SPUR Festival 2014 | On Galleries

What is the role of an art gallery? Should it show its city’s art to the world, or present art from around the world to its city? Should it serve as a community-gathering place, or a protected environment in which to experience “high art”?

Amidst the wave of major renovations to some of North America’s biggest galleries, Vancouver faced these questions as it tackled the Vancouver Art Gallery’s transformation and revitalization. Curator Grant Arnold, urban designer and former Vancouver Chief Planner Brent Toderian, critic Trevor Boddy, director of the Vancouver Public Spaces Network Andrew Pask, and Globe and Mail Western arts correspondent Marsha Lederman discussed these issues.