Contemporary Art Gallery

Established in 1971 by the Government of Canada and the City of Vancouver, the Contemporary Art Gallery (originally called the Greater Vancouver Artist's Gallery) was incorporated in 1976 as a non-profit charitable society. Vancouver artists were hired for six month periods to produce art for exhibition at the gallery, and for inclusion in the City of Vancouver Art Collection. In 1984 the Contemporary Art Gallery became an artist-run centre. By the early 1990s the exhibition program had expanded to include artists of national and international origin. In 1996 the Contemporary Art Gallery became the only independent public art gallery located in downtown Vancouver. In May of 2001, the Contemporary Art Gallery moved to a new purpose-built facility under the aegis of the City of Vancouver's Amenity Bonus program in cooperation with Bosa Ventures Inc.

The Contemporary Art Gallery promotes knowledge and understanding of contemporary visual art through: exhibitions for varied audiences that address current issues in contemporary art and place the work of Vancouver and Canadian artists in the context of art internationally; education and outreach programs that support and contribute to our diverse community; publications that introduce insightful and provocative ways of thinking about the artwork; visiting artist/curator programs that provide interaction between the community and visitors; information and resource services on the visual arts;and, the City of Vancouver Art Collection of 3,000 works of art which are circulated in public spaces throughout civic buildings and loaned for exhibition to museums and galleries.