1. What is a mandala? The mandala is a Buddhist devotional image that represents the ideal universe. The Sanskrit word can be roughly translated as “the container of the true nature or essence of things”. 2. What is the mandala used for? The mandala is considered a sacred realm and therefore an aid to meditation. […]
As Barry Till recently announced his retirement as the Curator of Asian Arts, AGGV staff had some burning questions about his 36-year tenure at the Gallery and his travels throughout Asia. Here’s the nitty gritty: 1) Why art – what led you down this path? BT: My first choice for a career would have been to […]
In Christian iconography, the apple symbolizes Original Sin, the fall of man and temptation. In Chinese culture, the word for apple, “ping guo”, is a homophone for the word “ping”, meaning peace or tranquility, so an apple symbolizes a wish for peace. Apples also feature prominently in Greek myths. Fruits and vegetables are depicted in […]
1. What is snuff? Snuff is powdered tobacco, used in China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) for medicinal purposes. 2. Snuff bottles are small, designed to fit into the palm of the hand, and easily carried on your person. 3. Chinese snuff bottles are made in a multitude of materials. These include porcelain, glass, metal, […]
August in the Gallery kicked off with a well-attended Curator’s Tour led by Haema Sivanesan, curator of Karen Tam: With wings like clouds hung from the sky. Welcoming the large group into the entrance of the exhibition, Haema described the work of artist Karen Tam as the re-creation of the Chinese-Canadian experience. Karen has long […]
Pictured above: Praying monk | Burma (Myanmar) | wood, lacquer, gilt pigment, glass | ht. 33.2 cm. | Harold and Vera Mortimer-Lamb Bequest, AGGV 1980 Victoria’s geographical location makes it Canada’s closest city to the Far East, so it seems fitting that the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria should have one of the country’s most distinguished Far […]
Confused by some of the terms you find in our Gallery or on our website? We’ve created a useful alphabetical list that explains some terms based on our current exhibition programming. Stay tuned to the AGGV emagazine as this will be a regular segment – and we’ll be sure to grow that list for you! […]
Montreal-based artist, Karen Tam, spent the month of May in Victoria in preparation for her exhibition at the AGGV, With wings like clouds hung from the sky 大鵬就振翼 (Seal Chop of Lee Nam installation – view pictured – above), which opens on June 3. Based on the friendship between Victoria’s iconic artist, Emily Carr, and […]
As the boulevards surrounding the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria burst into a cloud of pink and white blooms, we ushered in Spring with our inaugural Cherry Blossom Festival during the first week of April. Celebrations at the Gallery kicked off with an evening of poetry reading, followed by an afternoon’s family event that brought […]
Nestled in the AGGV garden amidst bamboo and Japanese maple is the only known Meiji-era Shinto shrine in North America. Completed in 1899, the 33rd year of the Meiji period, this family shrine was built by the Hayashi family and was located in Hanami. In 1921, the people of Hanami were instructed by the government of […]
We thank Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura and the guests who braved Victoria’s unusual winter blizzard on February 8, for coming to the AGGV’s inaugural Communities + Collections lecture. The aim of this new series is two-fold: firstly, to bring fresh insight into the Gallery’s permanent collection through lectures, workshops and tours by guest speakers and facilitators; and secondly, […]
In the third installment of our Communities + Collections program which focuses on the Gallery’s Asian Art collection and coincides with the exhibition Millennia: Asian Art through the Ages, we are happy to have Yang Liu talk about “The Transformation of Landscape Representation in Chinese Art”.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria presents Communities + Collections, a new program that gains insight into the diversity of our permanent collections, with the help of guest speakers and facilitators. Coinciding with the Millennia exhibition, we have invited Dr. Melia Belli Bose (pictured above) to talk about the afterlife in ancient China.
Collecting is often regarded as a fundamental and universal human instinct and an activity shared by all cultures around the globe. The history of collecting has been written in great detail by many scholars, and include the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, medieval and Renaissance Europe, Edo Japan, the Ming and Qing dynasties of […]
After the near-record snowfall and freezing temperatures experienced this winter in Greater Victoria, many of us are yearning for spring, for a time of renewal and regrowth. At the AGGV, we are celebrating the season with a poetry reading that takes its inspiration from the Gallery’s Asian Art collection. In collaboration with the City of […]
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has collected some of the finest pieces of Asian art over the last 65 years of its history. Millennia: Asian Art through the Ages, presents over seventy masterworks from different time periods, cultures and media.
The exhibition and publication of Millennia: Asian Art through the Ages was planned to present some of the finest and most interesting Asian works of art in the collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, to reveal to the general public the essence and unique artistic achievements of the various civilizations of Asia.
