The Small Cities CURA project at the Kamloops Museum Sept. 15 2007 to Jan. 7 2008

Local painter and teacher Melinda Spooner has spent much of the summer talking with local residents about their special places, and in return she has given each of them a painting depicting both the scene and the private story shared.

Photographer Ernie Kroeger has been pursuing the idea of understanding city spaces by linking photographs to walking. “I was inspired by conceptual artist Stanley Brouwn,” says Kroeger. “Brouwn once declared that all the shoe shops in Amsterdam comprised an exhibition of his work. By good fortune, while thinking of a suitable response to this work, I found a photograph of a shoe shop interior in the Kamloops Museum collection. The photograph, circa 1920, was taken by little-known Kamloops photographer John Scales. I liked the graphic symmetry of the photograph and became intrigued when I noticed the reflection of the photographer’s legs and tripod in the glass display case. What better place, I thought, to begin a walk than in a shoe store?”

Sculptor and photographer Donald Lawrence has been focusing on the mining camps of 19th-century Tranquille Creek, a place rich in history and contemporary significance for many living in Kamloops. According to Lawrence, the creek was the place to be for “miners who came down from the Cariboo goldfields after the main rush had peaked, or who never made it that far north in the first place; the Shuswap in their cottonwood dug-out canoes, curious party-goers from the burgeoning settlement of Kamloops to the east, itinerant photographers, and survey parties of the Geological Survey of Canada.”

Works by these artists and others will be part of a new exhibition, a special Small Cities CURA* project hosted by the Kamloops Museum and Archives along with the Fine Arts Department of Thompson Rivers University. The project will take the form of an art installation exploring the many scenes and dwelling places that give Kamloops its character and identity. Five TRU faculty members will explore ideas of home, neighbourhood and the activities that define our “places” within the community, with reference to such specific questions as “What is the future of culture within smaller cities?” “What” scenes” or activities are specific to Kamloops?” and why? “How is living in Kamloops perceived by a retiree, or by a recent high school graduate, and how would they and others define quality of life?”

The participating artists include Kroeger, Lawrence, and Spooner along with sculptor Doug Buis and photographer Eileen Leier.

The museum has worked directly with TRU faculty by providing access to the museum collection and assisting with the installations. The CURA program was specifically designed to combine the intimate local knowledge of community organizations and groups with the breadth and depth of knowledge of the university community.

An opening reception and brief talk will take place at the Museum, 6pm, Saturday, Sept. 15. All members of the community are invited to attend.

For further information, please contact: Dennis Oomen, Curator, Kamloops Museum by phone at 250-828-3576 Melinda Spooner, University Curator and Coordinator for the Artist-Researcher initiative, Thompson Rivers University by phone at 250-377-6150

For information regarding the Small Cities CURA, please contact the Research Director Will Garrett-Petts by phone at 250-828-5248

*The Community-University Research Alliances, or CURA, is a program operating under the aegis of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The Small Cities Cura program is designed to support alliances between post-secondary institutions and community organizations. The goal is to help the growth of new knowledge and develop the tools and methods that can help meet the needs of communities confronting unparalleled change and challenge.