Pop-up gallery in a box

Photo: Jon Manchester

Vernon Public Art Gallery executive director Duana Kennedy

Click here to view gallery

Photo: Jon Manchester Photo: Contributed Photo: Contributed Photo: Contributed

 

It doesn't look like an art gallery right now, but shipping containers craned into place Monday morning will house a "pop-up gallery" set to open later this month.

At the site of the future Vernon Public Art Gallery, by the downtown Vernon bus terminal, a satellite gallery is being set up for the Okanagan Print Triennial.

The containers were provided by Kelowna company BigSteelBox and lifted into place by crews from Armstrong Crane and Rigging.

Executive director Duana Kennedy said she had hoped the triennial would be the opening show in the gallery's new home on the site of the old Vernon Medical Building. But, rather than downsize the international exhbition, "we partnered with BigSteelBox on the gallery in a box idea."

The container gallery will house part of the exhibition, with the rest at the gallery's downtown parkade location.

Staff will now get busy setting up the show, with a public opening reception set for March 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is by donation. The show will include close to 200 submissions by artists from 35 countries and continues until mid-May. 

“Our business was built around the idea that a Big Steel Box is a better solution for moving and storage; usually it’s household belongings or equipment on a construction site, but this is a great example of a BigSteelBox’s versatility,” said president Jason Siebenga. 

Launched in 2009, the Okanagan Print Triennial is an open juried print exhibition. With everything from intricate wood block prints to large-scale digital images, the exhibition includes outstanding quality artwork that would not disappoint audiences in New York or Paris, Kennedy said in a press release.

The exhibition is a collaborative project of the Vernon Public Art Gallery, the Kelowna Art Gallery, and the University of British Columbia Okanagan.