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.
The 2026 artist call is now closed. Please check back in Spring 2026 for opportunities to apply for the 2027 artist call.
Winter Exhibition in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Lobbies
January 2026 to March 2026
Alissa Kim - Resonance Unfolds
alissakimtjen.com | @alissakimtjen_art
In this series, I explore the shifting boundaries between water, land, and air – where reflections blur what is above and what lies beneath. What began as a study of a pond’s surface has become a meditation on perception and the fluid nature of reality. As the elements merge, distinctions dissolve, revealing a quiet space between the seen and unseen. The surface of water becomes both mirror and threshold – a place where stillness and movement, substance and reflection coexist. Through layered colours and textures, I invite viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of all things and to experience the sense of wonder that arises when boundaries fade and the ordinary world becomes luminous and infinite.
Alissa is a contemporary landscape artist from North Vancouver, working primarily in acrylics with abstract and impressionistic influences. Educated at OCAD University in Toronto and Emily Carr University in Vancouver, she captures the essence of nature through semi-abstract expressions. Rather than depicting landscapes literally, she translates her impressions using colour, shape, and texture, creating a mosaic of meditative moments inspired by the tranquil spirit of the West Coast.
Ideet Sharon - Re-Entry Requires Disassembly
ideetsharon.com | @ideet.sharon
In this exhibit, I explore abstraction, connection, and geometric entanglement, viewing the world as fragments which collaborate, balance, and integrate into a greater whole. My practice reflects on our individual and collective journeys, exploring how we interact with space, both external, and within. Having been inspired by mid-century modern design, it has become a vocabulary I draw on for balancing spatial forms and opening discussion around the complexity of perception. Inside my work, you’ll see repeating motifs: corners, openings, stairs, layers, even doorways. Individual components are both architecture and language, together telling a story within a unifying space. Composition crosses over into emotional expression, discovering relationships between both physical form and fragments of self.
Ideet Sharon is a Vancouver based artist, exploring themes of connection, abstraction, and geometric entanglement. She studied at an arts high school, attended the Vancouver Film School in the late 1990’s, followed by a career as a computer graphics artist and animator to this day. From her studio in East Van, Ideet combines diverse mediums on canvas and panel, examining organic and geometric forms and the spaces they inhabit.
Winter Exhibition in the ANNEX
January 2026 to April 2026
Lucia Tam - A story within stories...
luciacreates.wixsite.com | @luchtam
Through years of traveling to Japan, I grew attached to its humble storefronts – some tucked away on quiet streets, others alive with the bustle of daily life. Encouraged by a few locals I met, I began painting these scenes in 2021 as an act of remembrance and longing. Each storefront carries its own quiet narrative, and painting them helped me stay connected to a place during a period when I could not return. And my character, Annie the Canadian fox, emerged – a gentle observer and wanderer, reflecting my own way of moving through these spaces. Through her and other characters, the streets begin to breathe, and the scenes whisper stories of memory, presence, distance, and belonging. Through colour and quiet detail, these paintings keep my world near, even when it feels far away.
Lucia Tam is a Vancouver-based artist and illustrator. After six years working as a designer, she returned to the Alberta College (University) of Arts in 2001 to deepen her exploration of fine arts. Her creative journey has since spanned painting, photography, and glass, all shaped by her long-standing interest in the quiet rhythms of daily life and the shifting space between nature and urban settings.
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 Justina Alves, Taylor Dougall, Michaela Schaly, and Andrew Wade.
Arts Umbrella - Gallery for Young Artists
Vancouver Playhouse Lobby
VCT’s near decade-long 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.
Current Exhibition
November 2025 to May 2026
5-6 Years – Explorers (Drawing & Painting)
Instructor: Oksana Slonevskaya
Assistant: Leea Contractor
Inspired by the 5000–4000 BC Sefar mural “The Small Mufflons,” students explored sketching techniques, composition, and texture to create animal forms on a stone-wall background. The project uses mixed media, collage, chalk pastels, and brush washes to explore a monochromatic aesthetic that echoes ancient imagery while emphasizing texture and form.
6-8 Years – Drawing & Painting
Instructor: Golnar Sepahi
Assistant: Homa Khosravijelodar
Students created their own landscape composition inspired by tattoo and digital artist Refael Idan Suissa. Experimenting with watercolour, inks, tempera, black ink, and colour pencils, the project explores elements of design including pattern, shape, and use of vibrant colours.
9-12 Years – Drawing & Painting
Instructor: Lusine Sahakyan
Assistant: Artem Struyanskiy
Inspired by Japanese Notan art, this project explores the harmony of light and dark through thoughtful composition. Using brush and ink, students focused on balancing positive and negative space while studying value relationships. The work emphasizes simplicity, contrast, and visual equilibrium, creating designs that highlight the interplay between shadow and form.
Arts Umbrella School of Art and Design: Program Website
Platforms
Over the course of two years, Platforms: The Teachers Among Us will be showcased on multiple public platforms throughout the city and will present new works regularly.
It will feature newly commissioned works by 20 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 Dana Claxton's Sitting Bull in Vancouver on the šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn lightbox.
For more info go to: Platforms: The Teachers Among Us