PAST EXHIBITS

Paul Seesequasis: Indigenous Archival Photo Project

The Indigenous Archival Photo Project comes from three sources: regional Indigenous photographs from the Nelson Museum Archives and the Royal BC Archives and photographs selected from the work of photojournalist Rosemary (Gilliat) Eaton (1919 – 2004) that are with Library and Archives Canada. The result of this project has been to emancipate images from
obscurity and let them see the light and be seen – and
importantly named and acknowledged. The images are
powerful in their straightforward and candid beauty – moments
of time lost in a catalog.

Upstream Benefits

Upstream Benefits involves ten artists: Courtney Andersen, Susan Andrews Grace, Amy Bohigian, Brent Bukowski, Boukje Elzinga, Ian Johnston, Maggie Shirley, Natasha Smith, Deborah Thompson and Rachel Yoder, a sampling of the impressive caliber of artists that call the Kootenays home. The artists involved in this exhibition example how artist run culture in the Kootenays has been supported and developed over the last decade. The place in which we live is an important part of the creative process; artists are informed and fostered by place, where they live and where the work was conceived and created. Each artist will display an early instrumental piece – from their tenure here in the Kootenays, in tandem with a new work which will illustrate the evolution of their respective creation/styles/approach. This exhibition is about artist run culture, about the creative process and the importance of place.

Art Deco in Modern Times

There is little attention paid to our architectural heritage built after the end of World War 1. However there are many buildings, public and private, from the 1920’s into the 1950’s that deserve our appreciation.  Using a selection of photographs with accompanying text, Art Deco in Modern Times serves to orient the public to become more familiar with these buildings and Nelson’s heritage.

2017 Members’ Show and Sale

The ‘Members’ Show and Sale’ exhibition events are excellent opportunities to get a visual measure of our membership and reciprocate the support that our members give us as an organization. The last member exhibition took place in 2014 and was a beautiful and eclectic showing of the talent, dedication and passion that exists within the community

Momentum

Explore the diverse, seven-decade-long art practice of the formidable Jack Shadbolt (1909-1998) and the ‘Momentum’ exhibition. Works include early 1930s sketches, commissioned silkscreen play posters, painterly abstractions, and lithographs

Tanya Pixie Johnson: Edge of Light

Tanya Pixie Johnson is an artist defined by her obsessive sorting and gathering; of found materials, ideas and human experiences. With roots in rural British Columbia Tanya P’s practice has an astounding reach due to her penchant for residencies in far-flung places and an unrelenting engagement with land, people and place; both ephemeral and essential. From her birth in Nairobi, Kenya and childhood in South Africa, to her bohemian wandering in Europe, to her current place in the Kootenays, Tanya P has delved deeply and with a focused abandon into the dichotomies of human experience. In between the shadows of influence and idolatry beats the heart of pure and unrelenting artistic inquiry. Integrating the aesthetic of collage, assemblage and found art, a cabinet of curiosities meets ceremonial altar. Fetish meets artifact. Ritual object meets family photo album. Flotsam and jetsam meet the edge of the bog. Light meets dark. Edge of the Light explores notions of paradigm and ideas of meaning found at allegorical edges and in liminal spaces

Geo. A. Meeres, Nelson, BC

George A. Meeres was a professional photographer who moved to Nelson in 1924. Soon after he purchased the Campbell Art Gallery (which would later become Vogue Photographic), which he ran until 1936. Always detailed and meticulous in his work, he later adopted the motto, “a good photo or none”!  

Drawn from the Shawn Lamb Archives at Touchstones Nelson, this exhibit will feature reproductions of some of the cellulose nitrate photos he took during his time in Nelson. Startling in their depth and composition, the photos are a testament to his skill and vision as a photographer. They also offer a fascinating glimpse into our community at that moment in time, through the groups, businesses and landscapes he documented.

Out of the Woods: A History of Forestry in Nelson, BC

Forestry has a long history in our region, and has played an important and continually changing role in the makeup of our communities. From the sawmills that fed the demand for building materials starting in the late 1800s to the “Stop Clearcuts” signs and “Forestry Feeds My Family” bumper stickers many decades later, our relationship with the forest has been varied and increasingly diverse. From fence posts to fruit boxes, plywood plants to protest camps, this exhibit looks at the history of the forest industry in our region, and the many ways in which it has shaped our community.

Wayne King: Retrospective

The Wayne King Retrospective Exhibition reflects the King collection of the community of Nelson and area, and the love and enthusiasm that Kootenay denizens will always have for the unabashed, unofficial artist-laureate of Baker Street. Wayne King has departed but is not forgotten, and his vibrancy, dedication to beauty and proficiency are evident in the riot of colour which will overwhelm Touchstones Gallery. This retrospective exhibition is made possible by the dozens of friends and patrons who eagerly came forward to loan their works, and was curated to best illustrate the many styles and subject matter of the late, great Wayne King. It is particularly poignant that the exhibit has its duration during what can the bleakest months of the Kootenay Winter – to quote Wayne, “be happy you are alive – the rest we don’t know.”

Greetings from Nelson: Historic Postcards from the Collection

Before Instagram and Facebook, postcards were a popular way for travelers to send a quick note and image to friends or family. Postcards can be a window on the past, showing us people, places, and even cultural attitudes, as they were at that moment in time. This exhibition will feature many reproductions of postcards from the Nelson area, along with some of the brief and at times humorous messages from the back. Also included will be a “Collector’s Choice” section, featuring notable cards and personal favourites that three local postcard enthusiasts have chosen from their own collections.