The West Vancouver Community Arts Council invites visual artists to submit work for our 2026 Exhibition Program at the Silk Purse Arts Centre!
Who Can Submit
Submission is open to emerging & established artists working in any medium*.
We strongly encourage applicants of all races, ethnicities, identities, abilities, ages, and genders, to apply.
Artist collectives & groups may also apply. Make one submission for the entire group.
Preference to artists who have
A) not exhibited or be scheduled to exhibit in a juried exhibition in the Silk Purse Arts Centre or Kay Meek Arts Centre in 2024 0r 2025 (SPECTRUM, You Are Here & other special exhibitions are exempt).
B) not had an exhibition at the Ferry Building Gallery, District Foyer or Memorial Library in 2024 or 2025.
*Due to the size constraints of the gallery, we cannot accommodate large-scale installations, have limited capacity for free-standing sculpture or pottery, nor do we have the exhibition hardware for digital, video, or sound installations.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for art that reflects & examines our community & the vast world beyond; that presents new ideas & thought-provoking concepts; celebrates, deconstructs & recontextualizes traditional art forms & subjects; all while encouraging creativity & diversity. Our mission is to encourage & foster the Arts in our community by providing artists a unique & popular space to exhibit their work & by making art by local artists accessible to the public.
Selection Process
Submissions will be adjudicated by a jury comprised of professional artists & curators to select works based on our mission & criteria.
Selected artists will be scheduled for a 4 or 3 week group exhibition of 2-4 artists, as determined by the Jury, at the Silk Purse Arts Centre in 2026.
All selected artists will be required to become WVCAC Members.
How To Submit
1. Select the 'Register for this event' button starting August 11.
2. Complete the Submission Form which includes uploading:
- Artwork Submission 6 hi-res images of the artwork that best represents the body of work you wish to be considered for adjudication.
Name files as follows 'Artist_Title_Media_Size_Price'
Accepted formats: JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF. Each file should be less than 20 MB.
- Artist Statement Clear & concise artist statement regarding your art practice & the concept/themes of the work being considered.
Artist Bio Short biography.
Accepted formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, ZIP. Each file should be less than 20MB.
3. Pay the $25 Submission Fee.
Submissions Open: Monday, August 11
Submissions Close: Thursday, September 11 at 4pm
Results: Artists will be notified in late October
Exhibition Information
- Exhibitions will run 4 or 3 weeks, comprised of 2 to 4 artists as determined by the Jury.
- The WVCAC is responsible for the installation of each exhibition: the final curation, placement of the works, & the final number of pieces that will be exhibited. Download Silk Purse floor plan.
- The WVCAC will produce & distribute promotional materials & a press release; & promote the exhibition via social media, newsletter, website & local listings.
- The WVCAC will provide opportunities for public engagement ie: virtual artist talk, reception etc., to be determined in relation to each exhibition.
- The WVCAC will process all sales of artwork during the exhibition & retain a 30% commission on sales.
- The majority of the work on display should be for sale. No more than 10% can be 'not for sale'.
- Other Arts & Culture programming will take place in the gallery during the exhibition.
If you have any questions please contact Gallery Manager Steven Snider steven.wvcac@shaw.ca.
We look forward to seeing your artwork!
