This spring the AGGV will open two galleries to showcase selected strengths of our extraordinary permanent collections. One gallery will focus on our world-renowned Asian Art Collections and another will be devoted to works by Indigenous and Canadian artists, from the nineteenth century to the present. We have planned these galleries to increase the visibility of our vast collections, and to connect those collections with some exciting upcoming traveling exhibitions the AGGV will host in 2024 and 2025.
There will be a common approach to interpreting the collections within these galleries: to look at key historical works through a contemporary lens. Our interpretive approach is intentionally broad, because our collections themselves are broad in scope: spanning the continent of Asia (with emphasis on the art of China and Japan); and the lands that make up present day Canada (with a strong emphasis on the art of Coastal British Columbia).
Visitors will have opportunities to reconnect with objects the AGGV is well known for, including key works by Emily Carr and Frederick H. Varley. We hope visitors will also find some surprises among extraordinary objects that have had less public exposure or, in some cases, been very recently acquired.
Our curatorial and collections teams, including Dr. Heng Wu, Curator of Asian Art, Mel Granley, Assistant Curator, Stephen Topfer, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions and myself, have been hard at work planning these galleries over the past year and we are thrilled to share the results with our members and visitors alike.
Mark your calendars and please join us to celebrate the opening of these galleries!
Written by Steven McNeil, AGGV Chief Curator & Director of Collections and Exhibitions
A View From Here: Reimagining the AGGV Collections opens on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Featured Image: Emily Carr, Light Swooping Through, 1938-39, Oil on canvas, Gift of the Hon. Mark Kearley, AGGV 1964.229.001
