About

who we are

Who We Are

The Arts Council of the North Okanagan is a registered charitable non-profit organization dedicated to enriching arts and culture in Greater Vernon and surrounding areas. As an umbrella organization, we serve more than 30 diverse member groups and over 3000 individual and family members.

What We Do

We host a number of events throughout the year, provide opportunities for artists to show and sell their work, deliver arts education through our Vernon Community Arts Centre, and act as an ambassador on behalf of all community arts based initiatives.

“We believe that arts and culture are an essential component of community development”

Purpose

The purpose of the Society is to stimulate, encourage, support and develop the varied artistic and cultural projects and activities in the Greater Vernon area by performing the following activities:

Strongly advocate on behalf of our members
Increase the visibility of the arts in Greater Vernon
Enable and support all arts-based initiatives
Act as an ambassador/advocate on behalf of all community arts-based initiatives
Accept, manage, invest, and pursue funds and property of every kind for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the Council and its properties
Increase and broaden the opportunities for all Greater Vernon citizens to embrace and participate in all levels of artistic activities
Operate an Arts Centre providing affordable artistic programs that appeal to all age groups and abilities

Read below to learn more about our Vernon Community Arts Center or visit, www.vernonarts.ca

The Vernon Community Arts Centre

The Arts Centre is a community-based facility focusing on arts education, and is the home of the ACNO’s administrative offices.

The Centre has specialist art studios for ceramics, glass arts, printmaking, drawing and painting, fibre arts, music, media arts, and more. We offer a range of classes and workshops for all ages and abilities and drop-in studio access for our members. The Arts Centre also runs programs that cater to local school groups, those living with diverse abilities, and corporate agencies. The Art Shop and Centre Gallery showcases the work of local artists, and we encourage visitors to drop in to shop and have a look around. The Arts Centre also hosts a number of events throughout the year including a huge winter artisan market, be sure to check it out!