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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For Immediate Release
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A Story in Three Parts opens at Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A Story in Three Parts: Ashevak, Pootoogook, Isuma
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">December 4, 2021 to May 8, 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">November 30, 2021 – Kelowna, BC:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> A new exhibition will line the walls of the Kelowna Art
Gallery beginning this weekend. Titled <i>A Story in Three Parts: Ashevak, Pootoogook, Isuma</i>, it brings together three distinct but connected narratives, which explore the past and present of Inuit creative expression.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“Okanagan audiences are in for a treat. This will be the first time we’ve shown work by these groundbreaking artists,” says Nataley Nagy, Executive Director at the Gallery
“The breathtaking prints, eerie and playful monochramatic drawings, along with the film and video works, will transport patrons thousands of miles away to the Canadian Arctic.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The exhibition features the work of
<b>Kenojuak Ashevak</b> (1927–2013) and <b>Sharni Pootoogook</b> (1922–2003), early generation Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) artists who became two of the first to create drawings, prints, and sculptures under the auspices of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative.
Both were instrumental in establishing the global importance of Canada’s Inuit art movement. It was fifty years ago (in 1970) that Ashevak’s
<i>The Enchanted Owl</i> was reproduced by Canada Post on a six-cent stamp commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the Northwest Territories. This marked the first time a female Inuit artist’s work had ever been displayed on a Canadian stamp.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Flash forward to 1990 when
<b>Isuma</b> — the third part of the story and Canada’s inaugural Inuit-owned independent production company — was formed. Isuma received global recognition for their first feature-length drama
<i>Atanarjuat The Fast Runner</i>, when it won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. At the presentation in Kelowna, visitors will be able to watch
<i>Ataguttaluk – A Life to Live For</i> (2020), a 37-minute experimental documentary created by filmmaker Carol Kunnuk. This powerful film set in the early 1900s tells the story of a woman who survived famine to become one of the most important residents of
Igloolik.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Behind the exhibition is curator, educator, and writer
<b>William Huffman</b>. He divides his time between Kinngait, Nunavut and Toronto working with the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative, which provides him with a unique lens.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“Beautiful, vibrant, colourful, yet brooding, stark, and sometimes haunting — these are the curious contradictions which are analogous to life in the Canadian Arctic,” says
Huffman. “These three stories are a series of moments in which women of the North are the anchors of a constantly evolving Arctic narrative, ensuring prosperity, uplifting us, and inspiring us to overcome.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A Story in Three Parts: Ashevak, Pootoogook, Isuma</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> runs from December 4 to May 8, 2022.
It is presented with support from Benson Law LLP, the Government of Nunavut, Canadian Heritage, and media support from The Walrus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Kelowna Art Gallery is located in the heart of the cultural district at 1315 Water Street<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> - 30 –<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Early access preview for media and interview with Curator William Huffman is available by appointment.</span></u></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Webpage:
<a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/a-story-in-three-parts/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/a-story-in-three-parts</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Instagram:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/kelownaartgallery/">https://www.instagram.com/kelownaartgallery</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">[image captions]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kenojuak Ashevak,
<i>Decorative Char</i>, 2004, ink, coloured pencil on paper, 51 × 66 cm. Collection of West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kenojuak Ashevak,
<i>Wisdom of the Elders</i>, 2009, ink, coloured pencil on paper, 51 x 66 cm. Collection of West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Still from
<i>Ataguttaluk – A Life to Live For</i>, dir. Carol Kunnuk. Photo Credit: Nunavut Independent Television Network, 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Still from
<i>Ataguttaluk – A Life to Live For</i>, dir. Carol Kunnuk. Photo Credit: Nunavut Independent Television Network, 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kenojuak Ashevak in her studio.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sharni Pootoogook,
<i>Untitled</i>, 2001 ink on paper, 51 x 66 cm. Courtesy of West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">To arrange for early access to the exhibition, an interview, or for additional high-res images please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Joshua Desnoyers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Marketing and Events Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">1315 Water Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 9R3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">250-762-2226 ext. 305<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="http://www.kelownaartgallery.com">www.kelownaartgallery.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
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