The Summerland Art Gallery is hosting an evening of art education and fun on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m.

The guest speaker is Danielle Krysa, a Summerland resident who is known around the world for her connections with artists and her encouraging teaching about creativity.

Krysa is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of Victoria and a post-grad degree in graphic design from Sheridan College in Ontario. She is also a mixed media artist and the author of four books: Creative Block, Collage, Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk, and most recently, A Big Important Art Book 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Now With Women.

Krysa will tell her story, from being an art kid in Summerland to a soul-crushing experience in art school that would shape the next few decades of her life. After working with professional and amateur artists for the last 10 years, she will share lessons she has learned.

Her presentation will include ways to get to a creative life and career, self-doubt and challenges involving finding time to create, work/life balance and making money.

Susan Gibbs of the Summerland Community Arts Council said the talk will be of interest to anyone who does creative work.

The gallery will also display work from its permanent collection and will unveil the latest additions to the collection.These are two paintings by local artist Dale Matthews and eight newly framed prints donated to the gallery by Michael Hermesh, as well as a reframed medieval-era rubbing by Ivy Mason.

The evening also marks the launching of the Permanent Collection Fund to support the acquisition of new works and the restoration of old ones.

The mission of the permanent collection is to collect and preserve a representative body of significant works of art created by artists with a connection to Summerland, thereby building a visual art legacy for the community.