Not Your Average Art Exhibits in Vancouver
Calling all art lovers! Whether it’s major gallery spaces or funky underground exhibits that strike your fancy, we’re sure that Vancouver’s art scene has something for you. These exhibits are the perfect way to spend a few hours dodging that oh-so-famous Vancouver rain, or finding relief from the heat during our sunny summer months. From highly acclaimed international artists to talented local artists, don’t be surprised if these art exhibits blow your expectations out of the water.
Vancouver Art Gallery, Downtown Vancouver
May 25, 2025 – November 9, 2025
If you’re looking for artwork that speaks to Vancouver’s natural landscape from a fresh perspective, look no further. Otani Workshop’s Monsters in My Head is the first solo presentation in North America of work by this Japanese artist. Made with materials foraged from local parks and forests, this ceramics and paintings exhibit features works inspired by the Pacific Northwest Coast made during Otani Workshop’s Deer Lake Artist Residency at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in the summer of 2024. Fantastical, monstrous, sometimes cute, and always insightful, you won’t want to leave the wonderful world created by this talented artist. And while you’re at the VAG, be sure to check out their permanent collection of over 13,000 works. Book your tickets here.
Contemporary Art Gallery, Downtown Vancouver
April 4, 2025 – September 7, 2025
If your vibe is all about experimentation and challenging established norms, you’ll want to head just a few blocks down from the Vancouver Art Gallery to the Contemporary Art Gallery. From now until early September 2025, you’ll find a unique porcelain sculpture exhibit from the New York-based artist collective CFGNY that explores the politics and aesthetics of imported Chinese goods. This group grounds its work in the term “vaguely Asian”— we’ll let you dive in and discover the different dimensions of this phrase for yourself. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00–6:00PM, admission is always free at the Contemporary Art Gallery.
Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Downtown Vancouver
February 1, 2025 – February 1, 2026
More than just beautiful to look at, these pieces by Haida artist Kihl ‘Yahda Christian White are deeply intertwined with Haida culture, tradition, and knowledge. Haida Gwaii (X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / X̱aayda gwaay) is an archipelago off the Northwest Coast, home to the Haida People since time immemorial. While it can be tricky to travel there from Vancouver (we’re talking a twenty-six-hour drive that includes an eight-hour ferry ride, here), we’re so fortunate to get a taste of Haida Gwaii right here at the Bill Reid Gallery through this exhibit featuring works from Christian White’s 50-year career, as well as collaborative works from several of his apprentices. Book your tickets here, and be sure to check out the Gallery Shop for locally crafted gifts from Indigenous artists and independent makers.
Slice Gallery at Slice Vancouver, Commercial Drive
Year round
Okay, so you’ve done the stuffy gallery thing. You’re looking for something a little more interactive. What if we told you there’s a gallery space that also has pinball, two retro analog photobooths, a gift store featuring local independent makers AND it’s located in Vancouver’s funkiest neighbourhood—Commercial Drive? A staple of Vancouver’s vibrant community of creatives, Slice Gallery features a new solo art exhibit almost every week. With exhibit durations from as short as six days to as long as one month, there’s always something new to feast your eyes upon. Check out their upcoming gallery openings here, and while you’re at it be sure to peruse the many workshops on offer. Why not pick up a new skill like screen-printing or life drawing?
Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver
June 27 – September 28, 2025
Do you ever feel like an insignificant speck of stardust in the vastness that is our universe? Existentialism is encouraged as you peruse Star Witnesses, an exhibit that brings together artists who use cosmic imagery and photography—think planets, stars, and galaxies—to explore stories of migration, survival, and perspective here on Planet Earth. While you’re flexing your astronomy skills, check out Alejandro A. Barbosa’s I Got Us the Moon, a piece that tiles together 280 individual prints to form an alternate atlas of the moon: one that prioritizes queer and feminist histories. After visiting these two exhibits, you won’t see the night sky the same way again. Admission to the Polygon Gallery is by donation.
Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, North Vancouver
Year Round
This one’s for the kids AND for Canadian art history buffs. After a visit to Stanley Park or the Capilano Suspension Bridge, be sure to stop by the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art while you’re in North Van. This gallery features a large permanent teaching collections that was curated with young learners in mind, including works by legendary Canadian and Indigenous artists like Gordon Smith, Jack Shadbolt, Robert Davidson, Angela Grossman, and Bill Reid. We’re particularly drawn to the way that this gallery makes art approachable for visitors of all ages, from one to 100 years old. Admission and parking are free.
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