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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"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Artist re-imagines ancient African kingdoms using LEGO® bricks<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Artwork by Ekow Nimako<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">May 24 to August 24, 2025<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><i><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">MEDIA PREVIEW: Thursday, May 22: 10:00 am (RSVP please)</span></u></i></b><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">May 15, 2025 – Kelowna, BC:
</span></b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna audiences will soon get a chance to see an art installation that has been making waves across the continent.
<i>Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships</i> continues Ghanian Canadian artist
<b>Ekow Nimako</b>’s afrofuturistic reimagining of ancient African kingdoms. It opens at the Kelowna Art Gallery on May 24, 2025.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">What makes this art exhibition unique is that Nimako uses LEGO® bricks as his medium. Through complex sculptures that take between 50 to 800 hours to construct, the
artist explores the mysterious fourteenth century sea voyage of Mansa Abu Bakr II, predecessor of Mansa Musa, ruler of the ancient Mali Empire.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Visitors will experience this narrative through Ekow Nimako’s combination of architecture, historical accounts, and fantastical possibilities that transcend the geometric
form of LEGO® to recreate the epic voyage. According to legends, Abu Bakr II was an intrepid explorer, who abdicated his throne and took 2,000 ships on an expedition into the Atlantic, but was never to return or to be heard from again. Some accounts suggest
the massive fleet reached as far as the Americas, but where they went beyond this is still unknown.
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships</span></i><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> features six distinct art installations
that comprise half a million LEGO® bricks, including <i>ASAMAND</i>, <i>BAY OF BANJUL</i>,
<i>SEPOW</i>, <i>ISLA EWI</i>, <i>WAWA ABA</i>, and <i>DAME DAME</i>. To further enhance visitors’ experiences, an “Imaginarium Area” will be part of the exhibition, where guests can use art supplies to sketch their ideas of what a world fueled by their imagination
would look like. Adjoining this will be a reading nook with a selection of books for visitors of all ages. The Art Lab in the Gallery will be transformed into a “LEGO® Making Space” where Gallery-goers can reflect on their experience and express their own
creativity by constructing their own sculptures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako</span></b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is a Toronto-based, internationally exhibiting LEGO® artist who crafts futuristic
and whimsical sculptures from the iconic medium. Rooted in his childhood hobby and intrinsic creativity, Nimako’s formal arts education and background as a lifelong multidisciplinary artist inform his process and signature aesthetic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">An
<b>Opening Reception</b> will be held on Friday, May 23, 2025, from 6 to 8 pm at the Kelowna Art Gallery. The artist will be in attendance, and the public is welcome to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships
</span></i><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">runs from May 24 to August 24, 2025. It is presented with support from Pushor Mitchell Lawyers and Kelowna Paint Supply. The exhibition is organized and circulated by the Dunlop Art
Gallery and Curated by Alyssa C. Fearon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Block & Build: A LEGO® Night at the Gallery</span></b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> is planned for Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from
6 to 8 pm. Tickets are $25 for this ages 19+ event and are required to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street in the heart of Kelowna’s Culture District. For more information visit kelownaartgallery.com or call 250-762-2226.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">- 30 –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">MEDIA PREVIEW: Thursday, May 22, at 10:00 am<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako will be available. Please RSVP to
<a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Image Credits</span></u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako, artist with <i>Wawa Aba, The Sunrise Dancer (circa 1358),</i> 2022, LEGO® elements. Collection of the Artist. Photo courtesy of
the Dunlop Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako, <i>Asamando</i> (detail), 2022. 150,000~ LEGO® elements. Photo courtesy of the Dunlop Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Resources</span></u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Exhibition Webpage:
<span style="color:#666666"><a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/ekow_nimako/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/ekow_nimako/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako’s Website:
<a href="https://www.ekownimako.com/exhibitions/buildingblackcivilizations">https://www.ekownimako.com/exhibitions/buildingblackcivilizations</a>
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<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ekow Nimako’s IG:
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ekownimako/">https://www.instagram.com/ekownimako/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">About the Kelowna Art Gallery <o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Kelowna Art Gallery engages, inspires, and enriches the community it serves through the exhibition, collection, and interpretation of visual art. Work by Canadian
artists, both historical and contemporary, are presented in five distinct exhibition spaces. The Kelowna Art Gallery is invested in the idea that art helps to bring people together; and that life is simply better with art in it. Programs for people of all
ages and backgrounds help to instill confidence in ones’ creativity and to foster meaningful dialogue on matters important to Canadians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For additional high-res images, or to arrange an interview with the artist, please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Joshua Desnoyers (he/him)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Marketing and Events Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;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:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">250-762-2226 ext. 305<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;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:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="http://www.kelownaartgallery.com">www.kelownaartgallery.com</a>
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