Henry Tsang: Napa North

Napa North is a solo photography and video exhibition by Henry Tsang, assistant professor, accompanied by wine tastings, workshops, demonstrations and screenings. Over the past year, Vancouver-based artist Henry Tsang worked with local stakeholders in the wine, land development and cultural communities to develop language around their hopes and concerns as the Okanagan continues to grow at its current frenetic pace.

Presented in three locations - the Kelowna Art Gallery, Alternator Gallery, and Art Gallery of the South Okanagan in Penticton - Napa North will launch at the On Common Ground Festival and Conference from June 10 to 15, 2008 in Kelowna. This project is supported by the Spirit of BC, Arts Partners in Creative Development, and the Audain Foundation.

Napa North explores the meteoric growth of the BC wine industry and the concurrent real estate boom in the Okanagan Corridor. As residents from larger urban centres flock to the region to invest in a less hectic lifestyle in an idealized healthful environment, local orchards and farms are being converted to vineyards and subdivisions. This project asks about the global forces at play in the creation of this ecstatic expansion. What histories are reconstructed when land is prepared for new development? How are individual and cultural identities affected as the Okanagan shifts away from agricultural production and becomes an increasingly upscale urban space promising the possibilities of luxury living?

Napa North has involved the participation of Susan Brandoli, Susan Bizecki and Terra Long; wineries such as Calona Vineyards, Mt. Boucherie, NK'Mip Cellars, Quail's Gate, and Summerhill; Okanagan Hills Development/The Rise; Cedar Creek Winery/Greata Ranch; UBC Okanagan, Casorso's Farm; Okanagan Wine Festival; Osoyoos Indian Band, Desert Cultural Centre, and in particular Modesta Betterton, for her translation and teaching of the N'syilxcen (Okanagan) language.

Napa North is part of the Edges of Diversity commissioning project by the Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art of original contemporary media artwork by BC-based artists Dana Claston, Jayce Salloum and Henry Tsang. These artists, who have exhibited nationally and internationally, demonstrate a committment to working with challenging social and political topics while bridging cultural understandings between diverse communities within Canada and beyond.

Opening reception and wine tasting hosted by winemaker Howard Soon of Calona/Sandhill Wines, on Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm

For more information, please visit The Kelowna Art Gallery.