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Or Gallery

Or Gallery is a non-profit artist-run centre that was initiated as a project space by Vancouver artist, Laiwan in 1983. Through the collaboration of a small group of artists that included Arni Haraldsson, Petra Watson, Lori Hinton, Michelle Normoyle and Ken Lum, the gallery was incorporated as Or Gallery Society. The gallery supports emerging, conceptual, and experimental art practices through exhibitions of local, national, and international artists. Throughout its history, the gallery has produced formative early-career projects and publications with contemporary Canadian artists such as Mary Anne Barkhouse, Rebecca Belmore, Deanna Bowen, Dana Claxton, Stan Douglas, Geoffrey Farmer, Rodney Graham, Brian Jungen, Garry Neill Kennedy, Roy Kiyooka, Tim Lee, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Marianne Nicholson, and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, as well as internationally renowned artists including Francis Alÿs, Barbara Kruger, Martha Rosler, and Ligia Lewis.

With a majority artist-member board in place, the gallery invited artists to undertake the role of curator, blurring the line between governance and art. Or Gallery strives to be a space of discourse and risk-taking in the production and consideration of contemporary art and related discourses. The Gallery supports local and artistic communities through both professional and general-interest lectures, workshops and other outreach activities, which often include community-initiated programs.

Or Gallery publishes artist books, editions and anthologies, and since 2010, has operated a small bookstore featuring local, small press and imported publications. The gallery also works with both formal educational institutions and community-based organizations to support mentorships and internships. Reciprocal learning and mentorship are a significant focus of gallery programming, with projects such as Schooling the Institution, Dominique Fontaine’s Curating While Black, and the 2024-2025 Indigenous-led public art fellowship, with Faith Sparrow-Crawford, Salia Joseph and Jade George, of HOST collective.

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