Arts and culture are integral to a city’s distinct personality and flair, which is why we're committed to connecting locals with their civic spaces through programming, events and partnerships.
Vancouver Civic Theatres looks to use its venues as gallery space to provide an opportunity for local visual artists and arts organizations to exhibit their work. These artists are selected through a call and jury process which occurs annually. The artists range from emerging and mid-career to more established artists. Our intention is for both artists and visitors to experience and share in the work, using art as a catalyst for individual and community engagement.
Exhibitions will be available for viewing during show times for ticket holders. There will also be opportunities to view the exhibitions without a ticket through our seasonal Visual Arts Open House.
2026 Call for Artists open now. Click here for more info.
See the Spring exhibit during the open house on April 30 at 5:00pm to 8:00pm at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Spring Exhibition in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Lobbies
April 2025 to June 2025
Marisa Mary Myrah - On the Edge of Where I Live
marisamarymyrah.com | @marisamarymyrah
These recent artworks by Marisa Mary Myrah describe a section of land adjacent to where she lives in Lynn Valley, North Vancouver, that is slated for development. It is a pristine area of old growth forest within a residential area, so unique that the artist wanted to document and describe this landscape through her art before it is gone.
This area of land will be forever changed, and the ground will become a distant memory. By painting this landscape Myrah is offering the viewer an experience of this space; compressed or distilled versions of her time spent there.
Yasmeen Strang - Winters Hotel: A Sense of Place
yasmeenstrangphoto.com | @yasmeenstrangphoto
This exhibit began as a documentary exploration chronicling the early footsteps of a friend’s family who immigrated to Canada in the 1960s and settled at the Winters Hotel. The project quickly evolved into a deeper and larger conversation when I gained entry into the building and access to its intimate and personal spaces –– an empty room, an old telephone, reds and greens, chipped paint and exposed wires.
The Winters Hotel was built in 1907 and was representative of Vancouver’s growing population and emerging identity. In many ways, over its lifetime, the hotel came to reflect the neighbourhood’s shifting demographics, ultimately developing into a Single Room Occupancy building.
The building was ravaged by fire in 2022, two residents tragically lost their lives, businesses were devastated. The city was unable to preserve the facade of the building. And now, I find myself with these photographs of a place that once represented so many things: a city’s growth, a neighbourhood’s decline, journeys taken, stories told, and lives once lived. It is my hope that these images are a testimony to it all.
Winter Exhibition in the ANNEX
January 2025 to May 2025
Kasumi Ramirez - Me in You, You in Me
Kasumi loves the process of creating and the surprise of something beautiful (or beautifully ugly) arising unexpectedly. She enjoys starting with a blank canvas, without drafts or plans. She revels in the amazement of colors, lines, textures, and all the elements coming together. When the harmony resonates with her, it gives her chills, and she deeply enjoys being in that state of mind. She invites whatever intuitively comes to her mind and body to take shape, trusting each action. If she is unsatisfied with the result, she views it as a gift that deepens her understanding of herself. Every moment is intimate and unrepeatable—and she loves that about creating, about life. Her creative process is a silent conversation with her inner being (though she sometimes sings a little loudly while painting). And now, with you, she hopes it becomes a vibrational dialogue between us.
Vancouver Community College - Jewellery Art and Design Graduates exhibit
Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Balcony Lobby
VCT’s creative spaces showcase and empower local artists and artist collectives by providing accessible and high impact gallery spaces. VCT’s partnership with the Vancouver Community College allows graduates of the Jewellery Art and Design program to display their award-winning work on the balcony level of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre lobby.
The current exhibition features work from Rhyleah Hylands, Daisy Lee, Meygol Rashidi, and Max Thompson.
Arts Umbrella - Gallery for Young Artists
Vancouver Playhouse Lobby
VCT’s partnership with Arts Umbrella brings local young artists to the forefront of the artistic community by displaying the students’ pieces in the lively lobbies of the Vancouver Playhouse.
The artworks on display have been selected from Arts Umbrella’s General Program classes at the Audain School of Art & Design.
Arts Umbrella is a non-profit arts education center for young artists ages 2 to 22. With locations in Vancouver and Surrey, as well as programs within schools, community centers, neighbourhood houses, and healthcare facilities across Metro Vancouver, Arts Umbrella reaches approximately 20,000 students each year, with nearly 75% participating at little to no cost.
Platforms
Over the course of two years, Platforms: Nine Places for Seeing will be showcased on multiple public platforms throughout the city and will present new works regularly.
It will feature newly commissioned works by 21 local xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and urban Indigenous artists.
We are proud to host three of the artists, Olivia George on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre windows, Atheana Picha on the Vancouver Playhouse windows and Aaron Nelson-Moody on the šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn lightbox.
For more info go to: Nine Places for Seeing