NVRC's art display program offers opportunities for local artists to showcase their work.
NVRC's art display program is designed to encourage emerging artists, solo and groups, to exhibit their artwork within public facilities. Preference is given to North Shore-based artists, yet all artists are encouraged to apply. Program goals are to:
- Encourage the pursuit of lifelong learning
- Create opportunities for artists to connect with their community
- Promote cultural awareness and dialogue
- Showcase the wealth of creative talent in North Vancouver
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Delbrook Community Recreation Centre – 851 West Queens Road
Located on the top floor hallway, the gallery offers 70 linear feet of hanging space and is ideal to display 2D artwork of all types and sizes.Lions Gate Community Recreation Centre - 1733 Lions Gate Lane
Located off the main lobby, there are two black walls suitable for hanging framed artwork. Both walls are 8 ft 9 in high but the preferred maximum height for the artwork would be 40". The first wall is 15 ft 2 in wide and the second wall is 10 ft 5 in wide.Parkgate Community Centre – 3625 Banff Court
Located in the main lobby, a glass display unit is available for handcrafted art, small sculptures, and pottery. Other artwork will be considered pending space availability. Estimated sizing: two tiered display cabinets 6 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft.Ron Andrews Community Recreation Centre – 931 Lytton Street
Located in the main lobby, two glass units are available for a variety of handcrafted and 2D artwork and pottery. Other artwork will be considered pending space availability. Estimated sizing: two tiered display cabinets 4 ft x 11 ft x 3 ft and 6 ft x 9 ft x 2 ft.Centennial Theatre – 2300 Lonsdale Avenue
- South lobby - the exhibit space is ideal for 2D artworks. Up to 175 linear feet high mounted nearer the ceiling. Depending on the size of the work, space is available for up to 15 pieces. Artwork must be stretched with finished sides and properly wired for hanging. Due to the location of the gallery, theatre staff may be engaged in mounting the work.
- West lobby - up to 20 feet of linear space available for 2D art including photographs. Must be fully framed and ready to mount by the artist.
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Apply using the online application form. Or you can email your name, address, and up to five images of your artwork (max. size 1 MB .jpg format) or link to an online portfolio and/or website that includes examples of your work. Please indicate where you have previously exhibited.
There is no cost to the artist to participate. Selected displaying artists will be directly responsible for any purchasing inquiries and sales.
When to apply
There are two intakes each year and the art will be displayed for a six-month period. Display periods are mid-February to mid-August and mid-August to mid-February. The intakes are:- The first Tuesday in July for artwork exhibited from August to February and
- The first Tuesday in January for artwork exhibited from February to August.
Selection criteria
The work is adjudicated by NVRC Cultural Services staff and selected artists will be notified.More information
Please reach out to Neil Scott, Theatre & Events Supervisor and art display program lead, at 604-983-6455 or art-display@nvrc.ca.
Art currently on display
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Display: February to August, 2025
Vilma Cameron is a self-taught Jamaican/Canadian artist living in North Vancouver. They primarily paint landscapes using acrylics on canvas and large demijohn bottles.
Vilma moved from Jamaica to Vancouver over twenty years ago. After working in banking, they transitioned to supporting individuals on the Autism spectrum, a position they still hold and cherish. This role has been a significant and fulfilling experience, allowing them to care for the vulnerable in our society, a passion they have long held.
From an early age, Vilma was drawn to various forms of artistic expression. Their professional journey included ventures into fashion design and interior decor, alongside banking and department store management in Jamaica.
Always seeking an outlet for their creativity, they began drawing and discovered a talent in this area. In 2018, they purchased a small art kit at a garage sale and started experimenting, encouraged by the positive outcomes. During the pandemic, they delved deeper into their art, drawing on my imagination and lived experiences, as well as the inspiration they found in Vancouver’s beautiful landscapes, lush vegetation, water spots, flowers, and trees. These locales became especially appealing while supporting individuals with autism and observing the calming effects and sheer joy they brought.
The journey has been exhilarating and satisfying, becoming an integral part of who they are. Vilma's goal is to share their works and, through them, communicate something transcendent.
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Display: February to August, 2025
Daniel Carroll is an avid traveller, writer, and photographer. Born and raised on the North Shore, he has lived overseas and travelled to over 30 countries before returning to his hometown roots here in North Vancouver.
This is his first public exhibit, and covers recent travels to the Lake District in England and Banff, Canada. With a deep love and appreciation of natural landscapes, Daniel's photography conveys a resonance of beauty in nature and contemplative spirit. -
My fine art photography delves into surreal and dreamlike realms, exploring themes of transformation, escape, and serenity. By submerging figures in colored water or crafting ethereal compositions, I create images that feel both weightless and introspective. These works invite viewers into a space where reality blurs into something more fluid and poetic—a place between the tangible and the imagined. In contrast, my documentary photography captures the raw energy and deep sense of community within rock climbing culture. Climbing is not just an activity—it is a ritual, a test of resilience, and an expression of trust. Through my lens, I document the fleeting moments of struggle, triumph, and connection that define this world. At the core of my practice is a fascination with how we navigate our inner and outer landscapes. Whether portraying the quiet suspension of a figure in water or the intensity of a climber’s grip, I seek to reveal the beauty in both stillness and motion, crafting visual narratives that evoke emotion and meaning.
My work explores the tension and harmony between movement and stillness, the physical and the ethereal—rooted in my love for nature and its connection to both the external world and the inner psyche. With a background in fine arts and film studies, I am drawn to storytelling through imagery, allowing emotion and atmosphere to shape the way I capture each moment.
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Display: February to August, 2025
Lauren Morris is a Vancouver fine artist, born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. After completing 4 years of graphic design she worked and traveled to America. It was there that she had the opportunity to continue with graphic design working in Washington D.C. while attending classes at the Corcoran School of Art, in Arlington, Virginia. Following seven years of both academic and artistic accomplishments she moved to Vancouver where she worked and attended continuing education classes at Emily Carr. She developed a signature style characterized by her brushstrokes and bold color palette. Her compositions often feature a harmonious balance between realism and abstraction. Drawing inspiration from the beauty and intricacies of the floral world and the color around her, she creates pieces that evoke a sense of wonder and introspection. Painting predominantly with Acrylic on Canvas she hopes to inspire thought and to evoke the viewers’ emotions through visual imagery. She continues to challenge herself and shares her knowledge and inspiration through her teaching of workshops and Art Classes. Throughout her artistic journey, Lauren has exhibited her works in many galleries and art exhibitions.
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Display: January to August, 2025
Felting the Mycelial Web
Through a 4-month residency wtih NVRC in the fall of 2024, artists Willoughby Arévalo and Isabelle Kirouac facilitated the creation of a series of felted books of local fungi, using simple wet felting and needle felting methods. The mushroom felted in these books were all inspired by local fungi observed and photographed in the forest surrounding the Ron Andrews Community Recreation Centre, which were used as reference images. Each felted book was collectively felted by community members of all ages, in collaboration with the artists. To imbue this project with experiential mycological learning, we also offered mushroom walks, movement activities and sensorial explorations inspired by fungi, all complementing this project.
The Art & Funghi Project is a series of artistic projects led by Willoughby Arévalo and Isabelle Kirouac. These projects provide sensory and playful experiences in relation to fungi and how they shape and connect our world, growing the interconnections between communities, the land, and its more than human inhabitants.
www.artandfungi.orgBiographies
Willoughby Arévalo
With the hands of an artist, the eyes of a mycologist and the heart of a deeply connected human, DIY Mushroom Cultivation author Willoughby Arévalo brings the practical and the joyful together through the science and wonder of mycology. His work is an invitation; to not only learn from fungi, but to grow one’s true earthly relationships. His lifelong friendship with fungi has led him down a mycelial pathway. For over 15 years, he has shared mycology with communities across North America and Europe.Isabelle Kirouac explores the poetic of the senses and more-than-human relationships through choreography, immersive experiences and community-engaged work. She has shared her practice across four continents. Isabelle holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, on the Coast Salish Territories, where she currently lives.
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Display: February to August, 2025
Parvin Sarabadani is an Iranian-Canadian artist specializing in pottery and jewelry making. With four years of experience in ceramics, and a long artistic journey into jewelry design. Her work is deeply inspired by the intricate patterns of Persian rugs, traditional ceramics, and decorative tiles, elements that carry the rich cultural heritage of Persian art.Beyond Persian influences, Parvin Sarabadani explores a wide range of artistic techniques from around the world. She experiments with Japanese Raku glazing, Abvara from Eastern Europe, Polychromepottery from Northern Arizona and smoked firing, blending historical methods with modern craftsmanship. This fusion of traditions allows her to create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that connect the past with the present.
Recently, she has begun working with papier-mâché, discovering its potential for large-scale sculptures and intricate forms that would be difficult to achieve in ceramics without a kiln. This new exploration opens up exciting creative possibilities, allowing her to push the boundaries of her artistic expression.
You can explore Parvin Sarabadani’s artworks on Instagram at @parvinartofficial. If you have any questions about her pieces or pricing, feel free to reach out via Instagram.
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Display: February to August, 2025
I am an Iranian Artist whose practice is focused on painting. After decades of living in Iran, a country with artistic and historical heritage; I find myself deeply influenced by the rich artistic and cultural histories that once surrounded me. Like many immigrants, I am often homesick and wish I could access what was once so close to me.
Experience working with ceramics, mixed media, college, sculpture, printmaking and photography, painting with acrylic and oil is how I best express myself. In order to convey emotions in my work, I work with brushes and unexpected tools to leave expressionistic marks and traces. After immigrating to Canada, I found inspiration in the cultural symbols of my country and started to integrate Iranian cultural imagery into my works, plus all the variety and multicultural here. Memories of family, personal, intimate, poetic, expression, figures and culture are always on my mind. I hope that my paintings and portraiture can create a journey for the viewer that allows them to access intimate dreams and memories and a sense of home.
My choice of color from the depth of my heart flows in a stream of emotions until it can be spontaneously marked on the canvas. Color and visual effects like space, texture, and pattern have been of particular importance to me; I like to look at it as a centralized mountain within me where creativity starts to shape itself like a river, translating everything into art, be it historical, religious, geographical, social, or political phenomena without any repetition like the art of architecture and calligraphy during the time of Cyrus the Great, the effects of imposed wars, women's rights, Islamic revolution, and people's concerns. My paintings respond to these cultural roots, mixed with the solitude granted to me by being far from home.
