The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to be a host venue for Young Spirits Rising, an exhibition highlighting the strength and diversity of film and video works by Indigenous filmmakers across Canada.

Young Spirits Rising presents a variety of recent and innovative film and video works that nurtures a greater appreciation and understanding of the uniqueness of First Nations culture and it’s contribution to Canadian culture at large. Young Spirits Rising includes drama, documentary and animation works responding to the theme of youth and reflecting on issues such as health, sport, the challenges of urban living, oral tradition, Indigenous rights and self-expression. Throughout  the works, the continuing importance of storytelling amongst Indigenous people is apparent. Contemporary film and video has become one way a traditionally oral form of storytelling and communication across generations successfully endures.

Each television monitor in the gallery features four film and video works ranging from four to forty-eight minutes each in length. Two groups of photographs  complement the film and video works in this exhibition. One series of photographs is by Westbank First Nation Reserve employee and photographer James Lalonde. These images of youth at Sensisyusten First Nation School active in various sports were commissioned by the En’owkin Centre in Penticton especially for the exhibit of Young Spirits Rising at the Kelowna Art Gallery. The second group of images include circa 1950s reproductions of team and individual sport and related activities and more recent snapshots of Indigenous sport teams.  The Gallery is grateful to the Westbank First Nation Resource Library and the individuals who have loaned their photographs to this exhibition. 

Young Spirits Rising has been brought together by the Indigenous Arts Service Organization in partnership with the Okanagan Producers Collective known as the Ullus Collective. The Ullus Collective supports the training and development of Aboriginal video and visual artists and provides a forum for voicing stories, issues and concerns that are not addressed by current mainstream media.