Calling Indigenous Youth Artists
Calling all Indigenous Youth ages 14 – 30 residing in the Syilx Okanagan territory.
The Okanagan Basin Water Board, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, and the Canadian Water Resources Association are hosting the Environmental Flows 2026: siwłk Water for All Conference in Kelowna and are looking for a new logo for this year’s event.
This contest invites Indigenous youth artists ages 14 – 30 from the Okanagan and broader Syilx territory, to offer a visual expression of what it means for siwłk to move freely, and what is lost when it cannot.
Contest Details
Prize: $500 plus two expert artist coaching sessions with Evelyn Alec, syilx artist, and 100% of the profits made from the sale of prints at the conference.
Submissions: Please submit your name, contact details and artwork to carmen.weld@obwb.ca by July 9, 2026.
Selection: The winning art piece will be chosen by the conference leadership committee.
Lead Artistic Advisor
Evelyn Alec is a contemporary Okanagan, Shuswap, Nez Perce, Colville, artist and graphic designer. She is a proud member of the Penticton Indian Band with over 30 years of experience in the computer graphics industry, she is known for blending bold contemporary design with cultural storytelling through branding, apparel, illustration, and event artwork. Her fashion designs have been featured on red carpets, award shows, and television productions, bringing Indigenous artistry into contemporary mainstream spaces.
From sports logos and pow-wow posters to fashion design and large-scale event graphics, Evelyn’s work carries a strong balance of tradition, identity, and modern style. Her creative process is rooted in prayer, purpose, and community, and she continues to create impactful visual work for Indigenous organizations, artists, businesses, and events across Canada and the U.S.
Contest closes July 9, 2026.
What are Environmental Flows?
Rivers are not infrastructure. They are living relatives, carrying memory, salmon, and the continuity of peoples across generations. This contest invites Indigenous youth artists ages 14-30, from the Okanagan and broader Syilx territory, to offer a visual expression of what it means for siwłk to move freely, and what is lost when it cannot
Environmental flows refer to the quantity, timing, and quality of water that must flow through a river or other water body to sustain its ecosystem and the communities that depend on it; this means having the right amount of water to sustain salmon in our watershed. Too much and it floods, too little and we are in drought. In the Okanagan, environmental flows are not just about cubic meters per second; they are about the tmixʷ, all living things, and the responsibility to ensure the water moves in a way that sustains life.
Helpful Design Prompts:
- What does a Okanagan river look like when it is healthy and free?
- How do salmon, siwłk, and people move together?
- How does your family or community experience Okanagan rivers?
- What does restoration mean — not just ecologically, but spiritually and culturally?
- What would a river look like that lets salmon thrive?
Submit your name, contact details, and artwork via email before or on July 9, 2026.
Hosted in Collaboration
Environmental Flows 2026 is the third conference in this series and this year is hosted by the Okanagan Basin Water Board, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, and the Canadian Water Resources Association. Bringing together local, national and international expertise, the conference provides a forum to advance dialogue, share knowledge, and lived experiences to support the future of sustainable environmental flows.
