The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is a

contemporary art gallery A contemporary art gallery is normally a commercial art gallery operated by an art dealer which specializes in displaying for sale contemporary art, usually new works of art by living artists. This approach has been called the "Castelli Method" ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, on the campus of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. The gallery is housed in an award-winning building designed by architect Peter Cardew and opened in 1995. It houses UBC's growing collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

as well as an

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

s containing objects and records related to the history of art in Vancouver. The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery mounts 4 to 7 exhibitions of art per year by nationally and internationally known artists, and works from the collection are showcased annually in a thematic exhibition. The Belkin Art Gallery also creates small scale traveling exhibitions for circulation within Canada, and collaborates on large scale international exhibitions. Admission to the gallery is free. An estimated 13 percent of the Gallery's collection is from women artists and an annual

edit-a-thon An edit-a-thon (sometimes written editathon) is an event where some editors of online communities such as Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap (also as a "mapathon"), and LocalWiki edit and improve a specific topic or type of content. The events typically ...

was launched at the gallery to create articles on more of those women on Wikipedia in 2017.

History

The UBC Fine Arts Gallery was founded in 1948 in a basement section of the Main Library on the university campus. The Fine Arts Gallery was the only venue in the Vancouver region that focused exclusively on contemporary art. The gallery rose in national status during the 1960s and 1970s by presenting innovative work by artists who were establishing Vancouver on the international art scene. Until 1994, the gallery was used only as an exhibition space; afterwards, it began to house and administer the University Art Collection. On June 14, 1995, the Fine Arts Gallery was rededicated as the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery and opened its new facility at 1825 Main Mall.History
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Retrieved 2009-06-02.

Mandate

The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC is mandated to research, exhibit, collect, publish, educate and develop programs in the field of contemporary art and in contemporary approaches to the practice of art history and

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

. The Belkin maintains and manages the University’s art collection of over 5,000 objects, including the Outdoor Art Collection, and an archives of over 30,000 items. Works from the permanent collection and archives, with an emphasis on recent acquisitions, are exhibited on an annual basis and are also used by other institutions for

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

and loans. The Belkin has an active publication program and participates in programming that includes lectures, tours, concerts and symposia related to art history, criticism and curating.

Outdoor Art, Collections, and Archives

The Gallery is home to the artworks and archives of artists such as

Roy Arden Roy Arden (born 1957) is a Canadian artist, born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He also creates sculpture from found objects, oil paintings, graphite drawings and collage, and curates and writes on contemporary art. Career Arden gra ...

, Carol Conde,

Roy Kiyooka Roy Kenzie Kiyooka (January 18, 1926January 8, 1994) was a Canadian painter, poet, photographer, arts teacher, and multi-media artist. Biography A Nisei, or a second generation Japanese Canadian, Roy Kenzie Kiyooka was born in Moose Jaw, Saskat ...

Rodney Graham William Rodney Graham (January 16, 1949 – October 22, 2022) was a Canadian visual artist and musician. He was closely associated with the Vancouver School. Early life Graham was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on January 16, 1949. ...

, Judith Lodge, Al Neil,

Skeena Reece Skeena Reece (born 1974) is a Canadians, Canadian First Nations in Canada, First Nations artist whose multi-disciplinary practice includes such genres as performance art, "sacred clowning," songwriting, and video art. Reece is of Cree, Tsimshian, ...

Karen Azoulay Karen Azoulay (born 1977) is a multidisciplinary visual and performance artist from Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the mos ...

Joyce Wieland Joyce Wieland (June 30, 1930 – June 27, 1998) was a Canadian experimental filmmaker and mixed media artist. Wieland found success as a painter when she began her career in Toronto in the 1950s. In 1962, Wieland moved to New York City and ...

Rebecca Belmore Rebecca Belmore D.F.A. (born 1960) is an interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist who is notable for politically conscious and socially aware performance and installation work. She is Ojibwe and member of Obishikokaang ( Lac Seul First Nation). ...

, and Wayne Ngan. The largest fonds in the archives is the Morris/Trasov Archive (formerly known as Image Bank), which holds thousands of items related to artists Michael Morris and

Vincent Trasov Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

and an extensive network of

mail art Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the postal service. It initially developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence Schoo ...

ists Since 2003, new outdoor works have been installed on campus by artists

Jamelie Hassan Jamelie Hassan (born 1948) is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, lecturer, writer and independent curator. Early life and education Hassan was born in London, Ontario, to a Lebanese immigrant family and grew up in an Arabic speaking household ...

, Myfanwy Macleod, and

Edgar Heap of Birds Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne name: Hock E Aye Vi) is a multi-disciplinary artist. His art contributions include public art messages, large scale drawings, Neuf Series acrylic paintings, prints, and monumental porcelain enamel on steel outdoor scu ...

. A self-guided tour of Outdoor Art on campus can be downloaded from the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery website.

Select exhibitions

Scott Watson, the gallery’s Director/Curator from 1989 to 2021, encouraged partnerships both locally and internationally. For ''Utopian Territories: New Art from Cuba'' (1997), the Belkin partnered with seven other galleries to present the work of 23 contemporary Cuban artists to a Vancouver audience. For ''Théodore Géricault: The Alien Body/Tradition in Chaos'' (1997), the Belkin worked closely with the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

and the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

in Paris to bring 80 works to the gallery. And for ''Ruins in Process: Vancouver Art in the Sixties'' (2009), the Belkin collaborated with

grunt gallery The grunt gallery is a Canadian artist-run centre, founded in 1984 and located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They show work by both indigenous and non-indigenous artists. History Established in 1984, and founded by Glenn Alteen, Kempton Dexte ...

to create an online digital archive of Vancouver art in the 1960s and early 1970s. Watson similarly invited curatorial collaborations, including the internationally recognized exhibition and publication projects ''Thrown: Influences and Intentions of West Coast Ceramics'' (2004), ''Rebecca Belmore: Fountain'' at the Venice Biennale (2005), ''Witnesses: Art and Canada’s Indian Residential Schools'' (2013) and ''Image Bank'' (2019 at

KW Institute for Contemporary Art The KW Institute for Contemporary Art (also known as Kunst-Werke) is a contemporary art institution located in Auguststraße 69 in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. Klaus Biesenbach was the founding director of KW; the current director is Krist Gruijthuijsen ...

, Berlin and 2021 at the Belkin), which consisted almost entirely of material pulled from the Belkin’s Morris/Trasov Archive. Keith Wallace, the Belkin’s Associate Director/Curator from 2005 to 2007 and 2012 to 2015, extended the gallery’s established focus on Cuban art with ''The Spaces Between: Contemporary Art from Havana'' (2014), co-curated with artist Tonel and including artists

Juan Carlos Alom Juan Carlos Alom (born December 1964 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban photographer. Alom is a photographer, documentary and experimental filmmaker. His artistic career started in the 1990s in Havana. In 2023, Alom was the Mellon Artist in Residence at ...

, Javier Castro, Sandra Ceballos Obaya, Celia-Yunior, Ricardo G. Elías, Luis Gárciga Romay, Luis Gómez Armenteros, Jesús Hdez-Güero, Ernesto Leal, Glenda León, Eduardo Ponjuán González, Grethell Rasúa, Lázaro Saavedra González and Jorge Wellesley. Lorna Brown, the Belkin's Associate Director/Curator from 2015-2021, created a four-part series of exhibitions under the title of ''Beginning with the 70s'' (2017-2019)'','' an ongoing research and archival project examining the generative potential of the era''.'' The exhibitions include ''GLUT'', ''Radial Change'', ''Collective Acts, Hexsa'am: To Be Here Always'' which exhibited artists such as Christine D'Onofrio,

Helen Goodwin Helen Goodwin (July 14, 1927 – December 18, 1985) was an English-born, British Columbia-based artist, dancer, teacher, and organizer who specialized in dance and Choreography (dance), choreography. Goodwin was an active member of Vancouver experim ...

, Marianne Nicolson,

Althea Thauberger Althea Thauberger is a Canadian visual artist, film maker and educator. Her work engages relational practices rooted in sustained collaborations with groups or communities through social, theatrical and textual processes that often operate outside t ...

Alexandra Bischoff Alexandra Bischoff (born 1991 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian artist who works primarily in Performance art, performance, with an emphasis on Human sexuality, sexuality and feminism. She lives and works in Montreal, Montréal, Quebec. Life a ...

, Gathie Faulk,

Anne Ramsden Anne Ramsden (born 1952) is a Canadian artist who has exhibited widely in Canada. She is currently based in Montreal, where she is a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, Université du Quebec à Montréal. Life and education Ra ...

Elizabeth Zvonar Elizabeth Zvonar (born 1972) is a Canadian contemporary artist who works primarily with mixed-media collage and sculpture based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is currently represented by Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canad ...

Kate Craig Kate Craig (September 15, 1947 – July 23, 2002) was a Canadian video and performance artist. She was a founding member of the artist-run centre the Western Front, where she supported the video and performance works of many artists while produc ...

, Carole Itter,

Dana Claxton Dana Claxton (born 1959) is a Hunkpapa Lakota filmmaker, photographer, and performance artist. Her work looks at stereotypes, historical context, and gender studies of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, specifically those of the First Nations. ...

, Jeneen Frei Njootli,

Gutai The was a Japanese avant-garde artist group founded in the Hanshin region by young artists under the leadership of the painter Jirō Yoshihara in Ashiya, Japan, in 1954. The group, today one of the most internationally-recognized instances o ...

, Laiwan, Siku Allooloo and the

Salish Weavers Guild The Salish Weavers Guild was created in 1971 and ended around 1990. The society had two shops located in Sardis, Chilliwack in the province of British Columbia, Canada . The Salish Weavers Guild was a formal society focused on the production and s ...

. In September 2020, the Belkin hosted ''Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts'' curated by

Candice Hopkins Candice Hopkins (born 1977) is a Carcross/Tagish First Nation independent curator, writer, and researcher who predominantly explores areas of indigenous history, and art. Early life and education Candice Hopkins was born 1977 in Whitehorse, Yuk ...

and Dylan Robinson. This show also exhibited at The Gund Gallery at Kenyon College in Gambier,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Agnes Etherington Art Centre The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is located in Kingston, Ontario, in the heart of the historic campus of Queen's University. Situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory, the gallery has received a number of awards for its exhib ...

, Kingston, ON, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery,

Kitchener-Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...

, and Kamloops Art Gallery,

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

, Artists exhibited in ''Soundings'' included

Raven Chacon Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a Diné-American composer, musician and artist. Born in Fort Defiance, Arizona within the Navajo Nation, Chacon became the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music, for his '' Voiceless Mass'' in 2022. ...

, Sebastian De Line, Camille Georgeson-Usher, Maggie Groat, Kite,

Germaine Koh Germaine Koh (born 1967) is a Malaysian-born and Canadian conceptual artist based in Vancouver. Her works incorporate the artistic styles of neo-conceptual art, minimalism, and environmental art, and is concerned with the significance of everyda ...

Cheryl L'Hirondelle Cheryl L'Hirondelle (also Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek; born September 20, 1958) is a Canadian multidisciplinary media artist, performer, and award-winning musician. She is of Métis/Cree (non-status/treaty), French, German, and Polish descent. Her ...

, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Cristóbal Martínez,

Peter Morin Peter Morin is a Tahltan Nation artist, author, curator and professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design. He was born on September 8, 1977, in Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, Canada and identifies as member of the Crow clan. He addresses ...

, Ogimaa Mikana, Diamond Point, Lisa C. Ravensbergen, Heidi Aklaseaq Senungetuk, Greg Staats,

Olivia Whetung Olivia Whetung is a contemporary artist, printmaker, writer, and member of the Curve Lake First Nation and citizen of the Nishnaabe, Nishnaabeg Nation. Education Whetung completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Anishinaabemowin at Algoma ...

, Maggie Groat, and

Tania Willard Tania Willard (born 1977) is an Indigenous Canadian multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and curator, known for mixing traditional Indigenous arts practices with contemporary ideas. Willard is from the Secwepemc nation, of the British Co ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Art museums and galleries in British Columbia Contemporary art galleries in Canada University of British Columbia Art museums established in 1948 1948 establishments in British Columbia Museums in Vancouver