Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

10/14/2026

Zadie McLeod completed her degree at UBC Okanagan in the spring of 2026 with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Communications and Rhetoric (CORH).

In this profile, she talks about how the value of knowing how to communicate science research to the public.

Zadie McLeod completed her BSc degree in the spring of 2026 with a major in biochemistry and a minor in Communications and Rhetoric (CORH).

10/13/2026

Last week we hosted SCI_ART 2026: After the Data/Cultural Climate Future, Oct. 2 to 5 in Vancouver, and Oct. 7 and 8 in the Okanagan, bringing together artists, scientists, and research institutions from Canada and the European Union.

Through panel discussions, presentations of artwork, talks and collaborative research activities, participants investigated how creative practice can contribute to environmental understanding and action.

💬 “SCI_ART creates space for artists, scientists, policymakers and the public to exchange knowledge and explore shared questions about resilience, sustainability and the futures we want to build.” – Megan Smith

A huge thank you to all the artists who shared their work, and the moderators who led such thoughtful conversations.

Shout out to Dr. Megan Smith, Director of the UBC Okanagan’s Critical Future Studio/Lab, to Simon Pribac from the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Ottawa, the European Union Delegation in Canada, and to all the other staff and student organizers who made it happen.

📷 Images show the participants at various events, outings and presentations throughout the symposium in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

European Union in Canada Embassy of Poland, Ottawa UBC Okanagan Critical Future Studio/Lab at UBCO

10/06/2026

This week we are hosting, SCI_ART 2026: After the Data/Cultural Climate Futures, bringing together artists and scientists from Canada and the European Union to examine some of the most pressing environmental questions of our time.

On Wednesday, October 7, the Austrian Embassy Ottawa has partnered with UBC and SCI_ART to present a free one-hour selection of award-winning works from the Ars Electronica Animation Festival 2025 in the University Theatre starting at 7pm, followed by a panel discussion and presentations on October 8 in the Critical Future Studio/Lab.

See the link below for more details.

European Union in Canada Embassy of Poland, Ottawa UBC Okanagan

What: SCI_ART: After the Data/Cultural Climate Futures Symposium  Who: Artists […]

10/05/2026

The research team for “Untapping Watershed Relations,” funded by the Peter Wall Legacy Awards, is recruiting 3 MA, MFA or MSc students (Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program, Sustainability Theme, UBC Okanagan).

Deadline to apply: Oct. 25, 2026.

Successful applicants will become part of a student cohort who will: receive training and mentorship as part of a pilot arts-sciences-for-sustainability program; become part of a student-faculty research team supporting community-engaged arts-sciences residencies; lead programing and events; undertake their own independent graduate research that is part of or meaningfully relates to the themes and methods of “Untapping Watershed Relations.”

See the link below for more details.

Untapping Watershed Relations: Water in Woodhaven Deadline for applications: October 25, 2026 ,11:59 PM PST   The research team for “Untapping Watershed Relations,” funded by the Peter Wa…

10/05/2026

09/30/2026

09/25/2026

Visual arts prof Briar Craig has an exhibiton coming up at the Penticton Art Gallery

Briar Craig: CONVERSATIONS
Exhibition dates: October 3rd, 2026 through January 2nd, 2027
Reception: Saturday, October 3, 5-8 pm

09/25/2026

Kelownafornia Movie Festival continues Monday with four National Film Board shorts and a live Q&A with local filmmaker Teresa Marshall.

When: Monday, September 28, 2026, 7:30 PM
Where: Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts, 421 Cawston Avenue, Kelowna
Rating: Unrated
Tickets: $20 regular / $10 student & senior

Rotary Centre for the Arts

Kelownafornia Movie Festival continues Monday with four National Film Board shorts and a live Q&A with local filmmaker Teresa Marshall

09/23/2026

Congrats to visual arts prof Samuel Roy-Bois as a finalist for the 2026 Sobey Art Award.

The exhibition showing all of the finalists work is on now at the National Gallery of Canada.

You can read more about Samuel and his work here: https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2026/05/27/ubc-okanagan-professor-shortlisted-for-canadas-top-art-prize/

Samuel Roy-Bois, Sobey Art Award finalist, creates sculptures, installations, photographs and performances.

Roy-Bois considers how objects and spaces can shape culture, philosophy and institutions. The entangled forms he creates remind us that humans are not separate from nature; the world around us constantly reshapes who we are.

📖 Read about this artist in the article by Kimberly Phillips in the NGC Magazine ➡️ https://bit.ly/4jl9vZM

🖼️ Samuel Roy-Bois, Installation view at the Sobey Art Award exhibition, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 4 September 2026 to 3 January 2027. © Samuel Roy-Bois. Photo: NGC

09/21/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Astrida Neimanis (FCCS, FASS), Michael V. Smith (FCCS), Dr. Adam Wei (FOS), Tania Willard (UBCV Arts & Helen Belkin Gallery), and Dr. Tareq Yousef (FASS) as recipients of a 2026 Peter Wall Legacy Award.

The project, ‘Untapping Watershed Relations: Water in Woodhaven Park’, will address current water stress and ecological deterioration in Woodhaven Regional Park (Kelowna, B.C.) as part of the greater Bellevue Creek watershed.

As part of the project, the team will train a cohort of interdisciplinary graduate students in arts-sciences methodologies specifically around watershed relations. A call for applications for Student Fellowships for Arts-Sciences Collaboration can be found on www.thefeeledlab.ca.

Go to walllegacyawards.ubc.ca/ to learn more about the team and the project.

Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science UBC Faculty of Arts Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery