Gallery History

1931: The Vancouver Art Gallery opens to the public

Construction of the Vancouver Art Gallery designed by Sharp and Thompson Architects began in March 1931. The art deco style building on West Georgia Street opened its doors to the public on October 5 that same year.

1931: The collection is established

With funds donated by Vancouver citizens, the Gallery’s Founders’ Fund collection was instigated in 1931 and resulted in the acquisition of more than 150 works intended to represent a history of British portraiture, landscape and printmaking from the 18th century to contemporary times.

While the Founders provided the Gallery with a modest collection of English and Canadian artworks, local citizens were also forming collections of work by artists from British Columbia in this period.

In 1931, Edward Chapman, who owned a longstanding clothing store in the city, became the Gallery’s first art donor when he gifted five paintings by local artists including Charles John Collings and Thomas W. Fripp. These were the first pieces to enter the collection by BC–based artists.

1931: The inaugural exhibition goes on display

This photograph documents the inaugural hanging of the permanent collection in 1931, with Thomas Couture’s Supper at the Maison d’Or (Each Party Has Its Ending) (1855)—described at the time as the most important French painting in the Gallery’s nascent collection—prominently displayed.

While the Founders initially intended to limit acquisitions to British and Canadian artists, the inaugural catalogue acknowledges early departures from this policy, noting that “the few pictures… by other than British artists offered themselves at desirable prices, and it was thought advisable under such circumstances to deviate from the general policy set.”

1931: Art education begins at the Gallery

Connecting young people with art has been an important part of the Gallery’s work since its founding. In the first six months, the Gallery welcomed 112,000 visitors. Children’s classes encouraged membership and brought people into the Gallery.

The classes were made up of around 30 children and were held in the galleries with drop cloths on the floor. Over the years, instructors included such notable artists as B.C. Binning, Beatrice Lennie, Doris Shadbolt and Jock Macdonald. Exhibitions of the students’ work were held once or twice a year.

1930s: The Gallery first presents Asian art

From its founding in 1931, the Gallery has presented over 150 exhibitions of Asian art.

The earliest was an exhibition of paintings from the family collection of Kiang Kang-Hu (Jiang Kanghu, 1883–1954), a professor and Chair of the Department of Chinese Studies at McGill University in Montréal, presented in 1933.

Kiang was circulating his family’s collection of historic and modern painting from the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Primarily imperial court paintings and calligraphy, the only modern artist included in Kiang’s exhibition was a woman artist Yang Lingfu (1883–1954), who was represented with ten paintings in the southern China style of ink painting known as Lingnan. Yang would return to Vancouver for subsequent exhibitions of her artwork.

In 1934, the first exhibition of Japanese art at the Gallery took place. The invitation to Hiroshi Yoshida was on behalf of the Gallery’s then Curator and Business Manager A.S. Grigsby, who was a collector of Yoshida’s prints. Yoshida is renowned for his woodblock technique which combined ukiyo-e with the sõsaku-hanga principles. He travelled extensively and incorporated modern methods that he learned abroad into his process and the subjects of his woodblock prints.

1937: First work by Emily Carr acquired

In 1937, the Gallery acquired its first work by Emily Carr, Totem Poles. Kitseukla (Gitsegukla) (1912), using the Founders’ Fund at a purchase price of $400.

This early acquisition marked a pivotal moment in the development of the permanent collection, establishing a foundation for what would become one of the Gallery’s most enduring areas of strength.

1942: The permanent collection is relocated during World War II

During World War II, concerns arose regarding the safety of the Gallery’s permanent collection. A 1942 article in The Province reported that many works were relocated to “a spot less exposed to danger,” noting that “one hundred works of art valued at $66,180, forming part of the Permanent Collection were removed from the Gallery and placed in storage in the vault at the City Hall already prepared for their reception.”

While the Vancouver Art Gallery remained open throughout the war and continued to present a rotating program of temporary exhibitions and programs, all purchases of works of art for the permanent collection were suspended for the duration of the conflict.

1943: The Women’s Auxiliary Group is founded

Founded in 1943 at the request of W.H. Malkin, President of the Gallery’s Council, the Women’s Auxiliary was established with a mandate to “breathe life into the new Gallery and to make it Vancouver’s cultural centre.”

Prior to the development of a large professional staff, the Auxiliary played an important role in the Gallery’s operations, overseeing membership, events, public relations and educational activities.

Through sustained fundraising efforts, the Auxiliary directed proceeds from its activities toward acquisitions for the permanent collection. Following the opening of the Gallery Shop in 1963, the Auxiliary also managed its merchandising and operations, with revenues earmarked for art purchases.

Lawren S. Harris’ Mount Thule, Bylot Island (1930) and B.C. Binning’s Ships at Quiet Anchor (1948) were the first works purchased by the Women’s Auxiliary for the Gallery’s permanent collection. Harris’ painting had been exhibited in his retrospective at the Gallery in 1949, underscoring the Auxiliary’s early role in securing significant works directly from major exhibitions.

Over the course of its history, the Women’s Auxiliary contributed sixty-seven works to the permanent collection, including important examples by Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith and Suzy Lake.

1945: The Emily Carr Trust Collection is established

Emily Carr died on March 2, 1945. Before her death, Carr bequeathed a large number of her works to the people of British Columbia, to be held in trust by the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The resulting Emily Carr Trust Collection—comprising nearly 200 works—is the largest and most significant assemblage of Carr’s art outside the holdings of the British Columbia Archives and is unparalleled in its depth and quality.

This extraordinary bequest has shaped the trajectory of the Gallery. More than any other single artist, event or individual, Emily Carr—and the stewardship of her Trust Collection—has profoundly influenced the Gallery’s collecting priorities, exhibition strategies, conservation initiatives and institutional identity, remaining a central force in decision-making across generations.

1949: Design for Living puts modern design on display

Since the 1940s, surveys of design, visual culture and architecture have been an important aspect of the Gallery’s programming—beginning with the landmark and hugely popular Design for Living.

Organized by the Community Arts Council of Vancouver and held at the Gallery in 1949, this exhibition served as an important preview of the developments in modern architecture and design that would unfold in the province during the 1950s.

1949: The Gallery’s Extension Program brings art across the province

Expanding access to the Gallery’s collection beyond its walls has been a priority for decades.

Established in 1949, the Extension Program brought works from the collection to communities across the province.

While the program would later formalize its activities through organized travelling exhibitions, its early initiatives included presenting works from the collection in community centres, schools and libraries.

1950s: Emphasis put on expanding collection of Canadian art

The acquisition of Paul-Émile Borduas’ Plongeon au paysage oriental (1944) in 1951 marked the first example of Québec modernism to enter the collection. The acquisition reflected a growing institutional commitment to representing important contemporary movements in Canadian art.

That same year, the Gallery co-organized Recent Quebec Paintings with the National Gallery of Canada. Four works by Borduas were included, helping the Gallery’s Purchase and Acceptance Committee recognize the significance of his work.

Between 1949 and 1953, funding from the T. Eaton Company enabled the Gallery to acquire eight works by Canadian artists, including paintings by Gordon Smith, David Milne and A.Y. Jackson, further strengthening its collection of Canadian art.

1950s: First Director of Education is appointed

Education has been central to the Gallery’s work since its early years. In the post-war period, the Gallery formalized its education programs and appointed Doris Shadbolt as its first Director of Education.

Shadbolt first became involved with the Gallery as a volunteer with the Women’s Auxiliary, helping to build a library collection, and was employed as a docent in 1954. Over her lengthy tenure, she went on to serve in a variety of roles, including Curator and Interim Director, while continuing to shape the Gallery’s approach to education and public engagement.

1951: The Gallery expands

In the 1950s, Lawren S. Harris led the fundraising campaign for the Gallery’s expansion and was instrumental in securing $300,000 from private and corporate donors, which was subsequently matched by the City of Vancouver.

The expansion—which involved a significant architectural reworking of the building—marked the Gallery’s transition from a modest civic gallery to a more ambitious, and professional, institution capable of stewarding a nationally significant collection and serving a growing postwar public.

Architect Ross Lort modernized the Gallery’s facade as part of the retrofit. Removing the art deco exterior, Lort remodelled the Gallery in accordance with the International Style popular in Vancouver at the time.

1952: The Gallery hires its first full-time Security Guard

In 1952, the Gallery hired its first full-time security guard following the theft of a painting by John Constable from its display in the Concert Gallery.

In an unusual turn of events, more than a year later the painting was recovered when G.H. Tyler, a former curator at the Gallery, spotted it hanging in a rental property he was viewing. The owner claimed to have received it as a gift, and the painting was subsequently returned to the Gallery.

1952: The Women’s Auxiliary establishes a Picture Loan program

In 1952, the Women’s Auxiliary established a Picture Loan program—the first of its kind in North America. The program was conceived to make original works of art available to a broad public and to support local artists. In 1956, the Picture Loan program began lending paintings to schools across BC.

Proceeds from these programs were used to purchase art for the Gallery’s collection.

Today, the Gallery continues this tradition through its Art Rental & Sales Program, supporting local artists and the institution while making original art accessible beyond the Gallery’s walls.

1953: Major international exhibition French Impressionists comes to Vancouver

Bringing significant international art to Vancouver has long been part of the Gallery’s mandate.

The French Impressionists exhibition was a highlight of 1953, attracting 18,000 visitors and launching a series of exhibitions designed to expand Vancouver’s access to important international art. Works in the exhibition were on loan from institutions including the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Gallery continues this tradition today, connecting Vancouver audiences with artists, exhibitions and works from around the world.

1956: People of the Potlatch marks an early milestone

The Gallery has a longer record of displaying Indigenous art than most Canadian art museums, with a more continuous history than many others from the 1950s onward.

People of the Potlatch (1956) was a significant early milestone: a major survey of Northwest Coast art drawn from regional collections. At a time when many art institutions viewed traditional Indigenous cultural objects primarily through an anthropological or ethnographic lens, the exhibition presented them within an art gallery.

1958: 100 Years of B.C. Art highlights a century of local art

100 Years of B.C. Art was organized by the Gallery in 1958 to commemorate British Columbia’s centennial anniversary. At that time, this exhibition was the Gallery’s largest to date and had the longest run in its history.

The exhibition was divided into six sections, beginning with “Art of the BC Indian,” with an introduction by Bill Reid, and concluding with “Child Art in British Columbia,” with an introduction by Gordon Smith.

1959: Art Therapy Program brings art to hospital wards

A collaboration between Vancouver General Hospital and the Gallery’s Women’s Auxiliary, the Art Therapy Program was launched in 1959 and brought painting classes to hospital wards. The first of its kind in North America, the Program continued until 1976.

More than six decades later, the Gallery continues to explore the relationship between art and wellbeing through the Art of Wellbeing Lab.

1960s: A new era of performance and experimentation

In the late 1960s under Director Tony Emery, the Gallery became a hub of performance and interdisciplinary art, hosting dance workshops; multimedia, participatory installations; performance art; and happenings, including this early Gathie Falk performance, A Bird is Known by His Feathers Alone (1968).

1960: Children’s Gallery is launched

The Children’s Gallery was launched in May 1960, with partial funding from the Junior League of Vancouver.

The Children’s Gallery hosted temporary exhibitions and displays from the permanent collection, and the Gallery soon began acquiring works specifically for it.

The creation of a dedicated space for young audiences reflected the Gallery’s commitment to engaging children and nurturing new generations of art lovers—a commitment that continues today.

1961: The Gallery first acquires Indigenous art

In 1961, the Gallery acquired two Kwakwaka’wakw model poles—the first works by Indigenous artists of the region to enter the collection.

While Indigenous art was frequently exhibited at the Gallery during this period, it was rarely collected. At the time, the prevailing sentiment was that the place for traditional Indigenous cultural objects was the anthropology or ethnographic museum, not the art gallery.

1963: The Gallery Shop opens

The Women’s Auxiliary opened the Gallery Shop in 1963, and it was operated by volunteers for the initial thirteen years. It sold books, reproductions and postcards, as well as original pieces by local artists and makers, including Robert Davidson and Martha Sturdy.

Proceeds from shop sales were directed by the Auxiliary toward the purchase of works for the permanent collection.

Today, the Gallery Store continues to connect audiences with art, books and locally made goods, while supporting artists and the Gallery’s programs.

1964: New Talent B.C. showcases local emerging artists

Highlighting the work of local, emerging artists has been an ongoing priority for the Gallery since its earliest days.

In 1964, curators Doris Shadbolt and J. Barry Lord selected artists for inclusion in New Talent B.C., a regional survey of emerging practices. The Gallery used McLean Foundation Funds to acquire three works from the exhibition.

Featured artists included Richard Bond, David Mayrs, Claude Breeze, Ron Stonier, Sherry Grauer, Harold Elliott, Steve Barrett, Audrey Capel Doray, Gordon Caruso, Reg Holmes, Irene Morrison, Geoffrey Rees, David Shilleto, Horst Zander, Richard Halliday and Paul Wong.

1966: Painting ’66 showcases new directions in BC art

Vancouver was an important centre of experimental and conceptual art activity in the country in the 1960s, and these shifts were reflected in the Gallery’s acquisition strategies.

In 1966, the Gallery acquired Bagged Landscape (1966) by N.E. Thing Co. and The Problem of Nothing (1966) by Michael Morris. These works were purchased from the exhibition Painting ’66, which was open to all BC artists and included a purchase prize of $1,500.

Supported by the Centennial Committee of Vancouver, Painting ’66 formed part of the province’s centennial cultural celebrations.

1967: Vancouver Print International brings international printmaking to Vancouver

In 1967, the Women’s Auxiliary organized Vancouver Print International, an ambitious exhibition featuring prints by more than 230 artists from sixteen countries.

The exhibition helped expand the Gallery’s international print collection, with acquisitions including Richard Hamilton’s My Marilyn (1965), as well as works by Joan Miró, Victor Vasarely and Ay-0.

These acquisitions underscored the Gallery’s growing engagement with international printmaking and reflected the Auxiliary’s pivotal role in shaping the collection during this period.

1967: Arts of the Raven puts Indigenous art in the spotlight

While People of the Potlatch (1956) sourced its objects from rich local collections, Arts of the Raven (1967) drew from around the world, bringing work back to BC what had long been away.

Arts of the Raven also marked the Gallery’s first international coverage, with reviews in Time and The New York Times, and had the Gallery’s largest exhibition budget to date, reflecting a growing commitment to the presentation of Indigenous art.

1967: Directions ’67 highlights emerging Canadian artists

Directions ’67 was the second in a series of annual exhibitions highlighting emerging Canadian artists. This iteration included Audrey Capel Dorey’s installation The Hexagon, Michael Hayden’s light sculptures and five paintings by Bodo Pfeifer.

The exhibition also reflected the Gallery’s early interest in interactive and immersive forms of artmaking, inviting visitors to engage with works that extended beyond traditional painting and sculpture.

1968: The Extension Department is formalized

The Gallery’s Extension Department was established in 1968 with a grant from the B.C. Centennial Cultural Fund Advisory Committee, formalizing an existing mandate to share the permanent collection with communities throughout British Columbia.

In its early years, staff would spend two weeks each month driving through the province in a Volkswagen bus with artwork to display in school gyms, libraries and community centres.

The first exhibition was titled Carrs on Wheels and featured 30 paintings that toured BC between July and November of 1968. Carrs on Wheels was seen by more than 20,000 visitors over the course of its tour.

1968: The Gallery welcomes Intermedia

Founded in 1967, lntermedia was a loose association of artists, musicians, filmmakers and dancers who had an experimental, interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to art production.

Under the direction of Tony Emery, the Gallery hosted lntermedia for a week-long festival of exhibitions, performances and events each spring between 1968 and 1970.

1969: New York 13 connects Vancouver to the international art world

Curated by Doris Shadbolt, New York 13 (1969) was part of a series of exhibitions focused on major centres of the art world at the time: London, Los Angeles and New York.

The exhibition featured recent work by 13 artists, including Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. For only the second time in its history, the entirety of the Gallery was devoted to a single exhibition.

The Gallery would subsequently acquire a number of important works from this exhibition, including Claes Oldenburg’s Saw {Hard Version) (1969)—fabricated to the artist’s specifications in Vancouver—George Segal’s The Execution (1967) and Frank Stella’s Darabjerd II (1967), as part of the Gallery’s broader ambition to develop a significant collection of contemporary American art.

1970s: An era of significant growth

By the 1970s the Gallery was experiencing considerable growth both in terms of its collection and its public profile, with bold exterior installations reflecting its increasingly vibrant and contemporary presence.

In 1974, the City of Vancouver acquired the former provincial courthouse at 750 Hornby Street, and Arthur Erickson Architects conducted a study on the building’s potential as the new home of the Vancouver Art Gallery that same year.

A 1979 fundraising brochure made the need for a larger facility clear: “The Vancouver Art Gallery has completely outgrown its present location.” The Gallery’s growth had made expansion, a new building or a move essential to its future.

1970s: Noon Hour Concerts bring new audiences to the Gallery

Director Tony Emery introduced popular noon-hour events during his tenure, expanding the Gallery’s programming beyond visual art and establishing the Gallery as a lively gathering place, where visitors might encounter concerts, poetry, dance and visual art alongside one another.

Process and Product, a series featuring collaborations between playwrights and choreographers, debuted many new pieces from Canadian artists.

Former director of the National Gallery of Canada Pierre Théberge describes the Gallery as a lively scene during this period: “You would go to the Vancouver Art Gallery and there would be noon-hour concerts, poetry recitals, somebody playing the cello in the corner and people eating sandwiches. It seemed to be so natural and so normal for people to walk into the gallery, sit down on the floor and listen to somebody reciting a poem or singing a song.”

This multidisciplinary approach continues today through the Gallery’s talks, performances and other public programs.

1970s: The Gallery brings art to seniors, expanding access

In the 1970s, the Gallery continued its outreach program, in which animateurs brought works from the permanent collection to retirement communities throughout the city so that seniors who were unable to visit the Gallery would have access to art.

This early outreach program anticipated the Gallery’s current Art of Wellbeing for Seniors initiative, which uses art and creative activities to foster connection, reflection and wellbeing.

1970: The Gallery launches satellite programming

In 1970, the Gallery launched the Race Track Gallery on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition, one of its first initiatives to bring the collection and programming to a broader community. Over three months, visitors encountered works by Toni Onley, Harold Town, Andy Warhol and N.E. Thing Co., alongside films and participatory workshops.

The initiative was followed by satellite programming in a former church at East First Avenue and Semlin Drive, co-programmed with Intermedia. In 1971, the Gallery assumed operations at Capilano Stadium and launched Stadium Gallery, with a three-month series of programs and events organized by Karen McDiarmid with the assistance of artist Paul Wong.

Together, these offsite initiatives reflected the Gallery’s commitment to reaching people beyond its downtown home.

1971: Emily Carr: A Centennial Exhibition brings Carr’s work into focus

Organized by Doris Shadbolt and intended to commemorate both the centenary of the artist’s birth and BC’s Centennial, this was the first large-scale exhibition devoted to Emily Carr since the travelling memorial exhibition organized shortly following her death in 1945.

Emily Carr: A Centennial Exhibition (1971) was the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date—featuring 125 works—and represents the beginning of modern scholarship on Carr.

It proved so popular that the Gallery raised admission for the duration of the exhibition to $1 for adults; $0.50 for students; and $0.25 for children and tours. While the exhibition included loans, the majority of works were drawn from the Gallery’s Carr collection.

1971: Sculptures of the Inuit tours internationally

In 1968, Doris Shadbolt proposed a large-scale touring exhibition of Inuit art to the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council—the first of its kind.

Sculptures of the Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic featured 405 sculptures by 117 artists, dating from 720 BCE to the present, and toured to Paris, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Moscow, Philadelphia, Montréal and Ottawa.

The exhibition received extensive media coverage, and the National Film Board produced a 20-minute film about it.

The exhibition reflected a commitment to sharing Canadian and Indigenous art with international audiences, a role that continues today through exhibitions and loans that connect local artists and stories with wider publics.

1972: The Gallery launches Vanguard

The Gallery launched Vanguard in 1972 as the successor to the Vancouver Art Gallery Bulletin.

Ambitious in design and scope, Vanguard went beyond a traditional newsletter to become an influential source of arts journalism in Canada. By the 1980s, the publication had a circulation of 10,000 and was distributed across North America.

Vanguard reflected the Gallery’s commitment to producing scholarship and critical dialogue, a tradition that continues through its active publications program today.

1972: First photograph acquired for the permanent collection

Almost from the outset, the Gallery frequently exhibited photography. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the Gallery did not actually begin to collect photography until the early 1970s.

This print by Bill Jones, entitled Landscape #1 (1970), is the Gallery’s earliest photo acquisition.

Photography figured prominently within local art histories in the late 20th century, and the Gallery’s collection of photography has grown significantly over the years, currently comprising one third of the permanent collection.

1974: The Gallery presents Bill Reid’s first retrospective

Although Bill Reid had an exhibition of his jewellery at the Gallery in 1958, this was the first retrospective of one of Canada’s best-known artists, held when he was already in his 50s.

On the event of this exhibition, he was, to his delighted amusement, declared “artist of the year” by critic Joan Lowndes of the Vancouver Sun.

1976: Videospace is established

The Gallery has long embraced new media and emerging artistic practices.

In 1976, shortly after his appointment as Director, Luke Rombout introduced Videospace, a semi-permanent gallery devoted to artists’ video.

Initially presenting works from the Gallery’s “Video Library,” Videospace evolved into a curated program under the direction of Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker, establishing video as an important part of the Gallery’s contemporary programming.

1978: The Emily Carr “Car(r) Wash” raises funds for conservation

The Emily Carr “Car(r) Wash” was an early public fundraising initiative launched to support the restoration and preservation of Carr’s works in the Gallery’s collection.

Concerned about their deteriorating condition, Gallery staff set a goal of raising $100,000 for urgently needed conservation work. Although the event ultimately raised $4,000, it was described as an “open invitation for the city to express an interest in this collection.”

The campaign reflected growing recognition of Carr’s importance and the Gallery’s responsibility to care for its collection, a mandate that continues today through the ongoing preservation and stewardship of her works for future generations.

1978: Robert Rauschenberg makes his Canadian debut

In 1978, under Director Luke Rombout, the Gallery presented Robert Rauschenberg: Works from Captiva, the first major exhibition of influential American artist Robert Rauschenberg’s work in Canada. Featuring new and previously unexhibited works, it was the Gallery’s most ambitious exhibition of the 1970s.

Works from Captiva reflected the Gallery’s growing role in connecting Vancouver with leading international artists and is a testament to Rauschenberg’s affection for the city and his ongoing relationship with local curators, artists and collectors.

This longstanding exchange between Vancouver and the international art world remains central to the Gallery’s exhibition program today.

1979: The Gallery establishes a Conservation Lab

In 1979, the Gallery established a conservation lab for works on paper and hired its first full-time conservator, Barry Byers. Treatment of works on paper by Emily Carr was an initial priority.

The establishment of the lab marked an important step in the Gallery’s ongoing stewardship of the collection. Today, conservation remains essential to preserving artworks, supporting research and ensuring the collection can be cared for and shared with future generations.

1980s: The Out for Lunch concert series begins

The Gallery’s popular “Out for Lunch” concert series was launched in the 1980s and ran for nearly 40 years.

The series reflected the Gallery’s longstanding approach to creating connections across disciplines and inviting different audiences to experience the Gallery in new ways.

1980s: J. Ron Longstaffe broadens the Gallery’s collection

In accordance with his firm belief that art should be seen rather than stored, Vancouver collector J. Ron Longstaffe, along with his first wife Marietta Hurst and his second wife Jacqueline Longstaffe, donated a total of 803 works to the Gallery. His gifts included works by major international figures such as David Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

Over his lifetime, Longstaffe pursued a series of collecting enthusiasms, assembling a collection that encompassed contemporary Canadian art, modernist Québécois painting, international graphics and pop art, among other areas.

From the late 1960s until the time of his death in 2003, Longstaffe’s extraordinary generosity had a profound and lasting impact on the scale, scope and international profile of the Gallery’s permanent collection.

The 1980s saw a significant number of Longstaffe’s gifts enter the collection. The exhibition Selected View: The Longstaffe Collection was held in recognition of his contributions in 1985.

1981: Arthur Erickson Architects’ renovations of the old Courthouse begin

Arthur Erickson Architects’ renovations of the former courthouse began in December 1981, transforming the 1906 neoclassical building designed by Francis Rattenbury into a new home for the Gallery.

The move reflected the Gallery’s growth in its collection, exhibitions and public programming, and provided expanded facilities to support its evolving role as a major cultural institution in Vancouver.

1983: The Gallery opens its new home

In October 1983, the Vancouver Art Gallery opened at its current location. The Mayor of Vancouver, Michael Harcourt, proclaimed the week of October 10 to 16 “Vancouver Art Gallery Week” to commemorate this milestone for the Vancouver arts community.

Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931–1983 (1983) was the inaugural exhibition at the Gallery’s new home at 750 Hornby Street, surveying five decades of art production since the Gallery’s inception in 1931.

The exhibition featured 600 works by 150 artists, presented in sections organized by the Gallery’s curators. Its catalogue was the Gallery’s largest to date, with contributions from curators and commissioned writers. Director Luke Rombout described the exhibition as “a tribute to local artists” and a celebration of “the new Gallery as a focal point of the visual arts in Canada.”

In response to the exhibition, a committee of local curators, artists and critics organized The October Show as a “salon des refusés,” predominantly featuring artists who had been excluded (although three artists were included in both—Glenn Lewis, Henri Robideau and Vicky Marshall). One member of the organizing committee, Daina Augaitis, would later become the Gallery’s Chief Curator/Associate Director in the 1990s.

Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931–1983 reflects the Gallery’s longstanding commitment to tracing, documenting and understanding the artistic production of the region. This approach remains an important part of the Gallery’s work today.

1985: Chinese art and culture fill the Gallery

From March to June 1985, five exhibitions celebrating the contribution of Chinese Canadians to Canada occupied the entire Vancouver Art Gallery. They were opened by distinguished Chinese leader, Ye Xuanping (1924–2019), Governor of Guangdong Province and, later, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The exhibitions included Gum Sam/Gold Mountain: Images of Gold Mountain 1886–1947 and The Single Brushstroke: 600 Years of Chinese Painting from the Ching Yuan Chai Collection. The program drew the Gallery’s highest single-day attendance to date.

Shortly after, Acting Director Jo-Anne Birnie-Danzker was invited to lead a Cultural Delegation to China to discuss an exchange of exhibitions with Canada, extending the Gallery’s engagement with Chinese art and cultural institutions.

The Single Brushstroke: 600 Years of Chinese Painting from the Ching Yuan Chai Collection was initiated by curator Scott Watson in collaboration with Dr. James O. Caswell, drawing on the collections of Dr. James Cahill and family. Other exhibitions included Porcelain of the High Qing and Chinese Art from the Brian McElney Collection, Hong Kong (organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria); and The Persuasive Image: Contemporary Posters from The People’s Republic of China, curated by Eileen Truscott, Vancouver Art Gallery.

1985: Young Romantics introduces a new generation of Vancouver painters

Young Romantics was a group exhibition which ushered in a new generation of Vancouver painters, all fairly recent graduates of Emily Carr College of Art & Design (now ECUAD).

Curated by Scott Watson and featuring works by Graham Gillmore, Angela Grossman, Attila Richard Lukacs, Vicky Marshall, Phillippe Raphanel, Charles Rea, Derek Root and Mina Totino, the exhibition emphasized this generation’s interest in bold, expressionistic painting.

1989: Beyond History challenges expectations of Indigenous art

Beyond History is an important contender among a series of group exhibitions in Canada and the US in the 1980s and early 90s seeking to define the recent wave of art-school trained artists of Indigenous heritage who were self-consciously working with the idioms of international contemporary art, rather than the expectations of existing regional “Indian art” markets.

Their agenda, this exhibition argued, was to claim space in the public sphere of the mainstream art world in a way that acknowledged their Indigenous heritage as a living aspect of their own modernity, not a relic of the past, hence the exhibition’s title.

1990s: Sandra Simpson’s gifts enrich the Gallery’s collection of contemporary art

Sandra Simpson is an art collector based in Toronto who has made significant contributions to the Gallery’s permanent collection.

Simpson opened S.L. Simpson Gallery in 1980 and played an important role in nurturing the careers of many emerging artists during this period.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Simpson donated more than 60 works to the Gallery, including works by Sarah Charlesworth, Jack Goldstein, Paul McCarthy, Steven Shearer, Cindy Sherman, Michael Snow, Joanne Tod and James Welling. Her gifts significantly strengthened the Gallery’s collection of contemporary art.

1990: The Gallery presents Jeff Wall’s first Canadian survey

The Gallery’s 1990 season opened with a series of exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection, including Emily Carr and Art in British Columbia, alongside this significant presentation of the work of Vancouver–based artist Jeff Wall.

Curated by Senior Curator Gary Dufour, Jeff Wall 1990 was the first Canadian survey exhibition of the artist’s work. Featuring 19 lightboxes, it traced Wall’s production from 1980 to 1989.

This exhibition reflects the Gallery’s history of presenting artists from the region, highlighting their work at significant moments in their careers and situating their practices within broader conversations in contemporary art.

In subsequent years, this approach has continued with artists such as Vikky Alexander, Douglas Coupland, Stan Douglas, Geoffrey Farmer, Rodney Graham, Ken Lum, Susan Point, Howie Tsui, Jan Wade and Ian Wallace, among others.

1990: The Gallery acquires its first public artwork

The Vancouver Art Gallery has a small but significant public art collection, extending the Gallery’s engagement with art beyond its exhibition spaces and into the city.

Lawrence Weiner’s PLACED UPON THE HORIZON (CASTING SHADOWS), commissioned in 1990, was the first public artwork added to the collection.

Today, the Gallery’s public art collection continues to contribute to Vancouver’s cultural landscape, complementing its exhibitions and collection within the Gallery.

1993: The Gallery examines gender representation in its collection

In 1993, the Women’s Art Committee, chaired by artist Renée Van Halm, undertook a survey of acquisitions made between 1973 and 1993 to assess the number of works acquired during this period by gender.

Of the 3,546 works acquired through purchase or donation over this twenty-year period, 3,204 were by men and 328 by women. The committee advocated for a policy of gender-conscious collecting to better represent the work of women artists.

As a result of this report, the Gallery made a concerted effort to acquire more works by women artists, and the number of acquisitions by women in the permanent collection doubled. Highlights included works by Marfa Magdalena Campos-Pons, Mary Scott, Lucy Hogg, Betty Goodwin, Ann Kipling and Marianna Schmidt.

This commitment to greater representation in the collection continues to inform the Gallery’s collecting practices today.

1995: The Gallery launches its first website

The Gallery launched its “new World Wide Web site” on October 15, 1995, marking its entry into the emerging digital era. To celebrate the occasion, a launch party featured music, demonstrations on a “big-screen” and a fully equipped Digital Café.

The website opened a new way for the Gallery to share exhibitions, artists and information beyond its physical walls—an approach that has continued to expand alongside digital technology.

1995: Supersunday brings families together through art

The Gallery launched Supersunday in 1995, creating drop-in art experiences on the third Sunday of every month for children and families. The program offered opportunities to engage with art through hands-on activities and making.

Today, The Making Place carries forward this spirit of accessible, family-oriented programming, inviting visitors of all ages to explore ideas through creative activities.

1997: Advances in collection care and management

In 1997, the Gallery undertook significant improvements to collection care and infrastructure with the installation of earthquake-proof shelving in the storage vault, enhancing the physical protection of works in a seismically active region.

That same year, the Gallery introduced an automated collections management system, modernizing record-keeping and improving the tracking and documentation of the permanent collection.

1998: The Gallery assesses its future facility needs

As part of a larger master planning process in the late 1990s, Lundholm Associates Architects prepared a functional program overview to assess the Gallery’s future facility requirements. The report identified limitations in the existing building, including insufficient space, poor visitor circulation and inadequate environmental controls.

It also noted that the neoclassical building conveyed a conservative and authoritarian image that was increasingly at odds with the dynamic, participatory identity the Gallery sought to foster.

The findings helped shape a broader conversation about what the Gallery would need to support its evolving programs, collection and relationship with the public.

1998: Down from the Shimmering Sky explores Northwest Coast masks

By the 1990s, the Gallery had established a longstanding practice of presenting historic Indigenous art, creating a foundation for more focused exhibitions such as this exploration of the power and centrality of the mask in Northwest Coast Indigenous art.

Treasured objects from international collections were brought together in Down from the Shimmering Sky (1998) to explore the ways masks are animated through ceremony and their significance within the social structures, traditions and worldviews of Northwest Coast Indigenous Peoples.

2000s: The Beck/Gruft Collection transforms the Gallery’s photography holdings

Collectors Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft made vital contributions to Vancouver’s art community as gallery owners, curators, writers and supporters of local artists. Beginning in the 1970s, they built an eclectic photography collection spanning the history of the medium, from the 19th century to the present.

The 2004 acquisition of almost 400 photographs from the Beck/Gruft Collection—most of them as gifts—marked a radical shift in the Gallery’s permanent collection, significantly expanding its holdings in historical and modern photography and making it internationally significant almost overnight. Through subsequent donations—currently amounting to more than 700 works—Beck and Gruft transformed the Gallery’s holdings in this field.

Today, the Gallery is home to one of the most comprehensive photo-based collections in North America, a distinction that is inseparable from the depth, scope and intellectual ambition of their collecting legacy.

2000: Ken Lum’s Four Boats Stranded marks the new millennium

As part of a series of commissions to commemorate the new millennium, Ken Lum’s Four Boats Stranded: Red and Yellow, Black and White (2000) was mounted on the four rooftop corners of the Gallery’s building. Each boat represents a notable moment in the history of immigration to the region.

The commission reflected an effort to use public art to engage with the city’s diverse social and political histories, address complex subjects and contribute to Vancouver’s ongoing conversation about public art.

2002: The Schwartz Collection expands the global scope of the photography collection

An important addition to the Gallery’s photography collection came in 2002 with the acquisition of 60 works by 15 international artists from Toronto collectors Alison and Alan Schwartz.

The Gallery’s most significant acquisition in more than 50 years, the Schwartz Collection placed its strong holdings of Vancouver-based photography in dialogue with related artistic practices on a global scale.

The acquisition was accompanied by a gift of an additional 70 works between 2002 and 2010, further strengthening the Gallery’s photography collection. Works included photographs by Rineke Dijkstra, Andreas Gursky, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth and Rachel Whiteread, among others. Many were presented the following year in The Big Picture: Recent Acquisitions from the Collection of Alison & Alan Schwartz.

2002: The NEXT exhibition series introduces new artists from the Pacific Rim

In 2002, the Gallery launched NEXT, a project series focusing on emerging and mid-career artists from the Pacific Rim who had not previously exhibited in Vancouver.

The series began with a commissioned work by Los Angeles–based artist Won Ju Lim, Elysian Field North (2001), which was subsequently acquired for the permanent collection.

The series reflected the Gallery’s interest in introducing Vancouver audiences to artists and practices from across the Pacific Rim, while expanding the collection through new commissions and acquisitions.

2004: Massive Change explores the future of global design

In 2004, the Gallery presented the landmark exhibition Massive Change: The Future of Global Design in collaboration with Bruce Mau and the Institute without Borders.

The exhibition explored how rapidly-evolving technologies have created the potential for design to effect change on a global scale, and this has placed us at the beginning of a new, unprecedented period of human possibility. With this exhibition, the Gallery sought to redefine what a museum exhibition can be.

2005: FUSE brings the Gallery to life after hours

In July 2005, the first FUSE event welcomed almost 2,000 people to the Gallery for an after-hours celebration of art, performance and music.

The series became a popular part of the Gallery’s programming throughout the 2010s, bringing together visual art, live performance and music in a social setting.

This tradition continues today with Art Party.

2006: Across the Province expands access to the collection

In 2006, the Gallery launched Across the Province, a new regional touring program, with the exhibition Dawn: Sketches by the Group of Seven, featured 30 works exploring the role of oil sketches as a vital part of the Group’s creative process.

Across the Province was conceived as a series of exhibitions drawn from the Gallery’s permanent collection and circulated to regional museums throughout British Columbia, expanding access to the collection beyond Vancouver.

The initiative continues the legacy of the Gallery’s Extension Department of the 1960s and 70s, which brought works from the collection to communities across the province and reinforced the Gallery’s role as a provincial institution.

2008: The Audain Emerging Artists Acquisition Fund supports BC–based artists

In September 2008, the Gallery announced the Audain Emerging Artists Acquisition Fund, a $2 million endowment supporting the ongoing acquisition of works by emerging artists based in British Columbia. At the time, it was the largest fund of its kind in Canada.

The first work selected for acquisition was Vancouver artist Mark Soo’s photo-based artwork That’s That’s Alright Alright Mama Mama (2008). Since its establishment, the Fund has supported the acquisition of more than 65 works, strengthening the Gallery’s collection of contemporary art by artists from British Columbia.

2009: Offsite creates a new space for public art

The Gallery launched its new outdoor exhibition space, Offsite, with a site-specific installation by Chinese artist O Zhang on July 20, 2009.

Offering a rotating program of innovative public art projects by local and international contemporary artists, this exhibition space in the downtown core allowed artists to explore and respond to Vancouver’s unique urban environment.

The Gallery subsequently acquired 13 works by O Zhang related to her Offsite presentation. Other works commissioned for Offsite, including projects by Babak Golkar and Reena Saini Kallat, also entered the collection, extending the impact of the program beyond the life of each installation.

Over its 15-year history, Offsite presented the work of 26 artists and collectives, exploring a wide range of media and approaches to public art. The program concluded in 2024, leaving a significant record of temporary public art in Vancouver and a body of related works in the Gallery’s collection.

2010: The collection surpasses 10,000 works

In 2010, the Gallery’s permanent collection surpassed 10,000 works for the first time, marking a growth of approximately seventy percent since 2000.

This milestone reflected a focused period of strategic acquisitions, transformative donations and an expanded commitment to collecting contemporary and photographic practices.

2010: The Gallery joins the Cultural Olympiad

The Gallery organized an ambitious program for the Cultural Olympiad and the 2010 Olympic and Paralymplc Winter Games, beginning with Visions of British Columbia: A Landscape Manual, an extensive two-floor survey of art representing the diversity and richness of artistic vision in British Columbia. Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man and Visceral Bodies traced the considerable history of artists using the body as a subject of physiological and anatomical study.

Several outdoor projects complemented the interior program, including Michael Lin: A Modest Veil, an enormous hand-painted mural on the Gallery’s Georgia Street facade, and CUE: Artists’ Videos, a presentation of the most innovative and compelling video artists working today on the Gallery’s Robson Street facade.

Chief Curator/Associate Director Daina Augaitis was even selected to participate as a torch bearer in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Route.

2014: The Gallery launches Think Tank for Youth on Art and Ideas

Under the direction of Susan Rome, Program Coordinator for Schools and Youth, the Gallery Iaunched the Think Tank for Youth on Art and Ideas in 2014, providing opportunities for students in Grades 10 to 12 to dig deep into the ideas of a specific exhibition.

Working over three to five days with an artist-in-residence, which have included Edward Burtynsky, Takashi Murakami and Sunil Gupta, the students explore their process and materials while also venturing into the community to find connections and relevance with the specific topic at hand. In response to the ideas generated during the week, the students create a visual response in a wide variety of media such as photographs, films, murals, paintings, scrolls and trading cards.

Think Tank continues today as part of the Gallery’s youth programming, alongside Art Exchange, presented in partnership with Arts Umbrella, and Teen Art Group, presented in partnership with Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Together, these programs provide opportunities for teens to engage with contemporary art, develop their own creative practices and connect with artist mentors and peers.

2014: The Institute of Asian Art brings new focus to Asian art

The Gallery launched the Institute of Asian Art (IAA) in the fall of 2014 in order to more formally reflect on and represent the multifaceted communities the Gallery engages with, especially those relating to China, Japan, Korea and India.

The IAA brings attention to the Gallery’s longstanding engagement with these communities through such activities as curatorial research, collaborations, exhibitions, exchanges and travel programs.

Zheng Shengtian, esteemed Chinese scholar, curator and artist, holds the position of Adjunct Director for the Institute of Asian Art, and Diana Freundl was named Associate Curator, Asian Art—the Gallery’s first curator with a focus in this field of study.

The launch of the IAA coincided with the opening of two exhibitions on the art of China—one featured Imperial treasures from Beijing’s centuries-old Forbidden City and the second, a groundbreaking survey on ten of the most acclaimed Chinese contemporary artists in the world—a pairing that attracted an estimated 150,000 viewers.

In November 2015, the Gallery announced the establishment of the International Asian Art Council, which held its inaugural session in Vancouver in the spring of 2017.

2014: Douglas Coupland’s Gumhead invites Vancouver to leave its mark

In conjunction with Douglas Coupland’s solo exhibition everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything (2014), the Gallery commissioned a site‑specific public sculpture for the grassy mound near the Robson Street entrance.

Gumhead (2014) was a seven-foot-tall self-portrait that Coupland described as a “gum-based, crowd-sourced, publicly interactive, social-sculpture self-portrait.” Visitors were invited to add their own chewed gum to the sculpture, gradually transforming the work over the summer until the artist’s face was almost completely obscured.

2015: The Gund Collection expands the Gallery’s Indigenous art collection

In 2015, the Gallery announced the donation of a collection of Indigenous artworks from the late San Francisco–based collector George Gund, a gift that significantly expanded the Gallery’s holdings of Northwest Coast art.

Comprising thirty-seven objects, the Gund Collection brought together historical and contemporary works, strengthening an area of the collection that had been identified as a strategic priority.

The donation included thirteen major carved works by Guud san glans Robert Davidson, positioning the Gallery as a key institutional steward of Davidson’s practice across media and periods, while also situating his work within a longer history of Northwest Coast artistic traditions.

Presented in the exhibition The Gund Collection: Contemporary and Historical Art from the Northwest Coast, the gift underscored the Gallery’s ongoing efforts to address historical gaps in its collection.

2016: MashUp brings over a century of modern culture together

2016 opened with the most ambitious exhibition in the history of the Gallery—Mash Up: The Birth Of Modern Culture.

MashUp spanned over a century and featured a broad range of media including photography, video, architecture, film, sculpture, graphic and industrial design, drawing, painting, animation, music, digital media, illustration and fashion design.

Tracing how new technologies expanded the production and circulation of images, text and music, this groundbreaking exhibition occupied all four floors of the Gallery and featured 371 works by 56 artists, filmmakers, architects, musicians and designers, and contributions from 30 curators from around the world, receiving 109,264 visitors over its 3-month run.

2016: Wang Dongling performs the Heart Sutra in the Rotunda

On October 4, 2016, renowned Chinese artist Wang Dongling presented a live calligraphy performance at the Gallery. Visitors watched as Wang wrote the Heart Sutra, one of the foundational texts of Mahayana Buddhism.

He used his own calligraphic technique known as “chaos scripture (luanshu)”—a style that sees characters and entire columns of text interweave with each other.

Following the performance, Wang generously donated the completed work to the Gallery’s permanent collection, marking an important addition to its holdings of contemporary Asian art.

2017: Susan Point: Spindle Whorl explores Coast Salish visual traditions

In 2017, the Gallery presented Susan Point: Spindle Whorl, the first solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery by a xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) artist. The most extensive exhibition of Point’s work presented to date, it featured more than 100 print and sculptural works spanning three and a half decades of her practice.

The exhibition explored the Coast Salish spindle whorl, a traditional tool and enduring motif in Point’s work. Drawing on Coast Salish visual traditions, Point has explored the form through contemporary materials and techniques, including glass, resin, steel and wood. The exhibition reflected the breadth of her practice, from prints and jewellery to sculpture and monumental public works.

Following the exhibition, the Gallery acquired additional works by Point through purchase and a generous donation from the artist. The acquisitions expanded the Gallery’s holdings of contemporary Indigenous art by women and provided a fuller representation of the work of an artist from one of the Gallery’s Host Nations.

2017: The Gallery begins collecting modern Canadian design

In 2017, the Gallery received its first donation of modern furniture from collector and curator Allan Collier: a chair by Earle Morrison and a desk by Jan Kuypers.

The gift laid the foundation for a collection dedicated to the history of Canadian modern design and marked a renewed commitment to collecting design objects.

This initiative built on the Gallery’s earlier engagement with modern design and craft. As early as 1949, the Gallery presented Design for Living, an exhibition exploring modern approaches to architecture and interior design, and subsequently acquired ceramic objects in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The addition of modernist furniture expanded the collection’s scope, offering a broader understanding of artistic production in British Columbia and contributing to a fuller picture of early modernism in the region.

2017: The Gallery expands off-site collection storage

In 2017, the Gallery relocated its off-site collection storage to a larger facility in Burnaby, expanding capacity to approximately 51,000 square feet.

This move responded directly to the notable growth of the permanent collection over the preceding decades and the increased need for secure, climate-controlled storage.

Currently, approximately ten percent of the collection is housed off-site.

2020: The Gallery adapts to a changing world

Like museums around the world, the Gallery’s programming was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. After closing for three months, the Gallery reopened on June 15, 2020, with new safety protocols in place.

The pandemic prompted the Gallery to reconsider how it could connect with audiences when gathering in person was limited. Programming expanded online, with digital exhibitions, talks and other resources offering new ways to engage with art beyond the Gallery’s physical spaces.

2021: Jan Wade: Soul Power marks a historic first

Jan Wade: Soul Power marked the first solo exhibition by a Black woman artist in the 90-year history of the Gallery.

The exhibition honoured and documented Wade’s compelling but underrecognized practice, which reflects her lived experience as an African Canadian person of mixed cultural heritage.

The accompanying publication was shortlisted for the City of Vancouver Book Award, and the exhibition went on to tour to the Art Gallery of Hamilton, bringing Wade’s work to audiences beyond Vancouver.

2021: The Chan Family begins a major gift of Stephen Shore photographs

In December 2021, the Gallery received fifteen photographs by Stephen Shore from his landmark Uncommon Places series. This initial gift marked the beginning of a planned, multi-year donation from the Chan Family, whose collection comprised 801 photographs from the series.

Transferred to the Gallery over a four-year period, this extraordinary gift constitutes one of the most significant photography acquisitions in the institution’s history.

Together, the photographs are among the most comprehensive representations of Uncommon Places held by any institution worldwide, reinforcing the Gallery’s long-term commitment to collecting photographic practices of global significance.

In April 2026, the Gallery presented Stephen Shore: Uncommon Places, a focused exhibition of works from this series which foregrounded Shore’s photographs from Canada, alongside iconic images of life on the road and the people who shaped his journeys.

2023: A suite of Beau Dick masks enters the collection

In June of 2023, the Gallery acquired a suite of seventeen masks by renowned Kwakwaka’wakw carver and activist Beau Dick.

Commissioned for Documenta 14 in 2017, this suite encompasses some of the most stunning, imaginative and ornate masks ever produced by the artist, reflecting his deep engagement with Kwakwaka’wakw cultural traditions and his innovative approach to carving.

The acquisition significantly expanded the Gallery’s holdings of Dick’s work and strengthened the representation of his practice within the permanent collection.

2023: The Gallery launches Free First Friday Nights Presented by BMO

Through the generous support of a new partnership with BMO, in May 2023, the Gallery launched free admission to the public on the first Friday of every month from 4 to 8 PM.

These Free First Friday Nights Presented by BMO provide visitors with increased access to the Gallery, opening and expanding the world of art to a broader audience, including those who may not otherwise be able to afford the cost of admission.

2023: Art Party establishes a new after-hours tradition

Under the direction of newly appointed Director of Public Engagement & Learning Sirish Rao, the Gallery launched a new public event series, Art Party, in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition Fashion Fictions.

The series has continued to grow, becoming one of the Gallery’s largest annual public events. Bringing together art, music and performance, Art Party creates a lively entry point into the Gallery’s exhibitions and programs.

2024: The Institute of Asian Art becomes the Centre for Global Asias

In November 2024, to mark its 10th anniversary, the Institute of Asian Art (IAA) was renamed the Centre for Global Asias (CGA), reflecting an expanded mandate that recognizes Vancouver’s connections to the Asia Pacific and the diverse communities of Asian diasporas.

Over its first decade, the IAA presented 27 exhibitions, 15 publications and over 100 events, welcoming more than two million visitors to activities at the Gallery and off-site. The initiative also expanded the Gallery’s holdings of Asian and Asian diasporic art through strategic acquisitions.

The CGA recognizes the many Asias that exist within the geography of Asia and across global diasporas, creating a platform for research, exhibitions, education and dialogue around Asian art and ideas.

Today, the Centre for Global Asias continues to connect artists, scholars and communities in Vancouver with diverse artistic practices and ideas from across Asia and its diasporas.

2025: A major gift from Brigitte and Henning Freybe strengthens the Gallery’s international contemporary art collection

In January 2025, Vancouver collectors Brigitte and Henning Freybe promised 122 artworks to the Gallery, representing the most significant donation of international contemporary art in the Gallery’s history.

The collection spans the work of major European and North American artists from the past five decades, including Christian Boltanski, Tacita Dean, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu, Wolfgang Tillmans and William Kentridge. It also reflects the Freybes’ longstanding support of Vancouver’s art community, with works by artists including Beau Dick, Stan Douglas, Geoffrey Farmer, Rodney Graham, Brian Jungen, Kathy Slade and Jeff Wall.

Highlights from the collection were included in the exhibition Postcards from the Heart: Selections from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe Collection, presented at the Gallery from April 18 to October 5, 2025.

2025: The Gallery launches the Art of Wellbeing Lab

In April 2025, the Gallery launched the Art of Wellbeing Lab, a pilot initiative exploring the role of art in supporting individual and community health and wellbeing. Led by Sirish Rao, the Gallery’s Interim Co-CEO, and Lead Wellbeing Consultant Paula Toledo, the Lab brings together the Gallery’s resources with an established network of researchers, physicians, scientists, Indigenous Elders and healers.

The Lab was created in response to growing recognition of the relationship between engagement with art and improved mental and physical wellbeing, and the need for stronger connections between cultural organizations and health and social services. Its programs provide opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds to engage with art in ways that support connection, reflection and wellbeing.

These opportunities are delivered through innovative initiatives such as PaRx—an initiative of BC Parks Foundation which allows healthcare professionals to prescribe time in nature and can include a visit to an exhibition for their patient and a guest—and Art of Wellbeing for Seniors, which promotes healthy aging in seniors through communal art-making activities and physical movement in response to artistic ideas.

Since its launch, the Lab has attracted interest internationally, and in November 2025, the Gallery’s collaboration with PaRx received the Social Prescribing Changemaker Award from the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, anchored by the Canadian Red Cross.

These initiatives were made possible thanks to the foundational investment of Dave Richardson and his family.

2025: Formline + KPMB selected to design the Gallery’s new home

In September 2025, the Gallery selected Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB Architects to lead the design of its new purpose-built home at Larwill Park, located at 181 West Georgia Street.

The team was selected from proposals by 14 Canadian architectural firms, marking the next phase in the Gallery’s plans for a new home for art, culture and community. The design process will bring together Indigenous and global perspectives through ongoing dialogue with artists, communities and the people the Gallery serves.

2025: The Art Continuum Hong Kong Collection expands the Gallery’s holdings of Asian art

In December 2025, the Gallery received Art Continuum Hong Kong (ACHK), a collection of 131 modern and contemporary artworks by 78 artists, assembled over more than three decades by a private Hong Kong–based collector. The gift represented the largest contribution of Hong Kong art in the Gallery’s history.

Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance and works on paper, the collection traces artistic production in Hong Kong from the 1950s to the present. It includes works by artists such as Luis Chan, Irene Chou, Wucius Wong, Ellen Pau, Tsang Kin Wah, Samson Young, Howie Tsui and Lam Tung Pang, reflecting the city’s changing artistic, social and political landscapes.

The collection expands the Gallery’s ability to research and present Hong Kong art and strengthens the Centre for Global Asias’ focus on the diverse artistic practices and histories of Asia and its diasporas. In 2027, the Gallery will present an exhibition drawn from ACHK and the permanent collection, continuing the conversation around Hong Kong’s art and cultural history.

2025: The Curators’ Council supports new acquisitions by women artists

In 2025, the Gallery launched the Curators’ Council, a group of visionary women dedicated to strengthening the permanent collection through the acquisition of work by women artists.

Purchases made by the Council in its inaugural year included a signature example of one of Firelei Báez’s celebrated map paintings, Unbound (one way ashore, a thousand channels) (2024), the first work by the artist to enter a Canadian museum collection; and Nan Goldin’s Stendhal Syndrome (2024), an immersive moving image work co-acquired with the Walker Art Center. The newly acquired Goldin piece was then exhibited in Nan Goldin: Stendhal Syndrome, the artist’s first major presentation in Vancouver.

Together, these inaugural acquisitions reflect the Curators’ Council’s commitment to addressing historical gaps in the collection while supporting ambitious works by artists whose practices have shaped contemporary art discourse.

2026: The Gallery opens its first dedicated collection floor in more than two decades

In April 2026, the Gallery opened Highlights from the Collection, its first dedicated floor for the permanent collection in more than two decades.

Featuring more than 200 works by over 100 artists, the exhibition traces the evolving history of the collection, from historic Indigenous art to contemporary practices, and includes more than 40 recent acquisitions.

Artworks are presented in environments that reflect different approaches to exhibiting art over time, from salon-style arrangements and the intimate setting of a modernist home to artist-run centres and contemporary gallery spaces.

The dedicated collection floor reflects the Gallery’s ongoing commitment to making the collection more accessible, while creating new opportunities to encounter the artists, perspectives and histories that form the cultural memory of British Columbia.

2026: The Gallery establishes its first co-leadership model

In September 2026, the Vancouver Art Gallery Association Board of Trustees announced the permanent appointment of Eva Respini and Sirish Rao as Co-CEOs, establishing the first co-leadership model in the Gallery’s history.

Respini serves as Co-CEO & Chief Curator, leading the Gallery’s artistic vision, collection development and curatorial programs, while Rao serves as Co-CEO & Executive Director, overseeing operations, community engagement, institutional partnerships and interdisciplinary programming.

Their appointment builds on the partnership they began as Interim Co-CEOs in 2025 and marks a new chapter in the Gallery’s leadership and future direction.