Vancouver Art Gallery

A Statement of Intent
A Curriculum Vitae
Images of artwork on a USB drive or printed (NO original artwork, please)
If you reside in Canada and wish to have your materials returned, please include an appropriately sized self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage. Any proposals received without a sufficiently stamped envelope will be destroyed after 12 months. We are unable to return international proposals.

Mailing Address:

Curatorial Department
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC
V6Z 2H7, Canada

We receive numerous exhibition proposals, and while they are considered on an ongoing basis, review may take at least 3 months. You will only receive a response if the curators are interested in pursuing further information about your work.

The Vancouver Art Gallery plans its exhibitions well in advance, aiming to have an exhibition schedule in place for the next 3 years. This provides us with sufficient time to plan and organize major exhibitions as well as related educational, marketing and fundraising initiatives.

AQUISITION PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

Curatorial Department
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street, Vancouver B.C.
V6Z 2H7, Canada

or email the Curatorial Department at curatorial@vanartgallery.bc.ca.

Generally such a proposal would include images of the artwork (slides, photocopies, computer printouts, CDs or jpegs – NO original artwork / NO large digital files please) along with information on the artist and artwork including artist’s name, title of the work, date, media, dimensions, exhibition history, provenance (when and where the work was acquired) and any other relevant materials about the work such as published reviews or descriptions, etc. Also include an appropriately-sized self-addressed stamped return envelope. If you are making your submission via email, please keep the total size of your email, including attachments, under 1MB. We receive numerous acquisition proposals throughout the year and while they are reviewed on a weekly basis, due to the volume of submissions, responses to proposals may take up to 3 months. Once the curators have determined an artwork is suitable for the Gallery’s permanent collection, the acquisition process itself can take several months following that.

For more information about the acquisitions process:

Acquisitions Process PDF

RIGHTS AND REPRODUCTIONS

If you are interested in licensing an image from the Gallery’s collection please complete and submit our Reproduction Permission Form. Be sure to include all relevant information about your request, including artist, title of work, type and format of your publication, timeframe, and image specifications. Allow for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Submit your application form to images@vanartgallery.bc.ca.

Copyright
Copyright protects the creator of an artwork from unauthorized or inappropriate use of their work. The owner of copyright is usually the work’s creator or heirs, unless the work is in the public domain. If you wish to use a reproduction of a work for purposes other than personal use, it is your responsibility to obtain copyright permission. The Rights and Reproductions department can assist in determining copyright status and getting in touch with the copyright holder.

A general guide to Canadian copyright:

Living artist – copyright owned by the artist
Deceased artist (less than 50 years) copyright owned by the heirs
Deceased artist (more than 50 years) copyright expired, work in the public domain

Fees
Fees are charged for the purchase and rental of photographic images. Price depends on the type and size of photograph required, whether existing photography is available or new photography must be done, and whether it is for non-profit or commercial use. Please contact Rights and Reproductions for a current fee schedule.

Researching Images
At the present time, access to the Gallery’s Collections Database, containing links to selected works from our permanent collection, is available only through a public kiosk in the Library. The Library also houses thousands of publications as well as other resources. For assistance, please contact the Gallery’s Reference Library.

Press Materials
Images for media use are available through our Communications Specialist. For more information please visit our media room.

Contact Information
Rights and Reproductions
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7 Canada
Tel 604.662.4700 ext 2220
Fax 604.682.1086
images@vanartgallery.bc.ca

REPRODUCTION PERMISSION FORM

LOANS

From Toronto to Paris, Burnaby to New York, the Gallery’s collection is in high demand for inclusion in both single exhibitions and touring shows.

On average, 100 works are loaned to 30 to 40 different institutions annually. Regional galleries such as the Kamloops and Kelowna art galleries, national institutions such as the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and the National Gallery of Canada, and international venues such as the Pompidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the NOPE Gallery in Tokyo have all borrowed from the Gallery’s collection.

The process of requesting and borrowing a work of art can be a lengthy one. We ask that galleries send in their requests at least 6 months in advance. This allows the Gallery enough time to evaluate the artwork’s suitability for loan and to prepare it for shipment. The Curators, Registrar and Conservator assess:

Availability: Is the work booked for use in the Gallery or elsewhere during the loan period? Has it already been exposed to several years of loan travel?
Condition: Is the work made of stable materials and in good enough condition to survive a rigorous travel schedule?
Logistics: What packing, insurance, shipping and other procedural details need to be negotiated?

When travelling the world, keep an eye out for Vancouver Art Gallery works being shared with audiences in faraway places.

If you are affiliated with a museum or gallery and would like to borrow an artwork from the Vancouver Art Gallery, please send a written request to:

Chief Curator/Associate Director
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7
Canada

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The Vancouver Art Gallery is proud to be able to contribute to fundraising efforts in our community, introducing many audiences to the work of local, national and international artists.

As a not-for-profit organization, we are unable to sponsor events or provide cash donations of any kind. However, we are pleased to provide complimentary general admission tickets for use as door prizes, raffle prizes or silent auction items for events benefiting charitable organizations and causes.

If you would like to submit a charitable request for your upcoming fundraising event, please contact us by email at communitysupport@vanartgallery.bc.ca.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Subscribe to our e-news and get the latest information on Vancouver Art Gallery exhibitions, events, offers and news straight to your inbox.

Subscribe Now