Through our featured artist program at the Kelowna Visitor Centre (KVC), our team has partnered with local photographer, Steve Austin, to showcase his art installation, THE BIGGER PICTURE: Art4Nature.
The installation combines community, art, and nature, with images taken by Steve turned into art pieces by five local artists. The purpose of the project is to raise funds and bring awareness to the fragility of our environment, with initial contributions being made to the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation.
This image captured by Steve Austin will be reproduced through various media by local artists
An unveiling of the work will take place at the KVC on Saturday, April 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From there, guests are invited to move to the Steve Austin Fine Art Photography Gallery, located at 1296 Ellis Street, to learn more about the project, tour the gallery, meet the artists, and watch an exciting Live ‘Paint Off' and auction, where four artists involved in the project will complete an image in one hour. The gallery portion of the event will start at 1 p.m. and run until 3:15 p.m.
“It was something that David Attenborough said that struck home to me: Nature is our greatest ally and our largest source of inspiration,” says Austin. "This [project] is one way that I can help out using the skillset that I have. If we don't act now, it will be too late for our future generations."
The collective artists for the Tourism Kelowna installation are:
“I am very proud of this project and blessed to be working alongside such immense talent and people who are like-minded in the cause of conservation and sustainability," adds Austin. "As a group, we can make a big change!”
This new community partnership is another way for our team to establish a sense of place in the Kelowna Visitors Centre while at the same time introducing visitors and residents to the many incredible artists located here. Since its launch in 2018, our feature artist program has offered artists an additional avenue to share their work with the community and with visitors that may not otherwise be available to them. Janine Lott and Leanne Spanza were the first two artists to be showcased; there are now pieces from 13 artists displayed in the centre. To see some of the available artwork, visit our Love for Kelowna online store.
Feature artist wall at the Kelowna Visitor Centre
This project will be an ongoing event at the Steve Austin Fine Art Photography Gallery and will be expanding the concept to other artist partnerships and galleries across Canada.
For more information about this partnership or about Tourism Kelowna's feature artist program, please contact me at michelle@tourismkelowna.com or at (250) 861-1515 ext. 208.
