This gallery, which is also the home of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council, features…read moreever-changing exhibitions of local and national artists, including photographers, painters, sculptors, potters, and metalsmiths. It's free to visit, but the art is for sale if you really like something. About twice annually, they hold an art rental exhibit where you can give some deserving art a temporary good home. The current exhibit features mannequins wearing elaborate dresses made out of newspapers. It's always something different down there. Check it out if you're in the neighbourhood (just three fitness-inducing blocks from Lonsdale Quay).

As a service to the community, this gallery does it with class. The exhibitions are perfectly on…read morethe edge of being challenging and accessible. They pay attention to the local issues and introduce new ways for the community to view itself; always with an eye for quality of work. Well worth a visit if you are on the 'shore. And they support local artists, so yes, big time kudos.

* Small but some nice and reasonably price selection *…read more On the lower level of Artisan Square this little gallery shop could be easy to miss. But it has a nice selection of pottery created by local artists on Bowen Island. The variety (and quality) is diverse. But there were some very nice little plates that would be perfect for presenting small items like a piece or two of sushi. There were also some nice cups and mugs. And everything was very reasonably priced to boot!

Filmed a movie here called "Send The Rain". Mike and staff took great care of us. Very impressive…read morefacilities. Would come back here because there's so much it offers. Cool historical building!

We live close by to this Cultural Center. They are connected to a senior home. Parking is available…read moreon the street and underground. In the summer time they have the local Japanese Farmer Market happening. They offer Japanese classes along with other classes for kids. They sometimes offer workshops or classes for adults here as well. There is a little grocery store connected beside it. Inside the Cultural Center there are lot of art works and sometimes, they offer performance (inside near the back where they have a little stage).

On the Georgia Street side of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in the public square now named šxnq…read moreXwtl'e7énk Square, there's an amazing annual event held every early- to mid-September entitled "Façade Fest". In the two years I've lived here, I've been to this event twice. Last year I went 3 or 4 times, and this year, twice. It's free to go and, wow, I can't recommend it enough. Encompassing 7-8 nights, this event showcases two artists a night, and the last night or two of the festival, they show ALL the featured artists' works, one after the other. What type of art are we talking about here? It's known as 'projection mapping' whereby artists' visions are projected onto the museum's façade. It's a colorful, animated, large-scale work of art - often with accompanying music, - and depending on the featured artist, it might be contemporary, abstract, literal or realistic, paintings come to life, photographs, video clips, prismatic color works, cartoons or mixed media digital images - the possibilities of art forms are truly endless. Last year (my first year here in Van), there was a featured artist whose light display works featured video clips of the Stanley Cup riots, and I learned so much from that installation (I had not known about that history before), along with some stunning, colorful light works by other artists. Last night there was a featured work by an artist about the Birtle Indian Residential School and the forced assimilation of Aboriginal children in this country - another subject I'm not that familiar about, but after seeing the feature, I came home to research this topic. I guess what I'm saying here is, for me personally, this type of immersive, public art installation is not only aesthetically enjoyable and beautiful in parts, but also educational, inspiring, at times disturbing and unpleasant, and often thought-provoking. In short, for me, it's everything a successful art installation SHOULD be. I strongly encourage you to click on the link to the festival's webpage to see photos of some of the artwork projected on the museum building. You can get an idea how stunning it is. But to truly appreciate its impact, one really must see it in person, with the images morphing and moving, and the music and sounds accompanying the images. This downtown square has chairs and seating features, but most people sit on the ground. There are also some vendors present, if you want to purchase a soda or snack.

Last month I went to New Media Gallery to see their newest exhibit, "Master", which was scheduled…read moreto run from September 14 to December 1, 2024. The exhibit consisted of eight works by six artists, all of which paid tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. The works on display were: -Sliced Classics by J Tobias Anderson (2003 - 2024, Sweden) -De Mortuis by Lee Henderson (2011, Canada) -Übermensch by Scott Billings (2018, Canada) -Psychedelic Lock by Daniele Puppi (2016, Italy) -4 Vertigo by Les LeVeque (2000, USA) -Prediction by Gregory Chatonsky (2015, Canada/France) -Vertigo@home by Gregory Chatonsky (2015, Canada/France) -The Kiss 3: The Recursive Cinema by Gregory Chatonsky (2022, Canada/France) "Sliced Classics" consisted of eight screens, each screen displaying the sliced edges from various scenes of a Hitchcock movie. "De Mortuis" were clips from the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" edited so that it appeared as if Alfred Hitchcock were delivering a speech about TV and human mortality. It was shown on an old-fashioned television, but unfortunately I couldn't make out what was being said due to all the sound from the other exhibits. "Übermensch" was about Hitchcock's movie "Rope" (which I hadn't heard of). The movie takes places in one room, and the room depicted in the movie was made into a mini 3D model which is rotated on a robotic arm and projected onto a screen. The meaning behind this piece was beyond my intellect. "Psychedelic Lock" consisted of two screens, side by side, showing the movie "Psycho". One screen played the original 1960 version and the other played the 1998 remake. Both films were playing simultaneously and the screens bounced back and forth between each one. The exhibit was near the gallery's emergency exit, and the curator explained that the artist intended it to be near an exit for some reason -- the exit sign and door was part of the art. "4 Vertigo" were clips from the movie "Vertigo" sped up, flipped around, and superimposed on each other, giving the sense of.... you guessed it, vertigo. "Prediction" showed scenes from the movie Vertigo, and as the movie played, a computer tried to predict the emotions of the actors on the screen. On the screen were a list of emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happy, sad, surprise, neutral) and in real time a number, indicating the likeliness of that emotion, changed, depending on the actors' expressions. "Vertigo@home" shows a 2015 Google street view of the route taken in Vertigo. (I haven't seen the film but there is a scene where a man in a car is following a woman.) "The Kiss 3: The Recursive Cinema" is the film Vertigo being run through AI, with the famous kissing scene being featured. Unfortunately, on Monday December 2, I received an email from New Media Gallery saying that after ten years, the curators are moving on and the gallery is closing for good. They extended the exhibit until today, Saturday December 7, and from 3 to 6pm they are having a farewell event. I will be sad to see New Media Gallery close, and I wish Sarah and Gordon, the curators, all the best. [Yelp collections: Museums and Art Galleries; Cheap Thrills; Being a tourist in my own city]

Thank you to the lovely Jasmine A. who has been talking up New Media Gallery for weeks and then…read morebringing me here to see the exhibit. New Media features contemporary art and the exhibits rotate (sometimes quite literally!) and are here for a short time and then onwards. We were here in October and got to see "Measure" which is all about the movement of day into night, the cycles of the Sun and moon, the rotation of the Earth and the tools we use to measure time. Sadly, this exhibit ends on December 10 2023. Something new and exciting will follow. The Earth Spin Orbit piece was pretty clever as the laser follows the Moon around the Earth. The Time Dilation artwork was hypnotizing to watch the rotation. And I watched more than one cycle of Semiconductor as it followed the Sun rising and setting. Don't miss New Media Gallery. This is a great art and culture. [Review 20888 overall - 64 in British Columbia - 1872 of 2023.]

I walked past this place nearly everyday for a year not realizing it was an art gallery. Tucked…read moreaway behind an auto showroom is a gallery that showcases two-dimensional artworks. Done in a range of media, the aesthetic is a bit more conservative than some of the new progressive galleries that have propped up as of late. The style is very much geared towards a more corporate environment and aesthetic: accessible colours, unobtrusive patterns, pleasing forms. Disconnecting it from other traditional exhibition spaces is that Trunk Gallery makes no secret of the fact that it is a retail space. Spaces generally try and alter the way your mind works, the way things are viewed. Here, though, artwork is pitted alongside cars, putting them on equal retail playing ground.

If you're interested in contemporary China or protest art, you may be interested in the show.at…read morethis gallery: Mao; Contemporary Works on the Cultural Revolution (Aug 17-Dec 8). Go to fostereastman.com and click on Gallery. When I arrived at the gallery, a small white bull dog greeted me carrying a toy wanting me to play. Otherwise the gallery was deserted. There was a work in progress on the desk: a painting of Mao's face on a background of pages torn from Mao's Red Books and glued to the canvas. The artist was evidently in the process of rubbing off some of the print and paint so that the portrait seemed to be decaying. Mr. Eastman soon arrived, a friendly, fit and energetic man; tall dark and handsome, with a message to convey and knowledgeable about his subject---the first several decades of Mao's Chinese Communist Party's control over mainland China. He took time to give me the gallery tour, explaining nearly every work along with his opinions about the CCP regime. It was refreshing to meet a gallery owner so interested in educating visitors in his point of view and willing to take the time to do it. In homage to Ai Wei-wei, the Chinese dissident artist, Mr. Eastman has photographs from the video on his website showing him in a gas mask (a reference to China's high rate of industrial pollution) dropping a ceramic bust of Mao so that it breaks into pieces. Ai Wei-wei broke what he called, I believe, a Ming vase in the same way protesting the destruction of China's cultural heritage by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Mr. Eastman then used the shards to make a collage with the Canadian PM's face looking out through the debris. That reference escaped me. Some works, like Chocolate Mao and Jiang Qing (Mao's wife) could be viewed as monuments designed, as they are, with silk-screen style faces painted over cut out pages of their writings. But others, like Land Reform and Death by 1000 Cuts attempt to convey the ruthlessness of Mao's Stalinist policies and his treatment of enemies. The artist is also protesting the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with constructions like Red Maple Leaf IED and Lest We Forget, some of which have actual explosive devices in the back of the works. Mr. Eastman made several works by using controlled explosions, with the help of a explosive expert, to splatter and tear or imbed nails in the canvases. The works are very well made, the acrylic finishes high quality, but none are for sale although a few will be traveling to other galleries in the near future. Mr. Eastman bemoans the fact that there are few if any art critics in Vancouver and, except for the Huffington interview (see below) his show had not been reviewed locally by the time I saw it (Sept 2013). There is an extended interview with Mr. Eastman by Hadani Ditmars at the Huffington Post website. The interview is also posted on the gallery's website.

If you like getting creative, learning new skills and connecting to creative community Enabling…read moreArts is a lovely find, on a nice street with other trendy venues and shops to check out and bookmark for fun upcoming events. They also have unique journals, zines, and gifts to peruse.

This place is a hidden gem and a bright spot in the DTES. Helping local artisans sell their wares…read moreand make a living. They have various books, crafts and even artisanal ghee! It is worth the trek into this part of town to see this unique store.