[BCMA] MEDIA RELEASE Obilix - City of Kamloops and Kamloops Art Gallery

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

MEDIA RELEASE


For immediate release from City of Kamloops and Kamloops Art Gallery

August 21, 2023


[Obilix_5.jpg]

Joe Fafard

Obilix, 2001

patinated bronze, brass ring
edition 3/5
Collection of the Kamloops Art Gallery, gift of the Artist
Photo: Teresa Donck-Matlock


Kamloops Art Gallery’s beloved bronze bull sculpture, Obilix, is on display at Truck Chilling Park after receiving a makeover.


After a much-needed makeover, artist Joe Fafard’s iconic bronze bull sculpture, Obilix, is making his public return. In the Collection of the Kamloops Art Gallery (KAG), locals may recognize Obilix from his years residing at the entrance of Riverside Park near the Rotary Bandshell. In 2022 the City of Kamloops and the KAG removed the bull for restoration work after repeated acts of vandalism.


Fafard is a Canadian artist best known for creating figurative bronze sculptural work and sculptures of animals in a highly realistic style. Through an ongoing partnership between the KAG and the City of Kamloops to present the KAG’s collection in public spaces throughout the city, the permanent site chosen for this iconic public artwork finds Obilix freshly restored and grazing on the grass in his new home at Kamloops’ Truck Chilling Park, located at 1452 McGill Road, at the corner of Bunker Road and McGill Road. This passive green space near Thompson Rivers University is a popular lookout location above the city and has recently been transformed into a home for heritage-themed trucks and equipment. A plaque will soon be added to the greenspace offering more information about the sculpture.


Media Information


Charo Neville, Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery

250.377.2410

cneville at kag.bc.ca


Jeff Putnam, Parks & Civic Facilities Manager, City of Kamloops

250.828.3700

jputnam at kamloops.ca


About the Kamloops Art Gallery

The Kamloops Art Gallery, established in 1978, is located in Tk̓emlupsemcúlecw, the traditional and unceded lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. The largest art gallery in Secwepemcúl̓ecw (the Interior of British Columbia), the Gallery offers national caliber art experiences through a diverse range of accessible and affordable exhibitions, talks, tours, and studio-based programming for all ages and abilities, and boasts a collection of over 3,000 works of art.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20230821/27cb3ada/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1571400 bytes
Desc: image.png
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20230821/27cb3ada/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: MEDIA RELEASE Obilix - City of Kamloops & Kamloops Art Gallery.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 323396 bytes
Desc: MEDIA RELEASE Obilix - City of Kamloops & Kamloops Art Gallery.pdf
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20230821/27cb3ada/attachment.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: thumbnail_Obilix_5.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 304551 bytes
Desc: thumbnail_Obilix_5.jpg
URL: <http://lists.museum.bc.ca/pipermail/listserv-museum.bc.ca/attachments/20230821/27cb3ada/attachment.jpg>