West Kootenay Regional Arts Council

re:source – making materials matter
2025-03-05 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-06 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5
re:source is an exhibition of creative re-imagining, the act of finding and using materials over again or for a purpose not originally intended. We often think of “resources” as the things we have, but re-sourcing in this context implies the active process of discovery and reinvention.
Exhibition Dates: January 23-March 6, 2025
Opening Reception: January 28, 2025 @ 6:00pm-8:30pm
Join us for an evening of light refreshments. Artists in attendance.
Evening Hours: March 5, 2025
Intermission hours during the Bailey’s Performance Series.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Thursday @ 12:00pm-4:00pm
Do you have a group looking to attend outside of gallery hours? Contact us at info@visacgallery.com to discuss group visits and field trips.

SF Ho Artist talk + Closing reception
2025-03-08 17:30 - 20:00 (America/Vancouver) | Notably, a Book Lover’s Emporium, 454 Ward St, Nelson, V1L 1S8
Exhibition
SF Ho
TRIPLE BURNER FLOWER FIELD
15 January – 8 March 2025
Wednesdays to Saturdays, 1 – 5PM
Admission is free
Artist Talk by SF Ho
Saturday, March 8, 2025
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Notably, a Book Lover’s Emporium (454 Ward St. Nelson, BC)
Suggested donation: $5 – $20 per person
Closing Reception
Saturday, March 8, 2025
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Oxygen Art Centre (#3-320 Vernon St. (alleyway entrance), Nelson, BC)
Admission is free
Oxygen Art Centre presents two events to commemorate the closing of SF Ho’s exhibition TRIPLE BURNER FLOWER FIELD. The exhibition has been on view at the artist-run centre since January 15, 2025, following Ho’s residency in November and December 2024.
The public are invited to attend an artist talk by SF Ho held at Notably, a Book Lover’s Emporium at 454 Ward St. Nelson, BC, on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 5:30pm. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 – $20 per person at the door.
The artist talk will feature background on the Vancouver-based writer and artist’s practice and current research that led to the exhibition, TRIPLE BURNER FLOWER FIELD. A slide presentation will accompany the talk. Topics will range from Traditional Chinese Medicine and plant cultivation and use in artistic practice, to historical research into Chinese agrarian and cultural practices.
Following the artist talk, the public are invited to the artist-run centre along the alleyway for a Closing Reception celebration of Ho’s exhibition at 6:30 PM. Refreshments and light snacks will be provided. Admission to the closing reception is free.
The exhibition attends to the use of common plants while speaking to first-generation settlers about agriculture and medicine. By highlighting the spiritual and medicinal uses of tea, yarrow, poppy and mugwort, the exhibition examines how life is separated into the categories of useful commodities or invasive weeds within the framework of global capitalism.
TRIPLE BURNER FLOWER FIELD also includes archival and oral accounts of the role of the barefoot doctor during the Cultural Revolution, the agricultural land defense movement in Hong Kong, and the early Chinese market gardens of Nelson, BC. Using emptiness and manifold duality as guiding principles, art making becomes a kind of serious play that points to interdependence with land and beings while eschewing human supremacy.
TRIPLE BURNER FLOWER FIELD is currently on view at Oxygen Art Centre from January 15, 2025, to March 8, 2025, on Wednesdays to Saturdays from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.
SF Ho will be present in Nelson, B.C., for the Artist Talk event at Notably (5:30 pm) and Closing Reception event at Oxygen Art Centre (6:30 pm) on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Oxygen Art Centre is an artist-run centre located at #3-320 Vernon Street along the alleyway behind Baker Street.
This program is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Regional District of Central Kootenay ReDi program.
Artist Bio:
SF Ho (they/them) is an artist, writer and organizer. They have been living as an uninvited guest on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ peoples for over fourteen years. Operating somewhere between words and whatever words can’t be, their work is informed by feminist methodologies, land-based practices, and grassroots community networks. Ho has presented their artwork and writing both regionally and internationally. They published a book about love and aliens called George, the Parasite.

ReelRock 19
2025-03-08 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Castle Theatre, 185 Columbia Ave., Castlegar
TAWKROC and THE CASTLE THEATRE PRESENT:REELROCK 19
Saturday March 8th – doors at 6pm show at 7pmLicensed event
Come out and support your local climbing community
Reel Rock 19 showcases three world-premiere climbing films spanning disciplines, characters, and continents: a heartfelt story of second chances in love and climbing on Squamish’s legendary Cobra Crack; an outrageous 18-day big wall epic on Patagonia’s towering Torre Central; and the pursuit of a lifelong dream—a 5.15 first ascent—made possible by an unlikely partnership. Reel Rock 19 is on tour worldwide starting March 2025.

“Uno” by Raul Pous Facha
2025-03-10 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-11 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-12 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-13 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-14 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-17 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-18 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-19 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) and 8 more dates | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5
Meet Raul: Architect, Artist, and Digital Fabrication Visionary

“I’m Raul, an architect and artist of Mexican origin, now based in Canada since 2022. My lifelong fascination with materials and manufacturing techniques has deeply influenced my approach to design. While I’ve always appreciated the artistry and individuality of handmade products, I’ve also recognized the challenges they face in achieving precision and consistent quality.

This curiosity led me to digital fabrication, where I discovered the power to translate complex designs into reality with precision and control. Through the fusion of technology and craftsmanship, I am able to create pieces that retain the unique essence of handmade work while elevating their quality and accuracy.”

Exhibition Dates: March 10 – 20, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 13 from 4:00pm-5:30pm

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 12pm-4pm

To learn more, visit us at: https://visacgallery.com/exhibitions/#unoraulpousfacha

Opening Reception of “Uno” by Raul Pous Facha
2025-03-13 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Vancouver) | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5

Speaker Series and Gallery Show with Melanie Mercier: Rooting for Nature, Rooting for Ourselves
2025-03-13 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Vancouver) | Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre, 1100 Hwy 3B | Junction of Hwys 3B & 22, Rossland, BC, V0G 1Y0, Canada
Melanie Mercier is returning with a double-header event! “Rooting for Nature, Rooting for Ourselves” is a celebration of the intrinsic connection between nature and humanity, highlighting the symbiosis that exists between all living beings and the health of our environment, and a visual exploration that inspires environmental stewardship. Join us at the Museum at 6:30 pm on Thursday, March 13th, for a Speaker Series talk and Gallery Show that aims to not only spark conversations but also inspire tangible actions that contribute to a more sustainable and harmonious world.

Entry by donation. Please RSVP online, send us an email at info@rosslandmuseum.ca, or give us a call at 250-362-7722 to let us know you are coming!

Debert Bunker: By Invitation Only film screening
2025-03-14 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Vancouver) | Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery, 502 Vernon Street, Nelson, V1L 4E7, Canada
Outside a military base in Debert, Nova Scotia, on a cold day in February 1984, a small but mighty group of women harnessed the power of performance art, protest, and the media—and captured the attention of the entire country.
That same day in February, 329 people were planning on using the bunker for rehearsal of a nuclear attack—nearly all of them white, middle-aged men with government or military leadership roles; only 11 women were on the list.
Months earlier, women from all over the Maritimes began planning for a multi-faceted day of action, dubbed Debunk Debert. The group arranged radio interviews on CBC morning shows, arranged for men to handle the day’s cooking, cleaning, and childcare, and staged a protest at Camp Debert, the location of Atlantic Canada’s only cold war bunker.
The protesters’ message was clear: while these men continue government from inside the bunker, what is happening to the women and children you’ve left behind? How do you continue government, or humanity, without a second generation? Documentary filmmaker Liz MacDougall explores these questions and covers the protest in her 1985 documentary Debert Bunker: By Invitation Only, screening Friday, March 14 in the Cold War Bunker, presented by the Nelson Museum to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The screening of Debert Bunker: By Invitation Only is at 6:30pm on Friday, March 14, followed by an open discussion with Anna Purcell and Tressa Ford. Tickets are $10 for museum members and $15 for the general public and includes a reproduction of the ‘Debunk Debert’ buttons created for the original protest.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Front Desk or online. Space is limited for this one-time only event.

Dark Chapters opening reception
2025-03-21 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery, 502 Vernon Street, Nelson, V1L 4E7, Canada
The Dark Chapters project encompasses the renowned career of Métis artist and educator David Garneau, through the dual lens of exhibition and publication. The book, Dark Chapters: Reading the Still Lives of David Garneau, invites 17 Canadian artists and academics to write a response – poetry, creative writing, critical essay – to one of Garneau’s vast collection of still life paintings. The exhibition features works from the publication as well as additional pieces chosen by Garneau. Dark Chapters offers myriad ways to investigate how the written word can implicate, illuminate, and interpret artworks.
Dark Chapters opens on Friday, March 21 at 7pm featuring an artist talk with Garneau and essay contributor Fred Wah. This event is free and open to the public.
David Garneau (Métis) is a Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina. He is a painter, curator, and writer who engages creative and critical expressions of Indigenous contemporary ways of knowing, being, and doing. In 2023, he received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art: Outstanding Achievement and was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada.

Local Trail, Distant Shores: Water Colour Perspectives
2025-03-27 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver), 2025-03-27 12:00 - 2025-04-15 16:00 (America/Edmonton), 2025-04-01 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5
A series of watercolour paintings by Dan Ashman. The exhibition takes inspiration from the scenery of the West Kootenays.
Exhibition Dates:
March 27 – April 24, 2025
Opening Event:
March 27, 2025
Evening Hours:
April 15, 2025
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday
12pm-4pm

Artist Statement:
If I am asked how long it took to paint a picture, I would reply, “Thirty-five years to learn how, and a few hours to put paint on paper”. It is a long process to master the media of watercolour and even after all this time, something can still go wrong. I’m still learning and developing my style.
About Dan Ashman:
Dan Ashman was born in British Columbia in 1956 and started his foray into art in High School by painting in oils. He moved to Trail to work as a Metallurgical Engineer at Teck and took up watercolours in 1987 during a night school course led by fellow engineer and local watercolour artist, Brian O’Hara. Subsequently, he attended workshops with Les Weisbrich, a watercolour artist from the Slocan valley, and Kiff Holland, a watercolour artist from the lower mainland. Otherwise, he is self taught.
Dan joined the Trail Art Club in 1988 and helped to establish the VISAC gallery. He was a member of the “Thursday Night Painters” when it was led by Bob Ross. His work has been shown in Art Club exhibitions, the VISAC invitational show, showings of the Thursday Night Painters both in Trail and Spokane as well as juried art shows. He has sold a number of paintings including one to St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.
As an avid outdoorsman, Dan was inspired by the captivating scenery of the West Kootenays and began to capture local scenes in watercolour either painting “en plein air” or in his studio. He is also an amateur photographer and uses photos from his travels as subject matter. Now retired, his recent works include landscapes from the West Kootenays, the Canadian Rockies, Hawaii, and Atlantic Canada.

Opening Reception for “Local Trail, Distant Shores: Watercolour Perspectives”
2025-03-27 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Vancouver) | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5

Stories Inspire Passion -SIP talks 2025
2025-03-29 15:30 - 19:00 (America/Vancouver) | Prestige Lakeside Resort, 701 Lakeside Dr, Nelson, British Columbia, BC V1L 6G3, Canada
Join the Canadian Federation of University Women Nelson & District, for a celebration of the collective spirit of Kootenay Women on Saturday, March 29th at Lakeside Prestige.
Seven local women will share their personal stories about what has inspired them to become the person they are today. There is nothing more exciting than meeting new people, sharing lived experience stories, and enjoying good food and beverage!
Speakers this year include:• Katrine Conroy – first female to work at Celgar Pulp Mill, becoming a Power Engineer, an Early Childhood Educator, worked at Kootenay Family Place as an ECE and Executive Director, and as an instructor at Selkirk teaching ECE, was as elected as MLA since 2005 – recently retired MLA.
• Cheryl Dowden – Ed at ANKORS, social justice advocate, community leader advocating for the vulnerable population, an avid traveler, outdoorsperson, and passionate about being a mom.
• Laura Landsberg – a rare vocalist who can cross all genres, highly respected member of the music community, 20 years vocal instructor at Selkirk College Contemporary Music & Technology Program, continues to perform in various musical projects.
• Slava Doval -a passionate, lifelong dance artist, choreographer and instructor. The founder and director of Dance Fusion, a Nelson-based dance school that has been in operation for sixteen years.
• Andrea Fox – Andrea is a certified nature-based therapist, environmental activist, outdoor educator, and wilderness guide. Fox received the 2024 Suzy Hamilton Legacy award for their passionate and dedicated work in protecting old growth forests and biodiversity. Andrea Fox founded Elemental Journeys and offers youth programs, primal skills workshops, adult wilderness retreats and one-on-one counselling. Fox brings curiosity and play to every exploration.
• Lena Horswill – community advocate & leader, originally from Malaysia, she immigrated to Canada at the age of 25 and began working with CUSO (an international development agency), former retired ED for Nelson Community Services and at present is Board Chair for Nelson City Police Board.
• Kate Armstrong – award-winning author of her memoir The Stone Frigate: The Royal Military College’s First Female Cadet Speaks Out, is passionate about writing and is currently pursuing a master’s in fine arts in Creative Writing at UBC, she is also an avid sailor/yachtsman and plans to race in the Atlantic.
The main goal of the event is to raise funds for the scholarships that we award to young women in our community who attend Selkirk College, and LV Rogers Secondary School in Nelson. Our club has a history of awarding scholarships for over 50 years.
Each ticket includes a glass of wine or other beverage, as well as an assortment of tapas and finger sandwiches.
Raffle tickets for some fabulous prizes will also be sold. Enter for your chance at a $400 cash prize, free night at the Prestige, a $200 Save-On grocery card and $100 Kootenay Co-op True Local basket.
We thank our above mentioned sponsors along with our event sponsor this year, Fern Sabo with Spring Creative Inc.
We look forward to hosting you for a wonderful evening!Doors open at 3:30pm, program begins at 4:00pm.If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to us at nelsoncfuw@gmail.com.
Tickets will be available at Otter Books, Feb. 6Complimentary tickets may be available, please inquire at nelsoncfuw@gmail.com

Women in Film Panel Discussion
2025-03-29 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Vancouver) | Nelson Innovation Center, 91-D Baker Street, Nelson, BC, Canada
Join us for an inspiring panel discussion featuring the talented participants of the “Her Vision” Women in Film Mentorship Program (made possible by Nelson Civic Theatre Society’s Kootenay Screen-Based Industry Program/Kootenay Film). This event celebrates the achievements of emerging women and non-binary filmmakers in the Kootenays, highlighting the experiences and projects they developed under the guidance of experienced mentors.
Hear firsthand from the apprentices about what they gained from their mentorship. As well, enjoy insightful talks from seasoned mentors in the industry, who will share their experience, expertise, and insights into navigating the current landscape of film. The audience are welcome to participate in the Q & A to foster enriching dialogue.
This intimate event is a unique opportunity to connect with a vibrant community of creatives, fostering collaboration and empowerment among women and non-binary filmmakers in the region. Come and be part of celebrating the vision and creativity of women and non-binary filmmakers in the Kootenays!
A massive thanks to KAST (Kootenay Association for Science & Technology) for sponsoring the event venue.
Date: Saturday March 29, 2025Time: 4 – 6pm PSTLocation: The Nelson Innovation Centre (91-D Baker ST, Nelson, BC V1L 4G8)
FREE to attend!
