The Vancouver Visual Art Foundation’s mandate to find new and innovative ways to give artists opportunities is continuing with the opening of a brand new gallery space at the Bentall Centre, right in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
Fresh off the success of Art Downtown, where artists showcased their work outdoors in two downtown plazas, the Bentall Centre provides an indoor gallery space where VVAF can continue exhibiting the works of their many artists.
Lisa Wolfin, director of VVAF, says the opportunity came by surprise, when executives from the Bentall Centre came to experience Art Downtown.
“They saw us downtown and loved our show and said, ‘Hey, come do this here.’” Wolfin says. “So, we made arrangements to do that.”
VVAF’s exhibition at the Bentall Centre begins with a 900 sq. ft. storefront space within their busy mall. Located on Burrard Street in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the complex encompasses four office towers connected by a common market.
And it is these people, everyone that frequents downtown, that VVAF wants to drive into their gallery by offering not only the work of amazing local artists, but also a new creative outlet.
“We’re going to offer lunch-hour workshops, so people can come on their lunch hour and take an art class,” Wolfin says.
She says demonstrations will accompany workshops and be offered to fit in with peoples’ busy lifestyles and schedules.
Exhibitions will also be consistently rotated so that people who have visited before can keep seeing new artists every time they come.
“We’re going to be changing the exhibitions monthly, so it doesn’t get boring and it’s not the same artists all the time,” she says. “We’re going to be giving opportunities to our Art Vancouver artists.”
The exhibition at the Bentall Centre is set to open in October 2020.
By Nathan Durec