Art Vancouver 2026 Brings Together International and Local Exhibitors Exploring Identity, Material, and Contemporary Experience
- May 12
- 2 min read
Vancouver, BC — Art Vancouver 2026 returns to the Vancouver Convention Centre East for its 10th edition, presenting a curated selection of contemporary practices from Canadian and international exhibitors. Over the past decade, the fair has established itself as a platform for artistic exchange, bringing together artists, galleries, collectors, and curators within a shared space for dialogue and discovery.
This year’s participating artists span painting, sculpture, mural work, and interdisciplinary practices, reflecting diverse cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. Their work engages with themes of identity, relocation, material transformation, and contemporary life, offering insight into the evolving landscape of global contemporary art.
Iraqi–American artist based in Istanbul, Sousan Alwan works with figurative painting to examine questions of identity, femininity, and resilience. Her work reflects the experience of navigating multiple cultural frameworks, where the figure becomes a site for negotiating visibility, autonomy, and self-definition.
Opeyemi Matthew Olukotun brings a practice rooted in portraiture and lived experience between Nigeria and Canada. His paintings reflect relocation and adaptation, exploring how identity is shaped through movement, memory, and shifting cultural environments.
Based in Vancouver, Kelcy Timmons Chan works through mural and pop-inspired visual language to reflect everyday cultural symbols, food, and shared spaces. Her practice considers how community and identity are formed through lived experience within urban environments, particularly within diasporic and queer contexts.
Working in sculpture and mixed media, Jorge Izaza explores how material, light, and surface interact. His work uses wood, resin, glass, and natural materials to construct forms that shift with their surroundings, emphasizing how physical transformation shapes perception and spatial experience.
Together, these practices reflect how contemporary artists are engaging with questions of identity, belonging, and material experience in different ways. Bringing these works into dialogue within the fair offers a reflection on how lived experience and cultural context inform artistic practice today.
The fair is further supported by a series of public programming initiatives designed to extend engagement with contemporary practice. These include artist-led demonstrations and Art Talks featuring participating exhibitors and industry professionals, encouraging dialogue between artists, collectors, and audiences.
Art Vancouver 2026 is presented with the support of cultural and creative partners, including Opus Art Supplies, Cloverdale Paint, Retro Modern Designs, Green Apple Art Center,and FOLLOW.ART. The fair is further supported by media partners, including CCI COMMS, Lahoo, and Stir, who help extend its reach across local and international audiences.
As the 10th edition of Art Vancouver, the fair reflects a decade of engagement with contemporary visual culture in Vancouver, continuing to evolve alongside the artists and audiences it brings together.
Event Details:
Art Vancouver 2026
Vancouver Convention Centre, East Building, Hall B (Canada Place)
May 28 - 31, 2026
Media Contact:
Marlene Ferhatoglu
+16048176908
