The mission of the Okanagan Institute
is to contribute to
the quality of creative engagement in the Okanagan through publications and events.
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Kelowna BC Canada
Telephone 250.870.2690
Email: Click here
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 About the Institute
The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that have gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We provide innovative consultation, facilitation, professional development and creative services.
We invite participation and collaboration by all members of the Okanagan creative community. To find out what opportunities are available, click here.
Our events program features the ongoing Express series of presentations and seminars - formerly at Mosaic Books, Bean Scene North, Hanna's Lounge and now at the Bohemian Café - which take inspiration from articles published in the magazines of Wheat King Publishing: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home.
OUR COLLABORATORS AND SPONSORS:
The Express series is supported by a number of organizations, institutions, and enterprises who have joined with the Institute in furtherance of its mission. Our major sponsor is Wheat King Publishing, which provides promotional, logistical and financial support, for which we are very grateful. The other generous sponsors of these events are:
» Arts Council of the Central Okanagan
A resource centre and advocate for the arts in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan, the Arts Council is the copublisher of Okanagan Arts magazine.
» UBCO Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
A unique interweaving of creative disciplines and the critical disciplines that reflect on, analyze and theorize about creative acts.
» Wood Lake Books
From a small kitchen table operation to a publisher with over 1 million books printed. Books and resources that are inclusive, truth-seeking, and life-affirming.
» Bohemian Café
Our current location. Located on Bernard Avenue, the Boh has long been the place for quality food and catering, and a great place to experience the essence of Okanagan ambiance and artistry.
» Hanna's Lounge
Located on the waterfront beside the Grand Hotel and boat launch,with views of the lake and mountains, a casual atmosphere with large waterfront patio, a large wine selection and interesting food.
» Bean Scene North
Close to the Cultural District, a casual environment where all coffee served is roasted by Belgo House Coffee, presenting a fine selection of organic and fair trade coffees.
» Mosaic Books
Mosaic provides the warm and welcoming space in which we presented many of our early events. Support your local independent bookstore, while you still have one!
The Express series honours and promotes the activities of Project Literacy Kelowna. Today many people in the Okanagan have difficulty reading, writing and working with numbers. They have trouble writing letters, reading menus, making sense of newspapers, helping children with homework, filling out applications, doing their banking, taking advantage of training programs, and securing jobs. This limits their participation in our community and their control over their own lives and destinies.  Many of them want to improve their reading and writing and given the chance, they would. Project Literacy Kelowna provides literacy tutoring, and a variety of other services that address this problem. You can be part of this effort, by becoming a a volunteer tutor, helping with fundraising and public awareness efforts, or donating much-needed funds.For more information contact Project Literacy Kelowna here. |
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The literary and visual works presented at the events are posted online at the Okanagan Reader.
The Okanagan Institute is dedicated to the advancement of the art of writing and to outreach programs that bring creative thinking and written works of merit to under-served communities. The Institute is prepared to publish established writers and hitherto unpublished writers, as well as out-of-print work, collections of essays, and anthologies that spotlight and support other local arts organizations.
 
A series of Okanagan Chapbooks is in the works - occasional compilations, short texts, tracts and pictorial materials of special interest to the principals of the Okanagan Institute - literary works of merit and distinction, history and heritage, the arts and crafts, leisure pastimes and fugitive enthusiasms - by Okanagan writers, and on topics of appeal to Okanagan readers.
Okanagan Chapbooks are printed in limited quantities and made available to friends of the publisher, at Okanagan Institute events, and through selected purveyors of fine publishing. Subscriptions are available to libraries and book collectors. Quantities are limited and only a few copies are expected to be made available.
The coordinators of the Okanagan Institute are Robert MacDonald and Karin Wilson. A number of people and organizations contributed ideas and material support to the development of the Institute over the spring and summer of 2007, including Dona Sturmanis, High Browse Books, Wheat King Publishing, Mosaic Books, Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Bookworks.
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