Collection
The permanent collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery is one of the cornerstones of the institution. In the 2012 year the collection holdings number just over 700 pieces. All these works are held in trust by the City of Kelowna for its citizens.
The majority of pieces in the collection are by contemporary Canadian artists, with a small number of historical Canadian pieces. Most works came to us as gifts, but there has been some modest purchasing, assisted by donations of monies from community members, and grants from the Central Okanagan Foundation and the Canada Council.
A standing committee of the Board of Directors looks after decisions about new works coming into the collection, and any other matters pertaining to the permanent collection. All their decisions are ratified at the Board level. Material is compiled around any offered donations or suggested purchases for the committee by the gallery’s curator. Artists or other members of the public are welcome to contact either the curator or executive director about making a gift of work(s) of art at any time. We have an Acquisitions Policy in place that was last updated and approved in 2008. Additionally, a collecting priority statement was drawn up by the curator that received approval by the Acquisitions Committee in 2008. This helps provide a framework for our collecting focus. Currently we are largely intent on improving our holdings of work by important local artists.
The Gallery has the goal of organizing an exhibition drawn from the permanent collection every few years. The most recent of these was Personal Topographies, held in the summer of 2012.
The Gallery has just completed a project of creating digital images of each work in the permanent collection. Once new database software has been selected, and the transfer of the files made, our goal is to have all these images on our website. We aim to have this completed by the end of 2012.
Past exhibitions featuring works from the Permanent Collection
Personal Topographies
Aug 25 to Oct 28, 2012
Tony Scherman: works on paper
June 2 to July 29, 2012
Constructions of Identity
Recent Additions to the Permanent Collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery
October 9 to December 12, 2010
The Okanagan Tree
July 24 to September 26, 2010
NEXUS: Histories and Communities
An exhibition of works from the permanent collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery in celebration of the gallery’s thirtieth anniversary.
December 1, 2007 to March 2, 2008
On View: Selections from our Recent Acquisitions
six artists | sixteen works | one hot show
June 16 to September 9, 2007
