Featured Events in Vancouver in June 2025 (April Updated)

Riopelle: Crossroads in Time is a retrospective exhibition that covers 50 years of Jean Paul Riopelle’s creative production. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada to mark the centenary celebration of Riopelle’s birth, the exhibition brings together paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and collages by the artist. The presentation features artworks drawn from 20 private and public collections and includes a number of significant works, as well as works that have not been previously exhibited. Curated by art historian and independent researcher Sylvie Lacerte, the exhibition highlights one of the most significant Canadian artists of the twentieth century.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

Lucy Raven: Murderers Bar is the first major presentation of work by multidisciplinary artist Lucy Raven in Vancouver and the artist’s largest exhibition in Canada to date. Based in New York, Raven (b. 1977) works in installation, photography, video, drawing and sculpture to examine historic and contemporary representations and narratives of the American West. The exhibition takes its name from Raven’s newest work Murderers Bar (2025), the third installment in a series of moving-image installations and related works called The Drumfire. Co-commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation, it features an ensemble of sculptural elements and a video, projected vertically on a tall, free-standing aluminum structure in the gallery space. Created between 2023 and 2025, the video centres around the recent removal of a century-old, concrete gravity dam along the Klamath River in Northern California—the biggest dam removal project in American history. The exhibition also presents previous and related works—including a selection from Raven’s series Depositions (2024) and Casters X-2 + X-3 (2021)—that provide further context to her practice and a broader appreciation of her ongoing investigations and visual language. The arc of these works reveals the intermingling of nature and technology; the frequent interrelation of military and entertainment applications; and the impact of these forces on lived experience. Together, the works in this exhibition provide a timely glimpse into the expanding field of Raven’s vision—the push and pull between human intervention and the more-than-human forces of nature and the physical world. The exhibition explores objectivity, subjectivity and perception, from individual and discrete elements of history, technology and the popular imagination to the broader sweep of geological and physical forces that define experience over millennia. This exhibition is part of the 2025 Capture Photography Festival Featured Exhibitions Program. Murderers Bar is co-commissioned and jointly acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation.

Lucy Raven: Murderers Bar is the first major presentation of work by multidisciplinary artist Lucy Raven in Vancouver and the artist’s largest exhibition in Canada to date. Based in New York, Raven (b. 1977) works in installation, photography, video, drawing and sculpture to examine historic and contemporary representations and narratives of the American West. The exhibition takes its name from Raven’s newest work Murderers Bar (2025), the third installment in a series of moving-image installations and related works called The Drumfire. Co-commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation, it features an ensemble of sculptural elements and a video, projected vertically on a tall, free-standing aluminum structure in the gallery space. Created between 2023 and 2025, the video centres around the recent removal of a century-old, concrete gravity dam along the Klamath River in Northern California—the biggest dam removal project in American history. The exhibition also presents previous and related works—including a selection from Raven’s series Depositions (2024) and Casters X-2 + X-3 (2021)—that provide further context to her practice and a broader appreciation of her ongoing investigations and visual language. The arc of these works reveals the intermingling of nature and technology; the frequent interrelation of military and entertainment applications; and the impact of these forces on lived experience. Together, the works in this exhibition provide a timely glimpse into the expanding field of Raven’s vision—the push and pull between human intervention and the more-than-human forces of nature and the physical world. The exhibition explores objectivity, subjectivity and perception, from individual and discrete elements of history, technology and the popular imagination to the broader sweep of geological and physical forces that define experience over millennia. This exhibition is part of the 2025 Capture Photography Festival Featured Exhibitions Program. Murderers Bar is co-commissioned and jointly acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation.

Lucy Raven: Murderers Bar is the first major presentation of work by multidisciplinary artist Lucy Raven in Vancouver and the artist’s largest exhibition in Canada to date. Based in New York, Raven (b. 1977) works in installation, photography, video, drawing and sculpture to examine historic and contemporary representations and narratives of the American West. The exhibition takes its name from Raven’s newest work Murderers Bar (2025), the third installment in a series of moving-image installations and related works called The Drumfire. Co-commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation, it features an ensemble of sculptural elements and a video, projected vertically on a tall, free-standing aluminum structure in the gallery space. Created between 2023 and 2025, the video centres around the recent removal of a century-old, concrete gravity dam along the Klamath River in Northern California—the biggest dam removal project in American history. The exhibition also presents previous and related works—including a selection from Raven’s series Depositions (2024) and Casters X-2 + X-3 (2021)—that provide further context to her practice and a broader appreciation of her ongoing investigations and visual language. The arc of these works reveals the intermingling of nature and technology; the frequent interrelation of military and entertainment applications; and the impact of these forces on lived experience. Together, the works in this exhibition provide a timely glimpse into the expanding field of Raven’s vision—the push and pull between human intervention and the more-than-human forces of nature and the physical world. The exhibition explores objectivity, subjectivity and perception, from individual and discrete elements of history, technology and the popular imagination to the broader sweep of geological and physical forces that define experience over millennia. This exhibition is part of the 2025 Capture Photography Festival Featured Exhibitions Program. Murderers Bar is co-commissioned and jointly acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation.

Written in Clay presents a history of ceramics made in British Columbia told through the collection of John David Lawrence. Featuring more than 300 objects, it examines the materials and processes artists utilized in relation to the context in which studio ceramics arose and developed in the region. The exhibition features three interconnected sections: influence and inspiration; form and function; and artist spotlights that highlight important figures whose work and legacies altered the direction of ceramic arts in BC. Celebrating 35 artists, Written in Clay establishes the mentors, interlocutors, societies and schools that made up a vast clay community in the region from the 1930s to the early 2000s. This exhibition will be accompanied by a publication.

Join us for an evening of hope with Co-Founders Ian & Janine Maxwell, to celebrate the completion of our Project Canaan Academy Primary School in Eswatini, Africa and to support the upcoming Project Canaan Academy High School building project. Through great conversations and a delicious dinner, we invite you to be a part of our students' journeys. Next year marks the first graduating class from PCA Primary, and therefore, the first cohort of students entering PCA High School. We'd like to celebrate this milestone with you. Visit our website heartforafrica.ca to learn more about our Education initiative at Project Canaan in Eswatini, Africa. Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn ! Information Source: Heart for Africa (Canada) | eventbrite

Riopelle: Crossroads in Time is a retrospective exhibition that covers 50 years of Jean Paul Riopelle’s creative production. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada to mark the centenary celebration of Riopelle’s birth, the exhibition brings together paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and collages by the artist. The presentation features artworks drawn from 20 private and public collections and includes a number of significant works, as well as works that have not been previously exhibited. Curated by art historian and independent researcher Sylvie Lacerte, the exhibition highlights one of the most significant Canadian artists of the twentieth century.

Riopelle: Crossroads in Time is a retrospective exhibition that covers 50 years of Jean Paul Riopelle’s creative production. Organized by the National Gallery of Canada to mark the centenary celebration of Riopelle’s birth, the exhibition brings together paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and collages by the artist. The presentation features artworks drawn from 20 private and public collections and includes a number of significant works, as well as works that have not been previously exhibited. Curated by art historian and independent researcher Sylvie Lacerte, the exhibition highlights one of the most significant Canadian artists of the twentieth century.

Postcards from the Heart: Selections from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe Collectioncelebrates the Freybes’ contributions as patrons of the arts, collectors and longtime supporters of the Vancouver Art Gallery.Comprising a selection ofmore than 30 paintings, sculptures, photographs, films and works on paper,Postcards from the Heartis a tribute to the couple’s deep engagement with modern and contemporary art andreflects the depth of the Freybes’ collecting with works from the 1960s to today. Over the last four decades, the Freybes’ collection has grown to include some of the most important artists working in the last fifty years, including post-war American artists Robert Rauschenberg and Frank Stella; leading contemporary artists Julie Mehretu and William Kentridge; and work by major Canadian artists Rodney Graham and Jeff Wall. While the Freybe collection is diverse and wide-ranging, at its core, it honours the creativity and knowledge that artists produce.

Lucy Raven: Murderers Bar is the first major presentation of work by multidisciplinary artist Lucy Raven in Vancouver and the artist’s largest exhibition in Canada to date. Based in New York, Raven (b. 1977) works in installation, photography, video, drawing and sculpture to examine historic and contemporary representations and narratives of the American West. The exhibition takes its name from Raven’s newest work Murderers Bar (2025), the third installment in a series of moving-image installations and related works called The Drumfire. Co-commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation, it features an ensemble of sculptural elements and a video, projected vertically on a tall, free-standing aluminum structure in the gallery space. Created between 2023 and 2025, the video centres around the recent removal of a century-old, concrete gravity dam along the Klamath River in Northern California—the biggest dam removal project in American history. The exhibition also presents previous and related works—including a selection from Raven’s series Depositions (2024) and Casters X-2 + X-3 (2021)—that provide further context to her practice and a broader appreciation of her ongoing investigations and visual language. The arc of these works reveals the intermingling of nature and technology; the frequent interrelation of military and entertainment applications; and the impact of these forces on lived experience. Together, the works in this exhibition provide a timely glimpse into the expanding field of Raven’s vision—the push and pull between human intervention and the more-than-human forces of nature and the physical world. The exhibition explores objectivity, subjectivity and perception, from individual and discrete elements of history, technology and the popular imagination to the broader sweep of geological and physical forces that define experience over millennia. This exhibition is part of the 2025 Capture Photography Festival Featured Exhibitions Program. Murderers Bar is co-commissioned and jointly acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery and The Vega Foundation.

Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head is Otani’s first solo presentation in North America. Featuring new paintings inspired by his personal memories, alongside hand-built figurative and abstract ceramic sculptures in varying scales, the exhibition will be a compelling introduction to the artist’s practice. The immersive exhibition design will situate ceramic works produced during Otani’s stay at the Deer Lake Artist Residency within a labyrinth-like installation fabricated from natural materials foraged from local public parks and forested areas.

Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head is Otani’s first solo presentation in North America. Featuring new paintings inspired by his personal memories, alongside hand-built figurative and abstract ceramic sculptures in varying scales, the exhibition will be a compelling introduction to the artist’s practice. The immersive exhibition design will situate ceramic works produced during Otani’s stay at the Deer Lake Artist Residency within a labyrinth-like installation fabricated from natural materials foraged from local public parks and forested areas.

Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head is Otani’s first solo presentation in North America. Featuring new paintings inspired by his personal memories, alongside hand-built figurative and abstract ceramic sculptures in varying scales, the exhibition will be a compelling introduction to the artist’s practice. The immersive exhibition design will situate ceramic works produced during Otani’s stay at the Deer Lake Artist Residency within a labyrinth-like installation fabricated from natural materials foraged from local public parks and forested areas.

Written in Clay presents a history of ceramics made in British Columbia told through the collection of John David Lawrence. Featuring more than 300 objects, it examines the materials and processes artists utilized in relation to the context in which studio ceramics arose and developed in the region. The exhibition features three interconnected sections: influence and inspiration; form and function; and artist spotlights that highlight important figures whose work and legacies altered the direction of ceramic arts in BC. Celebrating 35 artists, Written in Clay establishes the mentors, interlocutors, societies and schools that made up a vast clay community in the region from the 1930s to the early 2000s. This exhibition will be accompanied by a publication.

Written in Clay presents a history of ceramics made in British Columbia told through the collection of John David Lawrence. Featuring more than 300 objects, it examines the materials and processes artists utilized in relation to the context in which studio ceramics arose and developed in the region. The exhibition features three interconnected sections: influence and inspiration; form and function; and artist spotlights that highlight important figures whose work and legacies altered the direction of ceramic arts in BC. Celebrating 35 artists, Written in Clay establishes the mentors, interlocutors, societies and schools that made up a vast clay community in the region from the 1930s to the early 2000s. This exhibition will be accompanied by a publication.

Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head is Otani’s first solo presentation in North America. Featuring new paintings inspired by his personal memories, alongside hand-built figurative and abstract ceramic sculptures in varying scales, the exhibition will be a compelling introduction to the artist’s practice. The immersive exhibition design will situate ceramic works produced during Otani’s stay at the Deer Lake Artist Residency within a labyrinth-like installation fabricated from natural materials foraged from local public parks and forested areas.

SUMMER BOAT PARTY by BOOTLEGGERS - M.V.ABITIBI BOAT & HECC AFTERPARTY Come join us for the ultimate summer bash at the, followed by the M.V.ABITIBI BOAT leaving from Plaza of Nations! Get ready to dance the night away at the SUMMER PARTY by BOOTLEGGERS, followed by the HECC AFTERPARTY. It's going to be a night to remember filled with great music, delicious drinks, and amazing vibes. Don't miss out on this epic event! Dress Code: ALL WHITE Information Source: Bootleggers Cocktail | eventbrite

Internationally recognized artist Hank Willis Thomas works across several disciplines and mediums and has recently created large-scale sculptures and monuments for the public realm. This installation at Offsite will be the first time three of Thomas’ polished stainless-steel sculptures will be exhibited together. In his wide-ranging conceptual art practice, Thomas explores how contemporary society commodifies race and gender. His works—which span photography, sculpture, installation and more—often reflect on mass media representations and social justice. Originally trained as a photographer, he is interested in how popular imagery from advertisements, mass media and visual media inform cultural attitudes. In using images featuring Black men that circulate widely in popular culture (from Nike ads to political campaign images), the artist encourages the viewer to question commercial representations and cultural stereotypes. Thomas has increasingly made work for the public realm, creating large-scale outdoor sculptures and monuments. His public sculptures often feature an isolated gesture from a photograph or circulated image, bringing a sense of intimacy to the public sphere. Thomas’ sculptures feature disembodied hand gestures that evoke gestures of protest, care and exaltation. These works will take on particular resonance at Offsite, where they will be installed adjacent to the public route of protests and political marches in the city. At a time when the roles and relevance of public monuments are being debated, Thomas is creating new monuments for our era.

Internationally recognized artist Hank Willis Thomas works across several disciplines and mediums and has recently created large-scale sculptures and monuments for the public realm. This installation at Offsite will be the first time three of Thomas’ polished stainless-steel sculptures will be exhibited together. In his wide-ranging conceptual art practice, Thomas explores how contemporary society commodifies race and gender. His works—which span photography, sculpture, installation and more—often reflect on mass media representations and social justice. Originally trained as a photographer, he is interested in how popular imagery from advertisements, mass media and visual media inform cultural attitudes. In using images featuring Black men that circulate widely in popular culture (from Nike ads to political campaign images), the artist encourages the viewer to question commercial representations and cultural stereotypes. Thomas has increasingly made work for the public realm, creating large-scale outdoor sculptures and monuments. His public sculptures often feature an isolated gesture from a photograph or circulated image, bringing a sense of intimacy to the public sphere. Thomas’ sculptures feature disembodied hand gestures that evoke gestures of protest, care and exaltation. These works will take on particular resonance at Offsite, where they will be installed adjacent to the public route of protests and political marches in the city. At a time when the roles and relevance of public monuments are being debated, Thomas is creating new monuments for our era.

Internationally recognized artist Hank Willis Thomas works across several disciplines and mediums and has recently created large-scale sculptures and monuments for the public realm. This installation at Offsite will be the first time three of Thomas’ polished stainless-steel sculptures will be exhibited together. In his wide-ranging conceptual art practice, Thomas explores how contemporary society commodifies race and gender. His works—which span photography, sculpture, installation and more—often reflect on mass media representations and social justice. Originally trained as a photographer, he is interested in how popular imagery from advertisements, mass media and visual media inform cultural attitudes. In using images featuring Black men that circulate widely in popular culture (from Nike ads to political campaign images), the artist encourages the viewer to question commercial representations and cultural stereotypes. Thomas has increasingly made work for the public realm, creating large-scale outdoor sculptures and monuments. His public sculptures often feature an isolated gesture from a photograph or circulated image, bringing a sense of intimacy to the public sphere. Thomas’ sculptures feature disembodied hand gestures that evoke gestures of protest, care and exaltation. These works will take on particular resonance at Offsite, where they will be installed adjacent to the public route of protests and political marches in the city. At a time when the roles and relevance of public monuments are being debated, Thomas is creating new monuments for our era.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.

In its exhibition design, Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape draws out the question of the opening and closing-off of space in Carr’s landscapes by contrasting a densely hung group of paintings with sparsely hung later works that depict an open horizon. Ironically, many of the spatially open works are open precisely because they depict landscapes that had been recently subject to clear-cut logging. This exhibition uses the spatial metaphor of closeness to and distance from nature to probe Carr’s thinking about the forests she painted. It will also examine how Carr’s representation of some Indigenous subjects—particularly villages and totem poles set within landscapes—sit in relation to the dense forest and what this might suggest, given the late 19th- and early 20th-century tendency to conflate Indigenous cultures with nature.