Ministry of Casual Living

10/08/2026

📷 Did you read the carousel above ⬆️ Yes? ✅️ Great! Here's the submission info ⬇️:

📷 Please submit human-made works that visually describe your process in locating yourself in place, space, or landscape. Each piece can be considered to be a self-portrait, in the sense that within this group of works we want to see how your relationship to place/space influences and shows up in your photography. Please consider all forms of photographic processes, series, and/or works that are displayed in 3D or through projection.

📷 We request with your submission an artist statement describing your relationship to the theme, up to 150 words. If you would like support with this statement Kyra would be happy to connect with you to brainstorm how you would like to introduce it. Please email her before October 30th at:

[email protected]

📷 All other questions and your submission send to:

[email protected]

📷 If you have particular considerations to display your work please email so that we can try to accommodate. Flat works may be framed, unframed, or mounted on something. There are no limits to submission works however we may need to edit to fit more folks in the show.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸📸

10/06/2026

👻 We morbidly invite you to eye-feast some strange art into your tombstone grey matter (insert howling and unnerving squish-slither sounds here). If you dare:

ARTCRAWL OPENHOUSE Oct 10th from 2-8pm

Thursdays 5-8pm
Saturdays 1-4pm

Oct 10th to 🎃 31st
750 Fairfield Rd
Free/by donation

10/04/2026

Join us for the opening of ƛułʔats łim̓aqsti : Good Medicine, a solo exhibition and residency with WakiTuuSiis, this Saturday, October 10th (2-8PM) at the 780 Blanshard Open House!

Gallery hours:
Thursdays (5-8PM) & Saturdays (1-4PM) until November 28th.
Free/By donation entry.
Opening Entrance: 780 Blanshard Street, wheelchair accessible.
Gallery Hours Entrance: 750 Fairfield Road, wheelchair accessible through East entrance.

Message from The Artist:
“I am NuuChahNulth from Hesquiaht First Nation and Cree from Saddle lake Alberta. I am a female carver, weaver, artist and have been for over 45 years. Much of my designs and creative pursuits are encouraged and fueled by the natural surroundings of Vancouver Island.

I enjoy clean and simple lines inspired by the natural world. Over time the natural land has shifted far from what we once knew as a result of habitation, and I find great healing and inspiration in looking at and examining truth in the light and through my images. In much of the painful realities of modern Indigenous living, I find great comfort and healing in calling upon my ancestors to join us here through the art that comes from my hands.

Thank you for journeying with me as we decolonize in real time while studying and exploring the art of WakiTuuSiis.”

Stay tuned for information on ƛułʔats łim̓aqsti : Good Medicine Open Carving Sessions with WakiTuuSiis in October and November!

We extend our gratitude to Kyra Royo Fay, kyra royo fay, our guest curator for this exhibition.

Image ID in alt text.

09/29/2026

09/20/2026

🪶 Kinanâskomitin, thank you kindly to the 100+ folks who came to the 3 x Exhibitions Opening last week, as well as the open hours visitors 🧡

There's still time to see "Wandering Spirit ", an exhibition of the late iconic artist Alvin Elif Constant, who lived part of the year here on Lekwungen Territory for 30+ years.

Many thanks to Umati, Stone, Leda, Paolino and Flux Media Gallery for the tech support 🧡

Open hours:

🪶Thursday Sept 24th (5-8pm)

🪶Saturday Sept 26th (1-4pm)

***also Small Press Fest by Open Space
down the road at the Library 11am-4pm!

🪶 Last day: Tuesday Sept 29th (5-8pm)

09/12/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the opening of "Transmutations & The Water Story of Reflections," a solo exhibition by artist Ann K. Chou!

Gallery hours for this exhibition:
Thursdays (5-8PM) & Saturdays (1-4PM) until September 26th.
750 Fairfield Rd. Wheelchair accessible through East Entrance.
Entry free/by donation.

Next Thursday, join us for an intermittent light and shadow play activation performed by Ann K. Chou and/or participants! Rather than presenting a fixed story, these are improvised, poetic moments of revealing. Through Reverse Captioning, illustrated visual cues can suggest wind, rain, and other environmental sounds, creating a bridge between different ways of sensing.

09/05/2026

👻 Welcoming all mediums of artwork that is eerie, creepy, haunting, witchy, mysterious, ghostly, strange, gothic, spooktacularly fun....for tis the season!

09/04/2026

🪶We warmly invite you to "Wandering Spirit" to celebrate this iconic artist, Opening Thursday September 10th, 5-8pm

Wandering Spirit (Alvin Elif Constant) 1946-2006 was a Nêhiyaw (Cree, James Smith Rez) artist, storyteller, knowledge keeper, activist and personally, a mentor.

He was often unhoused and he passed tragically, but that is not his whole story.

He was my friend, he had many, as well as making deep, lasting impressions on those met briefly. He was beloved by his family and community.

In organizing this show I became aware of the "In Search of Wandering Spirit " exhibition at the Penticton Art Gallery in 2023, curated by Paul Crawford, so I reached out to him. Nia:wen kowa, thank you deeply Paul for your enthusiasm, conversation, insights and support for this show, the scrappy younger brother of the beautiful PAG exhibition. Paul's PAG curatorial statement and reflections along with installation photos by Ron Marsh will be included. His wide-lens point of view contextualizes Alvin and his art at the intersections of race, social economics, history, Canadian art history and others, that come into play.

Paul also connected me to Alvin’s neice Shelley Mike and her writing about her uncle in the Eagle Feather News will be included, and her kindness and support is incredible as well.

As the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation draws near, we encourage you to come see this work and learn about this exceptional artist as a meaningful way to reflect on the path forward for First Nations people.

All my Relations
Ashley Ohtsijah Hall
Curator

PS "Born to be Wild" was a favorite of Alvin’s ✨️

750 Fairfield Rd
Free/by donation

September 10-29th
Thursdays 5-8pm
Saturdays 1-4pm

05/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the opening of "Good Grief"! What a wonderful turn-out. In case you missed it or want to take a closer look at this exhibition featuring 54 artists, stop by for gallery hours!

Thursdays: 5-8PM
Saturdays: 1-4PM
Until May 30th.

As of today, we've said goodbyes to our wonderful Library of Death pop-up, and we have installed art in our back foyer from artists , .ayotte, and , alongside work by !

Coming up:
-Sunday, May 24th, 1-4PM: "In the Shadow of our own Dust": A Grief Workshop with , email [email protected] to register

-Wednesday, May 27th, 7-9PM: "The Sky is Everywhere" Open Mic with featured guest speaker, and featured performances from .by.stone. Sign up for open-mic here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yWz2ruOE0VlZ4ImGIPysCBY6y7caq3YLLGC_CwyqfzM/edit?usp=sharing

Featured works in this post:
-Slide 2: "Let it Take as Long as it Takes," video work by Tina Lehnhardt (tina-lehnhardt.com)
-Slide 3: "Gorse I" & "Gorse III", photography work by Harper (Dreaming Magpie)
-Slide 4: "death doula Ames Meeks chose this color to represent their feelings about climate change," video work by Adda Farcus (adamfarcus.com), and "I'll be here," multimedia + video installation by Laurynn Smith

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05/05/2026

Join us on May 27th (7-9PM) for “The Sky is Everywhere”: A Good Grief Open Mic event with The Ministry of Casual Living.

Do you have a grief-related story, poem, song, stand-up bit (the list goes on!) to share? Sign up for “The Sky is Everywhere” Open Mic here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yWz2ruOE0VlZ4ImGIPysCBY6y7caq3YLLGC_CwyqfzM/edit?usp=sharing

Words from our featured speaker, Tamara MacIntyre:
“I have never had the privilege of not knowing that death is part of life. My father died when I was twenty-one, and that knowledge has shaped everything — including what I make with my hands. Before willow, I was a potter. I loved form and purpose, but clay leaves a mark on the earth long after it is needed. Willow does not. It smells alive when you work it. It has a rhythm. It asks you to slow down and pay attention — and then, when its purpose is complete, it simply returns. That is the point.
We are all going. The question is what we leave behind, and what we choose to give back.”

About our featured performer, Stone MacBeth:
Stone MacBeth is a local artist and writer. MacBeth’s work explores grief and loss through the lens of trauma, familial ties, and identity.

“The Sky is Everywhere” Info:
When: May 27th, 7-9PM
Doors Open: 6:30PM
Performance: 7-9PM (with brief intermission).
Where: 750 Fairfield Rd., Wheelchair accessible through East Entrance.
Cost: Free/suggested donation of $5-$15.

To Note:
-This event requires in person attendance to perform.
-If you do not have a gmail account and would like to participate, please shoot us an email ([email protected]) including all requested info. As long as there is room, you will be added to the list. Thank you!

The title of this event, “The Sky is Everywhere” is inspired by the novel “The Sky is Everywhere” (2010), written by Jandy Nelson.

The photographs featured in this post were taken by .garraway