Vernon artists, Julie Oakes, showcasing her work (submitted photo)

By Liam Verster

Czech-German-Canadian Art Initiative

Nearly 20 Vernon, Okanagan artists to have works showcased in Europe

Jul 2, 2025 | 8:54 AM

Several local artists will be heading abroad to have their pieces on display.

Twenty B.C. artists, nearly all of whom are from Vernon, the Okanagan or Shuswap, have been invited to participate in the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 in Germany and the Czech Republic.

As part of the Czech-German-Canadian initiative, Try Walking in My Shoes, the B.C. artists will present their interpretations of the Ore Mountains, a region where famous author, Karl Friedrich May, once lived.

The artists involved in the program are:

• Aj Jaeger, Vernon – paintings, sculpture, mixed media
• John Lawrence, Vernon – painting, B.C. scene
• Destanne Norris, Vernon – landscape painting, water symbolism
• Julie Oakes, Vernon – painting, installation, founder of Headbones Gallery
• Deborah Wilson, Vernon – jade sculptures and jewelry. We are currently in talks with other, mainly Indigenous, artists.
• Reg Kienast, Armstrong – abstract sculptures, literature
• Krystyna Laycraft, Armstrong – nature- and philosophy-inspired collages
• Cathy Stubbington, Enderby – puppetry, community theatre
• Angela Hansen, Lake Country – encaustic, ceramic,
• Bree Apperley, Kelowna – painting, installation, textile collage
• Raj Jain, Kelowna – watercolours, films on identity
• Patrick Lundeen, Kelowna – humour, installation, performance
• Isabelle Gervais, Salmon Arm – painting, textile
• Ziyba Ibragimova, Salmon Arm – documentary filmmaker (Who We Are)
• Patricia L. Smith, Salmon Arm – landscape, cultural heritage
• Jacquie Sharpe, Salmon Arm – painting, leather goods
• Calvin White, Salmon Arm – poet, essayist, playwright
• Sarah Wiens, Salmon Arm – light and colour installations
• Bradley Norrish, Sorrento – video, film inspired by Karl May
• Stephen Lytton, Vancouver – actor, writer, activist (Nlaka’pamux)

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“Paintings, written texts, and short films will be part of autumn exhibitions on both the German and Czech sides of the Ore Mountains,” Tereza Koranda Dvořáková, curator from the co-organizing Zensky Spolek, said.

“I believe visitors will be surprised by the high artistic standard of the artists, most of whom are based in the Okanagan region. The exhibitions will tell new stories of the Ore Mountains. It will be entertaining—and for Europeans, also an opportunity to learn more about the oppression of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and today’s Canadian society’s efforts to make amends for this difficult past.”

The opening of the first exhibition will take place Sept. 20 in Hohensteing-Ernstthak, Germany, and Hohndorf, Germany. Another part of the exhibition will be hosted in Chomutov, Czech Republic, starting Oct. 21.