Stínesten Gallery Celebrates a Year of Indigenous-Led Art and Community in Kamloops
The Indigenous Resurgence Project marks a year of exhibitions, cultural exchange, and creating space for Indigenous artists to share their stories.
KAMLOOPS, BC—Stínesten Gallery, an Indigenous-led art gallery operated by the Indigenous Resurgence Project (IRP), is celebrating its first anniversary during the opening of their next exhibition on November 6, 2026, marking one year of creating space for Indigenous artists, storytellers, and community members to connect through art.
Located at 140 Laburnum Street on the Kamloops North Shore, Stínesten Gallery was established to address the need for accessible, culturally grounded spaces where Indigenous artists can share their work on their own terms. Over the past year, the gallery has hosted 5 exhibitions, and more than 30 community workshops for Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks looking to engage in creative activities and classes. The gallery welcomes emerging and established artists, encourages creative exploration, and challenges the expectations often placed on Indigenous art and artistic expression.
“Our first year of operation has been less about getting feet through the door and more about making this a place where our artists want to come to hang out and participate in workshops,” says Shay Paul, founder of the IRP and curator of Stínesten Gallery. “An anniversary is an opportunity to take the time to celebrate what has been accomplished, but also as a chance to share some of the exciting things still yet to come.”
The anniversary show will feature the Gallery’s first regional partnership with Nelson-based Cayuga artist Lesley Garlow and four members from the Stínesten gallery. The show, Red Ribbon Round It: A Ceremony into Tomorrow, will be a mixture of 2D and 3D art installations, interactive elements, and multi-media. The central themes of the exhibition explore the contradictory nature of being an Indigenous woman—visibility and erasure, strength and tenderness, reclamation and grief—while bringing the conversation of the on-going crisis of MMIWG2S+ into the space.
“My work lives in that movement of [contradiction], in the in-between places. It is a map, a memory, a reclamation, a question, and a reconnection,” says Garlow. “My art is a way of asking: What does it mean to come home to myself? What does it mean to rebuild a family after everything? What does it mean to stand on land that has shaped me, challenged me, and ultimately returned me to who I am—to who I am becoming.”
The show will open on Friday, November 6 with a special opening reception between 5pm and 7pm. The exhibition will also feature an open house on Saturday, November 7 in conjunction with the return of the Kamloops Regional Farmer’s Market to their indoor winter location next door.
“We are only beginning our journey here, and the way the artists and the public have received us so far has been so heartwarming,” Paul adds. “We want Stínesten to continue to be a place where artists feel welcomed, where the public can see new perspectives, and where Indigenous creativity is supported and encouraged.”
Red Ribbon Round It: A Ceremony into Tomorrow will showcase from November 6, 2026 to December 19, 2026. The Stínesten Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 2pm to 6pm, and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Extended hours may be available during special events or workshop programming, which can be found on social media.
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