by the Vernon Public Art Gallery, Riot on the Roof is Vernon’s signature alternative arts festival and one of the Okanagan’s most unique end-of-summer events. Taking place on the top two levels of a Downtown Vernon parkade, Riot transforms an everyday urban space into a high-energy celebration of creativity, music, and performance.

Now entering its 18th year, Riot on the Roof showcases emerging artists working across a wide range of artistic forms. Each year’s lineup is different, with past festivals featuring live music, visual art, video and film, spoken word, performance, dance, drag, installation art, wearable art, interactive experiences, and more — all unfolding throughout the evening in a dynamic, open-air setting.

Designed to be informal, accessible, and community-driven, Riot on the Roof invites audiences to wander, discover, and engage with artists up close. It’s a rare chance to experience bold, experimental work in a relaxed and welcoming environment, right in the heart of downtown.

Call for Artists: Apply Now

Riot on the Roof is an all-ages event and an affordable way to celebrate the creativity and diversity of Vernon’s growing arts and culture scene.

More details, including programming highlights and ticket information, will be shared closer to the event. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram to stay up to date.

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Tickets coming soon.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Leaving a Lasting Legacy
2026-09-17 13:00 - 14:00
Date & Time: September 17, 2026, 1:00–2:00 PMLocation: Vernon Public Art GalleryAge Group: All agesAdmission: Free

You don’t have to be a Millionaire, or even Old, to think about your legacy now!

Have you ever thought about how you could make your estate larger by doing some smart tax planning now?

Have you ever wondered about what sort of a legacy you want to leave behind once your kids and family are taken care of?

Have you ever hoped you could set an example for those close to you to follow in your footsteps by giving to the community?

This inspiring introductory workshop will introduce you to the simple steps of how and why to add Planned Giving into your estate planning. By doing so you will create a lasting legacy for future generations while also saving taxes and growing your hard-earned estate.

This free one-hour workshop hosted by Vernon Public Art Gallery gives you:

An overview – what is Planned Giving and how it works?

Legal mechanics of estate planning

Tax saving opportunities – while you are living and when you pass

What you can do right away to plan for life time income

The Vernon Public Art Gallery as a potential beneficiary – why and how

Followed by an optional tour of the Vernon Public Art Gallery with the Executive Director and Curator.Note: This workshop is not designed to give you advice on your personal situation but to overview the process of planned giving, avoid typical pitfalls and help set next steps.

Click Here to Register

Other Upcoming Dates:November 16, 2026 – Tuesday 4:30 – 5:30 pm

Workshop led by

Tom Christensen K.C Nixon Wenger

Tom started his legal career in Vernon in 1996. He took a leave from practice from 2001 to 2009 to serve as MLA for Vernon-Monashee and held a number of cabinet portfolios during that time.

Tom has a general solicitor’s practice, assisting clients with business matters, wills and incapacity planning, the administration of estates, and real estate conveyancing and financing matters. He has a particular interest in assisting families with the transition of assets from one generation to the next through effective personal and business succession planning as well as resolving estate disputes outside of court.

Kyle Britton – Partner, BComm, CPA, CGA, Clark RobinsonBorn and raised in Vernon, Kyle has been a partner at Clark Robinson CPAs for over 8 years. Kyle practices primarily in individual and corporate taxation, helping clients navigate complex tax matters.

Laura-Lee Locheed – FMA (retired)

With parents settling in Vernon in 1945, Laura-Lee is truly a Vernonite! Now retired, her career in financial planning as a CFP and FMA has spanned 39 years. Her work specialized in retirement income, tax and estate planning and charitable gifting. Her community involvements have included directorships with the Chamber of Commerce, the Okanagan Landing Association, the Okanagan Symphony and the Vernon Flying Club.

Dauna Kennedy – Executive Director, Vernon Public Art Gallery

Dauna has been the Executive Director for 17 years, guiding it through a huge transition from a small town public gallery to a regionally recognized leader in public art programming. She and her team now face the exciting challenge of preparing to move into the new Greater Vernon Cultural Centre in 2028.

Leaving a Lasting Legacy
2026-11-16 16:30 - 17:30
Date & Time: November 16, 2026, 4:00–5:30 PMLocation: Vernon Public Art GalleryAge Group: All agesAdmission: Free

You don’t have to be a Millionaire, or even Old, to think about your legacy now!

Have you ever thought about how you could make your estate larger by doing some smart tax planning now?

Have you ever wondered about what sort of a legacy you want to leave behind once your kids and family are taken care of?

Have you ever hoped you could set an example for those close to you to follow in your footsteps by giving to the community?

This inspiring introductory workshop will introduce you to the simple steps of how and why to add Planned Giving into your estate planning. By doing so you will create a lasting legacy for future generations while also saving taxes and growing your hard-earned estate.

This free one-hour workshop hosted by Vernon Public Art Gallery gives you:

An overview – what is Planned Giving and how it works?

Legal mechanics of estate planning

Tax saving opportunities – while you are living and when you pass

What you can do right away to plan for life time income

The Vernon Public Art Gallery as a potential beneficiary – why and how

Followed by an optional tour of the Vernon Public Art Gallery with the Executive Director and Curator.Note: This workshop is not designed to give you advice on your personal situation but to overview the process of planned giving, avoid typical pitfalls and help set next steps.

Click Here to Register

Workshop led by

Tom Christensen K.C Nixon Wenger

Tom started his legal career in Vernon in 1996. He took a leave from practice from 2001 to 2009 to serve as MLA for Vernon-Monashee and held a number of cabinet portfolios during that time.

Tom has a general solicitor’s practice, assisting clients with business matters, wills and incapacity planning, the administration of estates, and real estate conveyancing and financing matters. He has a particular interest in assisting families with the transition of assets from one generation to the next through effective personal and business succession planning as well as resolving estate disputes outside of court.

Kyle Britton – Partner, BComm, CPA, CGA, Clark RobinsonBorn and raised in Vernon, Kyle has been a partner at Clark Robinson CPAs for over 8 years. Kyle practices primarily in individual and corporate taxation, helping clients navigate complex tax matters.

Laura-Lee Locheed – FMA (retired)

With parents settling in Vernon in 1945, Laura-Lee is truly a Vernonite! Now retired, her career in financial planning as a CFP and FMA has spanned 39 years. Her work specialized in retirement income, tax and estate planning and charitable gifting. Her community involvements have included directorships with the Chamber of Commerce, the Okanagan Landing Association, the Okanagan Symphony and the Vernon Flying Club.

Dauna Kennedy – Executive Director, Vernon Public Art Gallery

Dauna has been the Executive Director for 17 years, guiding it through a huge transition from a small town public gallery to a regionally recognized leader in public art programming. She and her team now face the exciting challenge of preparing to move into the new Greater Vernon Cultural Centre in 2028.
