Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society

The mandate of the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society (VACS) is to widen public engagement with contemporary art free from the restrictions of the market imperative. We do this primarily through programs that build cross-cultural resilience in communities through art, and by promoting the work of established and emerging artists within these communities. Our programs are designed to build lasting, supportive, symbiotic networks between artists and communities. In this way, artists can more easily survive beyond the pressures of the commercial world, and communities can develop healthy relationships with art, building self-esteem and a sense of belonging. Toward this end, VACS allows and encourages community members to make art themselves. And by opening up opportunities for them to participate in creating art, mentored by professional artists, we break down some of the barriers that separate people from contemporary art and from each other. We focus on contemporary art, since contemporary practice requires the audience to do some of the work of creative interpretation – to become, in a sense, co-creators.