Featured Artists

Ebb and Flow

A woman with curly blonde hair and glasses on her head, sitting in an artist's studio with a large painting of a boat and nature scene in the background, surrounded by art supplies and tools on a table.

Wanda Lock

An artist and curator, Wanda Lock has contributed to the art world through her artworks and dedication to promoting art in her community. Born in Oliver, British Columbia, in 1969, Lock’s artistic journey has been marked by exploring themes such as domesticity, nostalgia, and banality.

A woman with long dark hair wearing a blue floral headscarf, a black leather jacket, white jewelry, and makeup with light blue eyeliner, smiling outdoors in front of green foliage.

Dr. Michelle Jack

sqilxw /syilx (Okanagan) from the communities of snpintktn (Penticton, BC) and nisɬpícaʔ (Omak, WA). Dr. Jack has her PhD from Washington State University in American Studies (Indigenous and Intercultural communication). She is a working Abstract Image Maker/Scholar, who has a BFA from the University of New Mexico and an MFA from the University of Washington both in Studio Arts and Photography. Dr. Jack uses her traditional sylix experiences to enhance her art practice and teaching methods as current head of Visual and Creative arts at En’owkin Centre, in snpintktn (Penticton) on the Penticton Indian Band reserve.

A woman with short curly hair wearing a green sleeveless top and black pants standing in front of a large wall mural of cut logs.

Fern Helfand

FERN HELFAND is a lens-based artist, ceramicist and UBCO Emeritus Professor. She has shown her work in Canada and Internationally for over 35 years. Helfand’s creative process has always been influenced by the environments and cultures in which she has lived, worked and traveled.  Since moving to the Okanagan in 1998 she has been making work about our forested hills, the wood industry and the rapid real estate development in the valley. Fern is currently a partner at Clayline Pottery Studio in Kelowna.

A woman with red hair and a checkered black and white shirt standing behind a table with pink flowers, a black bird sculpture, and decorative vases. Artwork with green and brown geometric patterns hangs on the wall behind her.

Julie Oakes

Oakes has a Masters Degree in Visual Arts from New York University and a Masters Degree in Social and Political Science from The New School for Social Research in New York. Oakes uses multi-disciplinary means such as painting, drawing, sculpture, video, performance and printmaking to support narrative imagery often with gender based or spiritual overtones.