UBC Okanagan Gallery

UBC Okanagan Gallery’s mission is to lead boldly, to foster relationships built on mutual respect through inclusive actions and bold initiatives by supporting contemporary art practices that center equity, and diversity. The gallery’s programs encourage reflection on cultural intersections, the bringing together of diverse communities through creative practices. UBC Okanagan Gallery’s Public Art Collection’s acquisition policy prioritizes acquisitions and commissions by Indigenous artists, with a special focus on Interior Salish peoples.

As a university gallery, housed within the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, UBC Okanagan Gallery is committed to a research-creation mandate realized through: exhibitions, artist residencies, performances, artist talks, workshops, publications, permanent art collection management, commissions, acquisitions, and community-engaged programs in the field of visual arts.

UBC Okanagan Gallery was formed as an umbrella institution in 2020 to manage the professional programming of the FINA Gallery, the Indigenous Art Intensive, the Public Art Collection and the forthcoming professional gallery space in downtown Kelowna.

Curator

Dr. Stacey May Koosel is a Métis writer, lecturer, curator of UBC Okanagan Gallery and coordinator of the Indigenous Art Intensive. She teaches courses on art history, curation and Indigenous contemporary art history at the University of Alberta and UBC Okanagan. She is passionate about art history and contemporary art, with a focus on decolonisation practices, Indigenous art and art publishing.

Stacey Koosel

Visit the Gallery

UBC Okanagan Gallery programs exhibitions annually in May-August and January, please see Exhibitions for current programming. The FINA Gallery, is located in the foyer of the Creative and Critical Studies Building, 1148 Research Road, UBC Okanagan campus.

FINA Gallery Hours

  • Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm
  • Closed weekends & stat holidays

Paid parking is available in Lot G after 1pm or GYM short term parking adjacent to the CCS building. Find out more.

Future Downtown Gallery

UBC Okanagan’s long-term vision includes more direct partnership with the communities of our region. To support that ambition and accommodate significant growth in programs and enrolment, we’re adding space over the next decade and building a gallery space in the new UBC building in downtown Kelowna.

About the project: UBC Okanagan Gallery in the community

UBCO Downtown Campus RenderingIn partnership with UBC Properties Trust, UBC is planning a new building at 550 Doyle Avenue. Once design and approvals are in place, construction is underway.

An expanded downtown Kelowna presence will support both UBC’s and the City of Kelowna’s strategic priorities, including UBC Okanagan’s Outlook 2040 vision for the next 20 years.

Learn More

Contact & Staff

Reach the team that curates and cares for our art collections.

Support Us

Explore the individuals, foundations and organizations that support our activities.

Top image caption: Installation Invisible Forces, Krystle Silverfox and Tiffany Shaw, 2023