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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"><b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The General Store</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> opens at the Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The General Store: Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">January 13 to April 14, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">January 10, 2024 – Kelowna, BC:
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Visitors to a new exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery could be forgiven for feeling they had mistakenly wandered into a gift shop.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The General Store</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">, by artists Nahanni McKay and Ben Evely, features an assortment of
souvenir-type items that the pair have constructed, including postcards, pennants, magnets, mugs, and other objects that all reference Canada’s wilderness areas.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“This work is a parody of souvenir merchandise, incorporating the puns and low-brow humour that can so often be found in them,” says artist
<b>Ben Evely</b>. “The souvenirs on display in The General Store reference the way places can be misrepresented—how the commercial viability of a souvenir will often take precedence over whether it is genuine or accurate. Whatever sells best gets reproduced.”<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">Both artists hail from Banff, Alberta situated on Treaty 7 Territory, in the heart of Canada’s most visited park, so they were steeped in a world of outdoor tourism growing
up. Over 4 million visitors from around the world flock to the National Park each year, marketed to tourists idyllically with its soaring peaks, sparkling alpine lakes, and natural beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through the objects, McKay and Evely critically examine the way Canada’s parks and wild spaces are presented, and call attention to the commodification of the natural
world.<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">“Beautiful places in Canada attract a colonial desire to commercialize and conquer this sacred place. This is my way of decolonizing the land,” says artist
<b>Nahanni McKay</b>.<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">Gallery visitors will encounter playful (and perhaps slightly frightening) reproductions of tourist kitsch and pieces of Canadiana in the installation.
<i>Gopher in a Can</i> (2023) is a perfect example. Rather than the typical plush and cuddly “canned critters” tourists commonly find like a beaver, moose, or bear, the artists have created an unsettling taxidermy version featuring a stiff and haggard looking
gopher in a can. In <i>Moraine Lake Ashtray</i> (2023), users literally put out their cigarette on an image of the pristine Moraine Lake, darkly hinting at the fraught relationship between humans and nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through their work, the duo seeks to deconstruct cultural trends inspired by nature, examining wilderness aesthetics, and encouraging dialogue within outdoor communities
and tourism economies.<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">Nahanni McKay</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is a Metis-Cree artist and photographer based in Treaty 7 Territory. Born
and raised in the Banff, AB, her creative practice has focused on National Parks in Canada and the human impact on natural environments as well as the decolonization of land.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ben Evely</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is a visual artist from Banff, AB, on Treaty 7 Territory. He primarily works
with painting, collage, and drawing. He appreciates the transformations and distortions that happen while merging traditional and digital art mediums. Evely currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The General Store</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> runs from January 13 to April 14, 2024.<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:13.0pt;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="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay,
<i>Gopher in a Can</i>, 2023, mixed media sculpture. Image courtesy of the artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay,
<i>Stolen Land</i>, 2023, textile pennant. Image courtesy of the artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay,
<i>Moraine Lake Ashtray</i>, 2023, acrylic on polymer clay. Image courtesy of the artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay,
<i>True Adventures</i>, 2023, digital print. Image courtesy of the artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Ben Evely and Nahanni McKay,
<i>Jassper</i>, 2023, digital print. Image courtesy of the artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<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>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><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">Exhibition Webpage:
<a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/the-general-store/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/the-general-store/</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;color:black">Gallery IG:</span>
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/@kelownaartgallery/">@kelownaartgallery</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;color:black">Nahanni McKay IG:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/nahanster/">@nahanster</a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#666666"><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;color:black">Ben Evely IG:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/benevely/">@benevely</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For a preview and interview with the artists in The General Store, or for additional high-res images, please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<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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