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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For Immediate Release
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<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sensorineural sculptural installation opens at art gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelsie Balehowsky: Sensorineural<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">May 30 to September 18, 2022<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">June 1, 2022 – Kelowna, BC:
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sensorineural. Sensori-what? You wouldn’t be alone if the word seems unfamiliar and the meaning doesn’t jump out at you. However, that’s something a Kelowna-based artist hopes to
change through a new art exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“Hearing loss affects people of all ages and demographics,” says
<b>Kelsie Balehowsky</b>, the artist behind the exhibition. “Something like sensorineural hearing loss, for example, is not something you can tell immediately just by looking at someone. This exhibition aims to spread awareness of hearing health and reduce
stigma.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Visitors will be able to get their first glance at
<i>Sensorineural </i>this week. It is presented in the Gallery’s street-level Glass Gallery space that is viewable from outside of the building.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The site-specific installation is inspired by Balehowsky's son who was born with sensorineural hearing loss. It features oversized mixed media sculptures of the tiny
bones that make up the middle and inner ear. They are finished in a lustrous golden coat of paint and suspended against a rich lavender backdrop. However, viewers will have to work a little to get a clear view. The front of the glass has a frosty opaque finish
with only vertical “audio” slats to get a glimpse through. Balehowsky has included a QR code that links to an online hearing loss simulator to add a further dimension to the experience.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sensorineural
</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">can be experienced now through September 18, 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelsie Balehowsky</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is an artist and arts educator based in the Okanagan on the unceded
and ancestral territory of the Syilx people. Her work is primarily concerned with themes of the uncanny, technology, and connection. Balehowsky says her “artistic practice is a means to observe, express, interpret, and process the
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:black">human experience</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street, in downtown Kelowna, B.C.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><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="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Image Credits</span></u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelsie Balehowsky,
<i>Sensorineural</i>, 2022, papier-mâché and mixed media, variable dimensions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelsie Balehowsky works on
<i>Sensorineural </i>with her son. Courtesy of the Artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Resources</span></u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Webpage:
<a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/sensorineural/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/sensorineural/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><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>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Arist’s Webpage:
<a href="https://www.kbalehowsky.com/">https://www.kbalehowsky.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">To arrange for an interview, or for additional high-res images please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Joshua Desnoyers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Marketing and Events Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><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="MsoPlainText"><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="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="http://www.kelownaartgallery.com">www.kelownaartgallery.com</a>
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