The changing exhibitions of Touchstones Nelson offer a diversity of topics and themes that reflect the broad interests and capabilities of people living in the region. From contemporary art and pop culture, to fine craft and design, to local architectural and human history, Touchstones Nelson exhibitions connect to this area’s creative energy and rich heritage.
Current ExhibitionsGallery A Gallery B |
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Exhibition News and Guidelines |
Gallery A
Kristi Malakoff: The Golden Bell
Kristi Malakoff, Maibaum
- Opening reception: Friday June 25, 2010 6:30 to 9pm
- Artist Talk: September 9, 2010 at 7pm
Swarms of bees, dancing children, paper cut outs and fruitloop towers are all part of installation artist Kristi Malakoff’s exhibition, The Golden Bell. Inspired by life’s paradoxes, her passion for nature, and her love of making art, Malakoff offers the viewer a glimpse into a fantasy world of awe and beauty. Through her meticulous craftsmanship she transforms everyday materials and familiar objects into works of art that are both playful and subversive.
Malakoff is a prolific artist and maintains a rigorous exhibition and residency schedule. Since graduating from the Emily Carr Institute in 2005, Kristi has participated in artist residency programs in international destinations such as Germany, Mexico, Iceland and most recently, a spring 2010 residency in Moscow, Russia. She has also participated in group and solo shows both in Canada and around the world. In 2008, she received a Canada Council Project Grant for Visual Artists. Her work is held in private and corporate collections across Canada and the US.
Gallery B
History of Nelson Brewing
Kootenay Breweries Truck, circa 1950’s, Collection of Touchstones Nelson
June 5 to August 1, 2010 | Beer Garden: July 10, 2010
How sustainable is your beer? What's a "stubby"? How is beer made? The History of Brewing in Nelson exhibit will provide visitors the opportunity to ponder these questions and more. From labels and bottles to beer trucks and parade floats, numerous images and artifacts will be on display both from the Touchstones Nelson permanent collection and on loan from private collectors. Additionally, this exhibit will feature not only information about the process brewing and samples of the ingredients, but there will also be a small batch of ale actually being brewed in the gallery!
Although it was less of a choice in those days, many people practised localized consumption in 1894 when Robert Riesterer started brewing beer in Nelson. Over the decades, Riesterer's brewery would change names and ownership several times, weathering two world wars and the “People’s Prohibition Association of Nelson” (circa 1916). It also acquired and merged with other small breweries over the years, its growth spurred on with the advent of a modern transportation system. In 1959, nine years after being purchased by Interior Breweries Ltd., operations were moved to a newly constructed plant in Creston, leaving Nelson without a local brewer for the first time in decades.
A generation later, with "microbreweries" gaining in popularity, enter the Nelson Brewing Company, unrelated except by name and its location in the building formerly occupied by Riesterer's brewing company. Nearly two decades later, NBC continues to thrive primarily serving a local market, similar to brewers more than 100 years ago, an interesting echo of those earlier times.
Today however, with ideas such as the "100 Mile Diet" gaining increasing public support, buying local is much more about choice than necessity. In 2005, NBC made the decision to make all of its beers certified organic, making it among the first commercial breweries in Canada to do so, and further reflecting the interests of the local market. Sustainable? Perhaps, but definitely tasty! Ah, if only we could jump in a time machine and taste some of the NBC brews next to the beers of yesterday....( note: there will not be a time machine in this exhibit).