The VAV Gallery welcomes proposals from artists working across all media, disciplines, and approaches to artmaking. We encourage submissions that explore installation, performance, sound, moving image, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles, digital practices, social practice, interdisciplinary work, and experimental or emerging forms. We are interested in projects that expand how exhibitions and artistic experiences can take shape, and we welcome innovative ideas that respond thoughtfully to the gallery's physical space and available resources. Whether your practice is object-based, process-oriented, participatory, research-driven, or difficult to categorize, we encourage you to apply.

The VAV Gallery is committed to fostering an inclusive and representative exhibition program. We strongly encourage applications from artists and collectives from communities that have been historically underrepresented in contemporary art spaces, including but not limited to: Indigenous, Black, racialized, disabled, Deaf, queer, trans, non-binary, and other equity-deserving communities.

If you have any questions about the VAV Gallery's Fall 2026 programming or experience any issues submitting your application, please contact vavgallery.outreach@concordia.ca.

 

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY: CONCORDIA STUDENT ARTIST(S)

ANTI-OPPRESSION STATEMENT

Fine arts and academia have an ongoing history of oppression. The VAV exists at the intersection of their colonial legacies and is woven into the fabric of structural and systemic violence(s) that uphold such institutions. This structural and systemic violence includes, and most often represents the prioritization of certain bodies and their interests based on race, ability, sex, gender, sexuality, nationality/status, class, education, culture, religion, and more. For instance, in the history of fine arts, certain movements have mobilized racist aesthetics to depict and interpret the experiences of colonized peoples while using such depictions to justify colonial rule (and, subsequently, neo-colonialism/global capitalism).

The VAV gallery recognizes that everyone is capable of (re)producing systemic violence to ascend hierarchical structures. The VAV Gallery strongly repudiates discrimination in all its forms and strives to build inclusive structures that work against the reproduction of systemic discrimination in all forms, as clearly stated in our mandate. The gallery invites all marginalized people to expand upon this statement as they see fit at any point in time by contacting this student organization.

That said, the VAV Gallery rejects the ongoing dehumanization of Palestinians, and stands firmly with Palestinian liberation. We condemn all acts of genocide, war crimes, and ongoing oppression conducted by the Israeli government and the Israeli Occupation Forces. We recognize that our institutions are complicit in this violence. The VAV supports other student coalitions, youth groups, and fellow comrades that are actively organizing on the grounds all over the world to support Palestine’s right to land and self-determination. We urge our community members to undergo their own research on the currently exacerbated Israeli-inflicted apartheid and mobilize in the best way they can.

The VAV gallery is committed to fostering a collegiate work environment where staff, artists, and community members can thrive in a safe atmosphere of mutual respect. In pursuit of this goal, there is no tolerance for any form of harassment, hostile or threatening communication, and any manifestations of violence.

A Note for Applicants

For our Fall Programming, the VAV Gallery is excited to welcome submissions that reflect the breadth and diversity of artistic expression across the Concordia University community. We encourage proposals in any medium, provided the work can be safely and feasibly presented within the gallery space.

Whether you are applying as an individual artist or as part of a collaborative or collective practice, we welcome your submission. We are interested in projects that challenge conventions, explore new ideas, and reflect the wide range of creative practices taking place across disciplines.

If you are interested in learning more about the kinds of projects previously exhibited at the VAV Gallery, we encourage you to browse our exhibition archive for inspiration. While your work does not need to resemble past exhibitions, the archive offers insight into the gallery's history and the diversity of practices we have supported over the years.

Some past exhibitions we recommend exploring include: 

Click the link to explore the artworks. If you experience any navigation issues, scroll up or down to locate the artworks.

1998: Bound: Books Make Better Friends, organized and curated by Rebecca Watt, featuring Chris Ready and others.

1999: Crutch Pieces, featuring Jennifer Caroll and James McGovern.

2000: Rue du Quotidien, featuring (art and the everyday).

2000: Sound Drawings, featuring Diana Burgoyne.

2002: Laccident/The Accident, featuring Simon Brown, Jlien Diehn, Francois Lemieux.

2002: Anatomia, featuring Natalie Reis and Klara Pokryzkwo.

2002: Target Practice, featuring Haig Aivazian, Francois Lemieux, Robin Simpson, Remi Adora, Pahl O'Donnel, Suzie Smith, Catto Houghton, Ned Schwartz, Sarah Steeves.

2002: Periphery, featuring Michaela Slipp and Ariel Tarr.

2002: Audio Blueprints Tracking Stains, featuring Jessica MacCormak and Zoe Kreye.

2002: Win, Lose, or Draw, featuring Francois Lemieux, Alison Judd, Suzie Smith, Janice Tiefenbach, Pahl O'Donnel, Beth Stuart, Stephanie Chabot, Logan MacDonald, Celine Hudreaux, Cal Crawford, Krystyna Szddkowska, Morag Hellend-Kydd, Jerry Ropson.

2003: Give Me Time, I'll Make You Forget, featuring Anna Sprague.

2011: Counter Balance, featuring Alexandra Cote.

2017: Empty Weight, featuring Clara Cousineau, Susan Georgette, John Shukin, Maxime St-Jean.

2017: Home Body, featuring Yannick Allen-Vuillet, Nabil Azab, Erin Berry, Paule Gilbert, Dorothee Emmanuelle Nowak, Danielle Oostergo, Claudia Persechino, Fatine-Violette Sabiri.

2017: Movement in the Courtyard, featuring Laura Beaudoin, Isabelle Gagnon, Bettina Szabo, Emma Morris, Amber Downie-Back, Taimar Tabori.

We invite you to explore our website to familiarize yourself with the gallery's programming and consider how your work might engage with the exhibition space. We are excited to see bold ideas, experimental approaches, and new perspectives.

Above all, we encourage you to be ambitious, take creative risks, and submit the work that best represents your practice.

Thank you for submitting your application to the VAV Gallery Fall Programming 2026.

Applications will be reviewed through the VAV Gallery's democratic jury process. All applicants will be contacted after the jury has completed its review.

We appreciate the time, care, and creativity that went into your submission.