Perhaps it's the environment or weather or the diverse and cosmopolitan nature of the city or a combination of all these factors. Whatever the cause, the effect is that Vancouver has a thriving, vibrant art scene with many excellent galleries. And given the current exchange rate, art collectors will find Vancouver a great place to buy art.
Most of the city's best art galleries are listed here. Be sure to see our First Nations Art page as well. They have some of the best, most reasonably priced art you'll find anywhere. And Presentation House Gallery in North Vancouver and Seymour Art Gallery in Deep Cove are perfect excursion centerpieces.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is not a gallery at all but a museum and you can find out more about it on the Vancouver Museums page.
The other, Salade de Fruits Café, a French bistro, is open for lunch every day except Monday and dinner every day except Sunday and Monday. (Closed between 3:00-5:30pm every day) You'll find it at 1551 West 7th Avenue, half a block off Granville, 604-714-5987.
With a few exception, all of these galleries are located on Granville Street, south of the Granville Street Bridge, or on West 6th Avenue, just a half block from Granville. In other words, if you can walk seven blocks comfortably, you can visit most of these galleries on foot.
Art Galleries
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Equinox
2321 Granville Street
604-736-2405
Considered the best gallery in town by those in the know, Equinox is fairly conservative and features established artists. | |
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Bau-Xi (pronounced Bow-She, it means 'great gift.')
3045 Granville Street
(at 14th)
604-733-7011
Bau-Xi, Vancouver's oldest contemporary gallery, represents contemporary Canadian art. | |
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Catriona Jeffries Gallery
3149 Granville Street
604-736-1554
This gallery sells mostly to museums and features the most important Canadian artists.
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Heffel Gallery
2247 Granville Street
604-732-6505
Heffel Gallery is primarily an auction house now. See their website for their next auction. | |
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Ayden Presents
Jennifer Kleinsteuber Gallery
88 West Pender, 2nd floor, Tinseltown
Vancouver BC | |
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Marilyn S. Mylrea Studio Art Gallery
2341 Granville Street
604-736-2450
A Studio Gallery that offers the community an opportunity to interact directly with the artist. The gallery features spiritual and sensual art. | |
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Jennifer Kostuik Gallery
2928 Granville Street
604-737-3969
Focused mostly on contemporary work including painting and photography, Jennifer Kostuik does not tend to feature local artists. | |
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Atelier Gallery
2421 Granville Street
604-732-3021
Atelier features painting and mixed media works that are often experimental. | |
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Douglas Udell Gallery
1558 West 6th Avenue
604-736-8900 | |
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Tracey Lawrence Gallery
1531 West 4th Avenue
604-730-2875
Tracey Lawrence promotes young artists. | |
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Monte Clark Gallery
2339 Granville Street
604-730-5000
Monte Clark specializes in avant-garde photography. | |
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Buschlen Mowatt Gallery
#111-1445 West Georgia Street
604-682-1234
This high end gallery features well-established artists and sculptors. | |
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North Shore Art Galleries
The North Shore has excellent art galleries primarily because a lot of artists live on the North Shore and often show their work in local galleries.
The other reason is the Presentation House Gallery, which specializes in contemporary photography and new media, gets excellent national and international shows.
Presentation House is located in the same building as the wonderful North Vancouver Museum where you can get a real sense of the history of the North Shore, see how much has changed and how much hasn't.
Deep Cove, home to the Seymour Art Gallery, is a wonderful little village at the east end of North Vancouver. It's a hidden treasure.
In Deep Cove you can hike, kayak, eat, browse or buy a high end mountain bikes at The Cove Bike Shop, one of the most famous mountain bike companies in the world.
Seymour Art Gallery often shows excellent local artists. The gallery also has a gift shop where you'll find some of the most beautiful ceramic and mixed media anywhere and some of the best bargains. It's the perfect place to shop for your friends with taste.
In the same building with Seymour Art Gallery is the Deep Cove Playhouse where you can enjoy wonderful local theatre. In short, Deep Cove is a destination not to be missed.
North Vancouver Art Galleries
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Presentation House Gallery
333 Chesterfield Avenue
North Vancouver
604-986-1351
Wed-Sun: 12-5, Thurs: 12-9 | |
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Seymour Art Gallery
4360 Gallant Avenue
North Vancouver
604-924-1378
Tu-Su: 12-4 | |
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CityScape Community Art Space
335 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver
604-988-6844
Wed-Sat: 12-5
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West Vancouver Art Galleries
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Ferry Building Art Gallery
1414 Argyle Avenue
West Vancouver
604-925-7290
Tu-Su: 11-5 | |
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Silk Purse Art Centre
1570 Argyle Avenue
West Vancouver
604-925-7292
Tu-Su: 10-5 | |
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