10/07/2026
We make this announcement with our hearts full of gratitude and respect.
With sadness, we share that Heather Lamoureux, founder of Vines Art Society and current Co-Artistic Director, will be stepping away from her role as Artistic Director.
Vines started with Heather and a simple idea: a one-day event where people could come together and enjoy art outside. From that grew a full and abundant arts society connected to so many people, communities, artists and the worlds they inhabit.
Heather created a fresh way of thinking about how an arts organization could be run. She built Vines through a caring sense of experimentation, and a belief that art—and the organizations that support it—can be boldly different. There is no replacing Heather. What she created will always be part of Vines.
Musqueam Elder Mary Point reflects on the space Heather created through Vines.
“Through Heather’s vision and unwavering commitment, Vines became far more than an arts organization. It became a place of belonging, a place where people could bring their whole selves, learn about and share their gifts, and be celebrated for who they are. As she steps away from Vines, please know that her legacy is carried forward in every artist who found their voice, every performer who was welcomed onto a stage, every relationship built through mutual respect, and every person who learned from the example she set.”
— Mary Point, Musqueam Elder
Artist, ethnobotanist and current chair of the Vines Art Society Board of Directors Cease Wyss describes Heather’s decade of work as something woven through both land and community.
“Heather Lamoureux is a visionary artist, a land-based and community-engaged decolonial gardener extraordinaire who is in true allyship with Indigenous peoples, IBPOC and LGBTQ2IA++ communities. She created a beautiful land-based festival that included so many communities throughout our incredible city, and wove her intentions through the land, through communities, and through our hearts and minds. She brought us an incredible decade of beautiful artistic and community-based stories and art in so many forms, reminding us just how creative human beings can be when given an opportunity and a space to create and share.”
— Cease Wyss
Heather’s relationships have extended far beyond individual programs and festivals. Mechelle Pierre describes the care for land and people that has shaped Heather’s work:
“I love the way our connection to Mother Earth, our sacred waters, and all our medicines in creation were the foundation of the work she organized. Heather is a courageous, powerful, beautiful Warrior woman and one of our strongest allies in protecting all in creation. She truly epitomizes transformation, not only of herself but of any person she touches with her heart and soul.”
— Mechelle Pierre, Nlaka’pamux Elder
Over the past year, Heather and Manuel Axel Strain have led Vines together as Co-Artistic Directors. Manuel will continue as Artistic Director, while Heather will remain connected to Vines as an advisor to the organization. “There are a lot of feelings that come with this change. We are sad and a little scared, but also grateful, proud, and excited for Heather and what comes next in her life,” says Strain.
Vines has changed a lot since that first gathering outside, and it will keep transforming. We want to honour what Heather started by continuing to imagine what Vines can be, and making it everything we can dream of.
We love you Heather. Thank you for starting all of this.
Photo by whydontchewdance
ID: A photo of Manuel Axel Strain and Heather Lamoureux looking at the camera and smiling, outdoors on a summer evening. Manuel is wearing a black, screen printed t-shirt and bandana by artist RBRTH OFFICIAL. Heather is also in a black t-shirt by Giggy Beads.
