The Vancouver Art Gallery just announced that director Kathleen S. Bartels and artist Paul Wong will kick off a series of talking events throughout province in Kelowna on Thursday (May 12).

Wong, who was awarded the 2016 Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts from the VAG last month, will join Bartels at community receptions in partnership with other arts organizations to discuss “the importance of arts and culture in BC, plans for a new gallery space in Vancouver, as well as how a creative economy enriches communities and improve quality of life,” according to a news release.

The Kelowna event will be held at the Kelowna Art Gallery. Venues for other events in B.C. are still not unknown but will be in Kamloops and Prince George.