Sugar Rush
May 30 to September 27, 2026
Camille and David Saltman Gallery
TOUR OVERVIEW
Sugar Rush brings together the work of Tarralik Duffy, an Inuk multidisciplinary artist from Salliq (Coral Harbour), Nunavut, now based in Saskatoon. Duffy takes the everyday objects of northern life, including pop cans, jerry cans and tins of luncheon meat, and remakes them at outsized scale in textile and soft sculpture, alongside drawing, printmaking, photography and digital media.
The results are funny and immediately recognizable, and they raise harder questions underneath. What gets shipped north, and at what cost? How do consumer culture and cultural identity sit together? Whose stories are told through familiar images? Students are asked to look closely at objects they walk past every day.
Duffy received the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award in 2021 and was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award in 2025.
CHOOSING THIS TOUR
This tour asks: Who decides what an everyday object means?
Kindergarten to Grade 5: Renaming and redesigning objects from their own kitchen.
Grades 6 to 9: Consumer culture, branding, and humour as an artistic tool.
Grades 10 to 12: Colonialism, food security and supply chains in the North.
ART ACTIVITY
The guided hands-on art activity paired with this exhibition explores tempera painting and wordplay.
We will discuss the artist’s use of wordplay and bright, simple compositions of familiar packaged products. Students will use templates, or draw their own if they prefer, to create an image of a packaged item, and will be prompted to consider humour, personal family background and wordplay in naming it.
We will guide the students through a simple three-colour method of painting, then use drawing media to add the words and details that finish their artwork.
Tempera paint is washable and should dry within the time of the activity, or within an hour or two of it. Groups are welcome to leave work at the Gallery to dry, provided it is picked up within two weeks.
EXTEND THE VIST IN YOUR CLASSROOM:
PANTRY SHELF DRAWING
Supplies: paper and drawing media
Have students picture a pantry or refrigerator shelf at home and make a simple line drawing of a few items sitting next to each other. Then have them think of a theme that ties the group together, such as favourite activities, friends, or characters from a book, and invent original, funny names for each item. Colour and finish as they wish.
TOUR DETAILS
• Cost: $6 per student
• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Capacity: up to 30 students
BOOKING
All school tours are booked online. Bookings are confirmed by email within five business days and are taken on a first-come, first-served basis.
We ask for 48 hours’ notice to cancel a booking. A $45 fee applies to cancellations made after that point.
An invoice is issued within two weeks of your visit, based on the number of students who attended.
Exhibition dates are subject to change. If a change affects your booking we will let you know in advance and offer an alternative tour.
CONTACT
Kirsteen McCulloch, Education Coordinator
250-762-2226 ext. 307
kirsteen@kelownaartgallery.com
PLANNING A FULL DAY?
The Rotary Centre for the Arts (programs@rotarycentreforthearts.com) and Kelowna Museums (education@kelownamuseums.ca) offer programming that pairs well with a gallery visit.
GALLERY
Kelowna Art Gallery, 1315 Water Street, Kelowna, BC
Official Sponsors:
