Spirit Festival Special Events at the Lake Country Art Gallery Relations Artists Talk & Culture Evening

 Thursday February 17, 2011 @ 7pm

Please join us for an informative and eclectic artist talk with First Nations artists Lee Claremont, Stephen Foster, Catherine Jameson, Janine Lott, and June Paul, artist participants in our current exhibit Relations. Relations is one of 16 arts and culture events forming the 2011 Central Okanagan Spirit Festival, a new initiative fashioned through the Province of BC’s 2010 Sport and Arts Legacy to celebrate the spirit behind hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. The evening will also include poetry readings by artist and author Catherine Jameson.

Lee Claremont is of Mohawk/Irish ancestry and is a member of the Grand River Iroquois Six Nations in Oshweken, Ontario. She is a well respected instructor at the En’Owkin Centre, an internationally recognized Aboriginal Educational college in Penticton BC. Her art making takes her to a place of creation, soaring with the Skywoman to create an eclectic perception of nature, people, spirituality and Mother Earth.




Stephen Foster is a video and electronic media artist of mixed Haida and European background. He is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Summer Institute for Interdisciplinary Indigenous Graduate Studies at UBC Okanagan. His work tends to deal with issues of indigenous representation in popular culture through personal narrative.

Catherine Jameson is a Secwepemc and Syilx artist living within her traditional territory with her family. Catherine is primarily a spoken word poet who earned a certificate in Indigenous Fine Arts and published a children's book, Zoe and the Fawn and wishes to pursue public performance and recording.

Janine Lott is a member of the Westbank First Nation who works primarily with hard shell gourds. Gourds have managed to survive for thousands of years due to their strength and ability to adapt and thrive in a wide range of environments. As a First Nations woman, she sees this journey to be much like that of aboriginal people. In this way, she finds the gourd to be the perfect canvas.

June Paul is a member of the Okanagan Nation who has lived in Penticton most of her life. She has created art since childhood and studied visual art at Okanagan College in Penticton and Kelowna. Recently she studied at the En’Owkin Centre and gained knowledge of her traditional values, history and language.


The Relations Artist Talk is one of three special events at the Lake Country Art Gallery during February. Others include a presentation on February 10 by Ruby Alexis of the Okanagan Indian Band on The Re-emergence of Okanagan Traditional Fibres. On Thursday February 24 artist Destanne Norris will present Life, Nature, Art & Healing, exploring the power art can play in self-discovery and healing.

All events begin at 7pm. Admission is by donation. For more information visit the Gallery at 10356A Bottom Wood Lake Rd, email lakecountryartgallery@telus.net or call 250-766-1299.