Comox Valley Art Gallery

Comox Valley Art Gallery CVAG is a public art gallery featuring contemporary, experimental and applied art.

The COMOX VALLEY ART GALLERY was established by a group of artists as the Central Island Arts Alliance, under the umbrella of the Comox Valley Community Arts Council . CIAA achieved British Columbia society status and federal charitable organization status in 1974. From its inception, it has been recognized by the Cultural Services Branch of the Province of BC with grant fundi

ng to support operations. One of the first art centres located outside Vancouver and Victoria, the CIAA held visual art exhibitions, operated a co-operative shop featuring local crafts, and organized and promoted performance arts and festivals. The Renaissance Faire, an annual arts and entertainment fair, was the major fundraising activity supporting the operations of the CIAA. In 1997, the Board of Directors moved to change the name to COMOX VALLEY ART GALLERY to more properly reflect the core business - that is visual art exhibition programming. The Gallery Shop continues to promote regional arts and raise funds for the Gallery. May 2005 saw the realization of a long term plan by the Board of Directors for COMOX VALLEY ART GALLERY - relocation to a new venue in a municipally owned building - the former Courtenay Fire Hall. The Gallery occupies the main floor and lower level of the new Comox Valley Centre for the Arts. This building provides four exhibition galleries and, for the first time, workshop space for educational programming and an environmentally secure archive room. With its award winning design and higher profile location, CVAG attracts attention to downtown Courtenay and the Comox Valley . This has been a boon to the Gallery and the Gallery Shop, attracting a broader audience and interest in visual art. The new building - Comox Valley Centre for the Arts - brings together a number of arts organizations under roof - with the intention that these groups will be able to work together more closely and build on each others successes.

Michael Campbell balances his time between creating art from his seaside studio on Hornby Island and working as a Full P...
06/13/2026

Michael Campbell balances his time between creating art from his seaside studio on Hornby Island and working as a Full Professor at the University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Fine Arts.

His touring exhibition 'Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting' will open at the Comox Valley Art Gallery next Friday, June 19 (doors open at 4pm, and talk with the artist will start at 5:30pm).

Recent exhibitions include The Trianon Gallery (Lethbridge), Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston), EXPO 2005 Aichi (Japan), Plug-In Institute for Contemporary Art (Winnipeg), The Southern Alberta Art Gallery (Lethbridge), Red District Gallery (Marseilles France), the 2002 and 2005 Alberta Biennial (Edmonton, Calgary and Banff) and YYZ (Toronto), and Truck Gallery (Calgary).

Learn more: https://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/themes/field-recordings-of-icebergs-melting/.

Image: Michael Campbell, courtesy of Paul Litherland.

CVAG's gift shop is pleased to now carry Ocean Plaskets, exquisite rope baskets handmade with salvaged marine rope by Ki...
06/13/2026

CVAG's gift shop is pleased to now carry Ocean Plaskets, exquisite rope baskets handmade with salvaged marine rope by Kim Fagerlund!

The artist's journey began on the shores of Hornby Island, where they fell in love with the beauty of nature and the potential of discarded materials. Each piece is a testament to the resilience of the sea and the earth and their commitment to preserving its beauty through art.

Artist's website: https://oceanplaskets.ca/.

This June, we're excited to welcome you back to the Comox Valley Art Gallery for a new exhibition, as well as invite you...
06/12/2026

This June, we're excited to welcome you back to the Comox Valley Art Gallery for a new exhibition, as well as invite you to multiple outdoor events with our community collaborators! For all the details, read the CVAG eNews: https://mailchi.mp/5f3d1a9b0154/join-us-for-the-opening-of-a-new-exhibit-other-outdoor-events-this-june.

Your donation will help support art exhibitions, Make Art Projects for all ages, and our youth training and mentorship programs. As a non-profit society, we rely on your support to provide strong programming, community engagement, and training for the next generation of artists.

We have Michael Campbell here with us this week! Working alongside CVAG's skilled technical manager Dave Lawson, the art...
06/12/2026

We have Michael Campbell here with us this week!

Working alongside CVAG's skilled technical manager Dave Lawson, the artist is here installing his intricate artworks, which are assembled from many different parts and materials.

The exhibition, 'Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting', opens at the Comox Valley Art Gallery next Friday, June 19. Doors open at 4pm, and a talk with the artist will be held at 5:30pm.

Learn more: https://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/themes/field-recordings-of-icebergs-melting/.

Image credit: Rachael Henshaw.

Wanna Play Theatre will be hosting their next improv night from 5 - 8pm, on Friday, June 12 (tomorrow), here at the Como...
06/11/2026

Wanna Play Theatre will be hosting their next improv night from 5 - 8pm, on Friday, June 12 (tomorrow), here at the Comox Valley Art Gallery (on the second floor).

Participation is free, and no theatre experience is necessary. Just come and have fun! To RSVP, email [email protected].

This event has graciously been rescheduled so that it will not conflict with the art opening celebration for the new exhibition 'Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting', which will be held at CVAG on the evening of Friday, June 19.

Persimmon Blackbridge's exhibition 'Emma Goldman at the Frick Museum' can be seen at the Hornby Arts Centre until the en...
06/11/2026

Persimmon Blackbridge's exhibition 'Emma Goldman at the Frick Museum' can be seen at the Hornby Arts Centre until the end of this month! If you didn't catch this show while it was at CVAG in 2025 — or wish to see it again — we encourage you to plan a visit!

The exhibition is not only visually stunning in the new Hornby Arts Centre building, but is also deeply layered. This is the kind of show that rewards time, reflection, and return visits.

Persimmon Blackbridge is a celebrated Canadian trailblazer in socially-engaged art, with a long practice rooted in q***r, feminist, and disability art. Her work has been shown widely across Canada and internationally and has played an important role in conversations around identity, access, justice, and lived experience.

Learn more: https://hornbyarts.com/.

CVAG's curated gift shop, Shop⋮Made, has some new consignors — one of whom is Raven Olay, who is back from a four-year h...
06/10/2026

CVAG's curated gift shop, Shop⋮Made, has some new consignors — one of whom is Raven Olay, who is back from a four-year hiatus from making fibre art! Come in to browse their beautiful decorative wall hangings and more.

Shop hours are 10am - 5pm, Wednesdays - Saturdays.

We are beyond excited for our dear friend, K’ómoks Elder Donna Mitchell! We extend our warmest congratulations for her g...
06/09/2026

We are beyond excited for our dear friend, K’ómoks Elder Donna Mitchell! We extend our warmest congratulations for her graduation from NIDES.

Donna is a long-time friend of the gallery and a recognizable face at most CVAG events.

Address

580 Duncan Avenue
Courtenay, BC
V9N2M7

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+12503386211

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Comox Valley Art Gallery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category