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<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">For Immediate Release<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><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Kookum Lounge Opens in the Kelowna Art Gallery Courtyard<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Anishinaabe curator and interdisciplinary artist Jaimie Isaac transforms the Gallery's inner courtyard into a sail-covered tipi of light, sound, and refuge
| September 19, 2026, to September 2027<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 16, 2026 – Kelowna, BC:
</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">This fall, the Kelowna Art Gallery's inner courtyard becomes something else entirely.
<i>Kookum Lounge</i> is an immersive installation by interdisciplinary artist and curator
<b>Jaimie Isaac</b>, who is a member of Sagkeeng First Nation and of British heritage. It opens on September 19, 2026.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Jaimie Isaac<b>
</b>builds spaces that ask viewers to slow down. <b><i>Kookum Lounge</i></b> presents visitors with an interactive space of light, sound, and refuge to enter. It is a gathering place of comfort and shelter where storytellers and daydreamers alike are invited
to rest, listen to one another, and reflect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kookum Lounge</span></i></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> takes the architectural form of a tipi, but instead of hide or canvas,
its covering is made of upcycled water-resistant sails that have been sewn together. These materials symbolize the migrations of settlers who came to Turtle Island from across the waters. Inside, insulated tarps are patchworked into flooring that referenced
the shelters of tent cities. Layered on top is a floral Kookum-scarf fabric, which resembles the blankets of matriarchal comfort.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Jaimie Isaac
</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">considers the tipi a form of “Indigenous femme architecture,” a space built to share and pass down knowledge, stories, and language across generations. It is no coincidence that
<i>Kookum</i> is the Anishinaabe word for "Grandmother," and the space is built in that spirit.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kookum Lounge</span></i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> can be seen in the Gallery's Courtyard from September 19, 2026 to September
2027. An Opening Reception will be held at the Kelowna Art Gallery on Saturday, September 19, from 2 to 4 pm. It is free and open for the public to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kookum Lounge</span></i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> was previously presented as part of
<i>Illuminate the Night</i> at <i>Nuit Blanche</i> Winnipeg in 2023, drawing crowds along the city's waterfront. For Kelowna, the work finds a new home in the Gallery's courtyard, encouraging the same kind of intercultural exchange it sparked on the shores
of the Red River.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street. For more information, visit kelownaartgallery.com or call 250-762-2226.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">- 30 –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:</span></u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Artist
<b>Jaimie Isaac</b> will be in Kelowna from September 16-19 and is available for interviews. Please contact Josh Desnoyers, Communications Manager, at
<a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a> or 250-762-2226 x 305 to schedule a time to access the exhibition and artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">IMAGE CREDITS:</span></u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Jaimie Isaac,<i> Kookum Lounge</i> installed at the Illuminate the Night festival as part of Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">RESOURCES:</span></u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Webpage:
<span style="color:#666666"><a href="https://kelownaartgallery.com/kookum-lounge/">https://kelownaartgallery.com/kookum-lounge/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For a selection of more high-res images, or to arrange an interview, please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Josh Desnoyers (he/him)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Marketing and Communications Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kelowna Art Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;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:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">250-762-2226 ext. 305<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="mailto:josh@kelownaartgallery.com">josh@kelownaartgallery.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="http://www.kelownaartgallery.com">www.kelownaartgallery.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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