Confronting Climate Awareness—Inside & Outside the Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery Connects Art with Climate Awareness
Both Inside and Beyond the Gallery Walls

Summer exhibitions inspire new sustainability initiatives,
public programs and partnerships with UBC Climate Action Lab, 
Samsara Cycle and The Bike Valet

The Vancouver Art Gallery extends the climate and nature-focused conversations at the heart of its exhibitions into a broader suite of sustainability initiatives, creative collaborations and public programs. Anchored by two major exhibitions—That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature and Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change—the season invites audiences to consider changing relationships between art, land and ecology.

“Art has a unique ability to help us understand our relationship with the natural world in new ways. At a time when the climate emergency calls for collective action, cultural institutions have an important role to play—not only by reducing their own environmental impact, but by creating spaces where people can gather, learn from one another and imagine new possibilities together,” says Eva Respini, Co-CEO and Curator at Large at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “As we continue to advance our sustainability commitments, collaboration and discussion will remain essential tools for shaping a greener future.” 

Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change brings sustainability into focus. In addition to addressing the urgency of the climate crisis through contemporary art, the exhibition has served as a platform for scientific exchange and a testing ground for more environmentally friendly exhibition-making practices.

In partnership with the University of British Columbia Climate Action Lab, the Gallery brought together more than 40 students from across disciplines—led by Eva Respini and Dr. Sara Harris of UBC’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences—to provide scientific context for the exhibition’s themes. Through the collaboration, students produced a series of educational videos, presented throughout the exhibition, that invite visitors to engage more deeply with the climate crisis while creating opportunities for shared learning.

The Gallery is also advancing more circular exhibition practices through its participation in Sustainable Arts and Green Ecosystems (SAGE) and partnerships with Great Northern Way Scene Shop and Urbanjacks. Together, these collaborations help reduce waste, support material reuse, and ensure exhibition materials are responsibly repurposed. Sustainability considerations are embedded throughout exhibition development, from the earliest planning stages to installation and deinstallation, with a focus on reusing existing walls, plinths and exhibition furniture, prioritizing recycled materials, and shipping artworks by ground wherever possible.

As part of the exhibition the Vancouver Art Gallery presents SANCTUARY: The Ancient Forest Experience, an immersive installation by Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, Damien Gillis and Olivier Leroux. Housed within a dome inspired by an 1,800-year-old red cedar, the 360° experience transports visitors into some of British Columbia’s last remaining ancient forests while highlighting the ecological and cultural importance of these threatened landscapes. Central to the project is cedar, which Dr. Cease Wyss describes as sacred to Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast—an enduring source of shelter, sustenance and knowledge.

Public programs throughout summer and fall further expand climate conversations. Visitors can take part in artist and curator talks with Eva Respini and Jean Shin, as well as a walkthrough of Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change led by artist and researcher Amanda White.

Community facing partnerships take environmental initiatives beyond the Gallery walls. Visitors are encouraged to travel to the Gallery by bike through a new partnership with The Bike Valet, operated by BEST Mobility and supported by the BC Cycling Coalition Bike Valet Grant program. From July 25 to September 25, free, secure bike parking will be available during Gallery opening hours, making low-emission travel to the Gallery easier and more accessible.

In collaboration with Vancouver–based women’s cycling brand Samsara Cycle, the Gallery has also launched a low-impact, limited-edition apparel collection inspired by Emily Carr’s iconic British Columbia landscapes. Drawing on the artist’s expressive brushwork and deep connection to the natural environment, the collection translates Carr’s artistic legacy into contemporary cycling and outdoor apparel—taking her work back into the landscapes that inspired it.

To celebrate these collaborations and the launch of The Bike Valet, the Gallery and Samsara will host a community group ride from Stanley Park to the Vancouver Art Gallery on July 25. Participants will enjoy a guided, no-drop ride through the city, secure bike parking upon arrival at the Gallery and a tour of That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature, linking the landscapes that surround us with those on display inside the Gallery.

Families are also invited to explore nature and sustainability through The Making Place, the Gallery’s drop-in, hands-on creative program hosted every Sunday. Upcoming activities include eco-posters, Canadian landscape pastels and sound sculptures. The Making Place is free with Gallery admission, and admission is always free for visitors 18 and under.

The Gallery’s internal practices, partnerships and public programs reflect a belief that climate action requires collaboration across disciplines, sectors and communities. By connecting art with sustainability practices, diverse expertise and scientific research, the Gallery is creating new opportunities for audiences to consider the relationship between art, nature and the planet.

Read more about the Gallery’s environmental efforts: www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/sustainability

Generously Supported by:

The Jane Irwin and Ross Hill
Contemporary Arts Fund

Exhibition Design Support Provided by:

Community Partners: