EXHIBITIONS
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC presents Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC presents the world premiere of Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision, on display from March 19, 2026–January 3, 2027. Guest curated by Luis Manuel González, Adjunct Professor in UBC’s Department of Anthropology, this bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition explores Andean cosmovision—a holistic spiritual framework explaining the universe—through nearly 100 ancient artifacts crafted from ceramic, textile, bone, shell, and wood. The exhibition reflects ancestral understandings of a world where life and death coexist in a continuous cycle, or “Tupananchiskama,” meaning “until life brings us together again.”
(Museum of Anthropology, 6393 NW Marine Drive, Mar. 19—Jan. 3, 2027)
Echoes in Open Color
This body of work explores a quiet balance between control and release through layered gestures, diffused edges, and fluid movement, where intention meets spontaneity. Natural hues are pushed into unfamiliar relationships, interrupted by bursts of color, creating open-ended compositions that invite curiosity rather than conclusion. With shifting densities and organic processes evoking growth and time, the exhibition offers an atmospheric experience centered on freedom in mark-making, color, and interpretation.
(Amelia Douglas Gallery, Fourth Floor North, Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, May 12–July 6)
Museum of Anthropology at UBC presents I Use My Haida Eyes: The History Robes of Jut-ke-Nay–Hazel Wilson
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC presents the world premiere of an exhibition featuring 51 “history robes” by Haida artist Jut-ke-Nay–Hazel Wilson. The works reinterpret traditional Northwest Coast button blanket forms to document Haida history from an Indigenous perspective, presenting the full series together for the first time and highlighting the evolution of cultural expression through contemporary Indigenous art. (Museum of Anthropology, 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver BC, May 14–Oct. 12, 2026)
Becoming: The Art of Gu Xiong
For over five decades, Gu Xiong (b. 1953) has shaped contemporary art in Canada and China. Centering personal memory and lived experience, his work gives voice to individuals often rendered invisible within transnational cultures and histories. Becoming: The Art of Gu Xiong is a comprehensive celebration of the artist’s practice, bringing together key works from his personal collection alongside loans from public and private collections.
(Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3J9, May 28–Feb. 7)
What the Garden Knows
Artists Francine Drouin and Shelley Wales explore ideas of secret knowledge, memory, and the passage of time through beautiful floral-themed artwork. Francine Drouin creates stark, ethereal, lens-based mixed-media floral portraits that emphasize their intricate nature and delicate beauty. Shelley Wales shares her vibrant, gestural mixed-media paintings of garden scenes across the seasons, based on memories and deep feelings associated with these spaces rather than exact renderings. Presented by the West Vancouver Community Arts Council.
(Silk Purse Arts Centre, 1570 Argyle Avenue, West Vancouver, Jun. 3 – 29)
Intimate Observations: A Retrospective of Jan Smith
This retrospective exhibition celebrates the work of Jan Smith, recipient of the 2022 Hilde Gerson Award, bringing together jewellery, printmaking, drawing, and enamel works spanning her multidisciplinary practice. Smith’s work is shaped by close observation of the natural world and sustained engagement with material process, exploring surface, texture, and transformation. Alongside finished works, visitors are invited to engage with unfinished pieces through touch, offering insight into the tactile relationships at the centre of her practice.
(Craft Council of BC, 1386 Cartwright St., Jun. 4—Jul. 23)
LURE
From subsistence to livelihood, from sport to ritual, fishing links people from coast to coast to coast. This thematic group exhibition includes work by Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists across Canada with ties to the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, and the freshwater bodies that flow between. Together, the artists explore the complex social and cultural significance of the ancient yet everyday activity of fishing. Opening Reception: Fishing Kitchen Party! Jun. 11 6-8:30 pm.
(Evergreen Arts, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam BC, Jun. 6-Aug. 23)
Lisa Farrell - A Path, Then Otherwise
Lisa Farrell’s A Path, Then Otherwise presents a new body of abstract mixed media paintings exploring the tension between control and unpredictability. Through layered surfaces, gestures, and revisions, the work embraces uncertainty, transformation, and the nonlinear nature of making. June 19 – 28, 2026.
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 20, 12 – 4 pm
THIS Gallery.
(THIS Gallery, 108 East Broadway (alley entrance), Vancouver, Jun. 19—28, 2026)
Cameron Kerr: Collecting the Unconscious
Opening June 19th from 6-8 pm, Griffin Art Projects hosts TRAPP PROJECTS for a unique exhibition curated by Patrik Andersson. The exhibition presents all new and collected works, including sculpture, painting and photography and continues on view to Aug. 23, 2026. In his first solo show since 2020, Vancouver-based artist Cameron Kerr explores vernacular image systems, memory and canonical forms, reminding us that truth is not objective but rather a collection of subjective human constructs.
(Griffin Art Projects, 1174 Welch St, North Vancouver, BC V7P 1B2, Jun. 19-Aug. 23)
RAG Artist Salon with THIS Gallery Artistic Director Shannon Pawliw
Join artist, consultant, and THIS Gallery founder Shannon Pawliw for a candid look at navigating the Lower Mainland art scene. She’ll share practical insights drawn from supporting emerging and under-recognized artists and running an independent contemporary gallery. Presentation followed by Q+A, and time for socializing with other participants. Light refreshments provided. Limited spaces, RSVP requested.
(Richmond Art Gallery, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC, Jun. 27)
The Reach Gallery Museum: Interglacial
The Reach Gallery Museum presents Interglacial by environmental artist and advocate Desirée Patterson from July 11, 2026, to March 20, 2027. The exhibition examines the present as a critical moment in history, in which the global climate crisis puts the future well-being of our planet in the balance. Patterson will present five ambitious new bodies of work, developed in close collaboration with eminent Canadian glaciologists, forest scientists, and climate policy advisors. At the centre of the exhibition is Still in Place, a monumental suspended textile and sound installation developed with Dr. Brian Menounos at Place Glacier. Echoing the glacier’s contours, the work consists of 100 cyanotype panels capturing an analogue time-lapse of glacial melt and accompanied by a soundscape drawn from Patterson’s field recordings. Also on view is the installation From the Ashes (2025), which reflects on the devastating wildfires of 2024 in Jasper National Park, and the Spotlight on Scientists video series featuring the artist’s scientific collaborators.
(The Reach Gallery Museum, 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford, BC, V2T 0B3, Jul. 11, 2026 - Mar. 20, 2027)
Art in the Open: Community Art Market
North Van Arts, in partnership with the City of North Vancouver, is happy to announce a new public art market of local artists this July. Art in the Open: Community Art Market is an outdoor art market taking place at Civic Plaza, North Vancouver, on July 11, 2026, from 10 am to 3 pm. This vibrant community market will showcase a diverse range of original artwork and handcrafted goods created by artists and artisans from the North Shore. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet local makers, learn about their creative practices, and purchase unique, locally made works directly from the artists. Examples of Items: 2D / 3D original artworks, prints and cards of original artworks, handmade ceramics, handmade jewelry, and handmade textiles. Artists: Justine Blicq, Sue Damen, Elaine Lau, William Elder, Dana Huhn, Erica Morse, Casey Fawsitt, Karie Cardamone, Donna Giraud, Christine Steele, Graeme Blatherwick, Tamara Grand, Andrea McKenzie, Lara Shecter, Kim Rosin, Dorothy Doherty, Shirley McKell, Marika Morissette, Chandra Junck, Mahin Sharilli, and Connie Oconnor. The Community Art Market invites residents and visitors to explore and enjoy a wide variety of original artwork and handcrafted goods created by local artists and artisans. Discover one-of-a-kind pieces, support the local arts community, and connect with the creative spirit of North Vancouver.
(Civic Plaza, 126 14th St W, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2M9, Saturday, Jul. 11, 2026, from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
Intimate Observations | Artist Talk and Private Viewing
Please join artist Jan Smith as she discusses the work in her retrospective exhibition, followed by a private viewing of the exhibition hosted by Jan herself. This exhibition brings together works spanning her multidisciplinary practice in jewellery, printmaking, drawing, and enamel. Born in Vancouver and based in British Columbia, Smith has developed a body of work deeply informed by close observation of the natural world and a sustained engagement with material process. At the heart of the exhibition is an invitation to slow down and attend to the details often overlooked in everyday life. Smith’s practice reflects a sensitivity to surface, texture, and transformation, particularly through enamel, a medium that balances precision with moments of unpredictability. Through mark-making and material manipulation, her works reveal an intimate dialogue between artist and object. The exhibition also considers jewellery beyond its conventional role as adornment. Removed from the body and presented independently, these works ask viewers to encounter jewellery as sculptural and conceptual objects in their own right. Alongside finished works, visitors will be invited to engage with unfinished pieces through touch, offering insight into Smith’s process and the tactile relationships at the core of her practice.
(Craft Council of BC, Carousel Theatre, 1411 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC, Jul. 16, 2026)
Eastside Arts Society: 6th Annual Eastside Arts Festival
From July 17–26, 2026, the Eastside Arts Society will present an expanded 6th edition of the Eastside Arts Festival, bringing together local artists and audiences across the Eastside Arts District neighbourhoods, parks, studios, and breweries. A district-wide celebration of the artists, cultural spaces, and creative communities that shape Vancouver’s Eastside, this year’s festival invites people to experience the district in hands-on and unexpected ways through soundwalks, artist-led workshops, public art tours, immersive performances, and live music. On July 25, the festival will host its annual free, outdoor concert at MacLean Park from 3:00-8:00 pm, in collaboration with the Rickshaw Theatre, and presented by the Strathcona BIA. The festival will also co-present two events: The popular outdoor summer series, The Dance Deck, in partnership with Belle Spirale Dance Projects (July 18, 19, 25, & 26), and an afternoon of free music at MacLean Park, in partnership with MacLean Park Music (July 26). Tickets and festival schedule at eastsideartsfest.ca.
(Eastside Arts District, Jul. 17–26, 2026)
Lam Wong PANDEMIC DRAWINGS Special Edition Boxset Launch
Join us for the launch of the Special Edition Boxset of Lam Wong's Pandemic Drawings on August 2nd at 1:00 pm. Created during the stillness of the 2020 lockdown, Pandemic Drawings began as a return to drawing—simple, direct, and deeply personal. Each work was completed in one continuous sitting, without sketches, guided by instinct and first thought. The result is a collection of intimate drawings that reflect quiet time, focused attention, and the natural rhythm of making. Lam Wong will be in conversation with Grant Arnold, former Audain Curator of British Columbia Art. Arnold curated Vancouver Special: Disorientations and Echo, an exhibition organized by Vancouver Art Gallery and presented from 29 May 2021 to 2 January, 2022, where Pandemic Drawings was first exhibited.
(Griffin Art Projects, 1174 Welch St, North Vancouver, BC V7P 1B2, Aug. 2, 1:00 PM)
Finding Home Among the Floral Tuppies Exhibition
Finding Home Among the Floral Tuppies is a relational body of work by 2-spirit Métis artist Carly Nabess, grounded in stitchwork, kinship, and land-based practice. Centring the creation of tuppies (dog blankets), this exhibition explores themes of reclamation, Indigenous joy as resistance, longing, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, love, and healing. Each piece is co-created through relationships with ancestors, mentors, archival materials, and kin, including plant relations and Banjo, her dog. Working across disciplines, Nabess brings together Métis flat-stitch beadwork and tufting, as well as beaded watercolour landscapes. Her practice is guided by visiting, an approach rooted in relational accountability, intuition, and storytelling. This exhibition acts as a love letter to Métis kin and a personal journey of reconnecting with tuppie-making traditions. Through these works, Nabess invites viewers into a space of remembrance, resistance, and belonging shaped by land, memory, and care.
(Craft Council of BC, 1386 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8, Aug. 6, 2026)
WORKSHOPS
Life Drawing Classes - North Van Arts
Practice your drawing skills in a friendly, non-competitive environment. Each session features professional nude models, with a focus on diversity in age, gender, and body shape. This group welcomes both beginner and experienced artists. Cost: $175 (5 weeks). Each 3-hour session includes; Short warm-up poses (1–2 minutes), Longer poses (5–25 minutes), Light background music, This is a facilitated, not instructed class. Skills you’ll develop; Confidence working with a nude model, Gesture and quick-capture drawing, Stamina and form-building, Ability to draw a wide range of body types. Who should attend; Students who can work independently, Artists who enjoy practicing for extended periods, Anyone looking to connect with the local life drawing community
(Maplewood House, 399 Seymour River Pl, North Vancouver BC, Mar. 29-Jun. 7, and Apr. 19-Jun 14)
Summer Craft Saturdays at Mackin House Museum
Beat the heat this season by stopping by Mackin House Museum for Summer Crafts every single week of June! You and your family can make your own pinwheels or pick up a colouring sheet while visiting the Museum. And yes, we’ll have the air conditioning blasting to help keep folks nice and cool. All materials included. Free. RSVP appreciated. All ages.
(Coquitlam Heritage Society, 1116 Brunette Avenue, Coquitlam BC, every Saturday in June from 12 PM - 4 PM)
