<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Yu Mincho";}
@font-face
{font-family:"Avenir 55";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@Yu Mincho";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Avenir-Medium;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="96%" style="width:96.0%;margin-left:5.75pt;border-collapse:collapse">
<tbody>
<tr style="height:224.05pt">
<td width="63%" valign="top" style="width:63.02%;padding:0in 5.75pt 0in 5.75pt;height:224.05pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:51.95pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:51.95pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><img width="422" height="300" style="width:4.3958in;height:3.125in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D96630.C51A9FA0"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:51.95pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:51.95pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Johnny Bandura,
<i>Desert Warrior, The General Warrior in Fox Hat, The Bride, The Spaceman, The Librarian</i>, all works 2021, oil on canvas, 28 x 35.5 cm, courtesy of the Artist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:51.95pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td width="36%" valign="top" style="width:36.98%;padding:0in 5.75pt 0in 5.75pt;height:224.05pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">MEDIA RELEASE</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">
<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">For immediate release from
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Kamloops Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">April 3, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><img width="255" height="56" style="width:2.6562in;height:.5833in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D96630.C51A9FA0"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none">Johnny Bandura</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none">The 215</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none">April 15 to June 24, 2023</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none">The Cube, Kamloops Art Gallery</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none">Johnny Bandura paints the stolen futures of the 215 children found in graves at the former Kamloops Residential School.</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;mso-ligatures:none"></span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">It’s been two years since the May 2021 discovery of the 215 children in graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, referred to by Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc as Le Estcwicw</span><span lang="" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">éy̓
</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">(the missing). Qayqayt First Nation artist Johnny Bandura painted 215 portraits that imagine what the children may have become had they survived to adulthood. Bandura began painting the portraits as
a therapeutic process; his grandmother was a Residential School survivor from Kamloops, and he remains connected to family in the region. The faces in the portraits are rendered in black and white to reference the absence of the children’s lives, while splashes
of colour emphasize ornamentation and dress that imagine the children’s futures. The portraits depict people in Indigenous regalia as well as individuals wearing uniforms of everyday occupations, representing the lives missing from our community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">On in The Cube at the Kamloops Art Gallery throughout the spring, this exhibition offers a space of contemplation marking the second anniversary of the findings.</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Curated by Craig Willms, Assistant Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Read the full exhibition text
<a href="https://kag.bc.ca/all-exhibitions/thecube-215"><span style="color:blue">here</span></a>.</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Media Information
</span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Craig Willms, Assistant Curator</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">250.377.2406</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">cwillms@kag.bc.ca</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">About the Kamloops Art Gallery</span></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir 55",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">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.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt"><img border="0" width="830" height="48" style="width:8.6458in;height:.5in" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.png@01D96630.C51A9FA0" alt="signature_1840475354"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>