Kamloops Art Gallery preparing to open 2 spring exhibits this month

The Kamloops Art Gallery is preparing to open two new spring exhibit, which will run until early July.

On Saturday, April 13, Pieces will be open to the public.

The art gallery says the solo exhibition brings together the artwork of Vancouver-based, settler artist Victoria Kjargaard in dialogue with Nłeʔkepmx curator Elsie Joe, who is also the curator for the Secwépemc Museum and Heritage Park.

“Though raised in Kamloops, Kjargaard knew little about the children’s graves found on the former property of the Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS),” says a news release from the art gallery.

“With the approval of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief and Council, Kjargaard embarked on Pieces to open a dialogue and confront her own shame, ignorance, anger, and sadness regarding the inconceivable truths of the KIRS.”

According to the news release, the exhibit features a series of images set with a process of pouring epoxy, sanding and layering imagery.

Pieces will be in The Cube at the gallery until July 6. Admission is free for this exhibit.

The second exhibit that is opening a little later this month, on April 20, is an immersive multi-media exhibition that is meant to hold space for the stories of Japanese Canadians through audio fiction, performance, animation, and community engagement, the gallery says.

Ancestral Dreams and Other Premonitions is another solo exhibit from Vancouver-based artist Cindy Mochizuki, which “weaves family, community, and memory to shed light on invisible histories and archives.”

“Mochizuki’s practice opens pathways for Japanese Canadians to share stories shaped by trauma and reveal a larger narrative of Japanese resilience in Canada, often drawing from her family’s history within internment camps in Canada during World War II and their post-war experiences in Japan,” the gallery says in a news release.

The exhibit was curated by Charo Neville.

Residents are invited to an artist and curator conversation on April 20 form 5:30-6:30 pm followed by the opening reception, which will run from 6:30-8 pm.

This exhibit will be running in the central gallery until July 6.