No matter how this summer’s weather turns out, an art gallery is always a good place for a pop-in, even if you’re just looking for an air-conditioned respite from broiling heat or a cozy, thought-provoking cocoon on a chilly day.

Here are just some of the exhibitions that will be available at local galleries both large and small during this summer.

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

(June 15, 2022, to March 19, 2023)

The Canadian premiere of True to Place: stímetstexw tel xéltel—an ambitious exhibit of multimedia works by 10 emerging or established Northwest Coast Indigenous artists—runs for nine months. Curated by Xémontalót Carrielynn Victor (Stó:lō), this largest collection ever exhibited by the gallery includes artists such as Robert Davidson, Crystal Worl, Ocean Hyland, Shawn Hunt, Atheana Picha, and Corey Bulpitt.

Petley Jones Gallery

(Opening reception June 2; exhibit June 3 to 19)

Solo show of illustrations, oils, and watercolours from local artist/author Michael Kluckner’s latest illustrated book, The Rooming House, in an exhibition titled The West Coast in the Seventies.

Kay Meek Arts Centre

(To July 3)

Coastal Reflections is an atrium exhibition of the landscape works of two North Shore photographers, Sanam Khani and Trevor Schmidt, who spurn purely representational works of our natural environment in favour of artistic interpretations. Open for viewing Monday to Thursday and select evenings and weekends; call to enquire about hours.

Vancouver Art Gallery

(Current and upcoming exhibitions, various dates)

Vancouver’s premier art edifice offers eight exhibitions available for viewing this summer: Kids Take Over, until September 11; Everything Under the Sun: In Memory of Andrew Gruft, until September 11; Restless: Recent Acquisitions, until September 11; The Imitation Game: Visual Culture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, until October 23; Shahla Bahrami: Censorship and Autocensorship—I Bite My Tongue, until August 31; Spotlight: Sandeep Johal, until October 16; and the upcoming Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment (June 11, 2022, to January 8, 2023) and Offsite: Christopher K. Ho (June 23 to October 16).

Contemporary Art Gallery

(To August 29)

Montreal-based photographic artist Michelle Bui is featured in an exhibition titled Mutable Materialism, with works featured at the CAG façade and at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station.

Centre A

(To August 31)

The Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art presents artist Ali Cherri’s combined recovered/found objects in a series of works titled Graftings, on view at the Canada Line’s Broadway–City Hall Station. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Capture Photography Festival and the InTransit BC public-art program.

Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery

(June 17 to August 14)

This gallery on the UBC campus will host an exhibition titled Start Somewhere Else: Works From the Collection, centred around Krista Belle Stewart’s video installation Seraphine, Seraphine and featuring works by many of the gallery’s collected artists, including Rebecca Belmore, Brian Jungen, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Marian Penner Bancroft, Innukjuakju Pudlat, Ken Lum, and a dozen others.

Museum of Anthropology at UBC

(Until January 1, 2023)

This bastion of diverse cultural knowledge at UBC is hosting works by artists of Xicanx (Mexican American) heritage in an exhibition titled Xicanx: Dreamers + Changemakers / Soñadores + creadores del cambio. The works, representing a multitude of mediums, reflect an artistic tradition of lived experience and activism that encompasses generations.

Burnaby Art Gallery

(July 15 to September 18)

This art museum in Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park is contained in the historic Fairacres Mansion and is dedicated to showcasing works of art on paper. The exhibition Diyan Achjadi: Carried Through the Water contains new works from the Vancouver-based Achjadi, including a watercolour stop-motion animation.

grunt gallery

(To June 18)

The exhibition An Insufficient Record: The photo-ethics of preserving Black Vancouver examines—through the juxtaposition of gelatin mugshots of Black Vancouverites with portraits of self-identifying Black and African people—the failure of the City of Vancouver photographic archives in representing the lives and experiences of Black Vancouver residents throughout the city’s history.

Museum of Vancouver

(Until October)

Currently on view is Boarder X, copresented by the Winnipeg Art Gallery. This travelling exhibition features the works of contemporary Indigenous artists from across Canada and examines hybrid identities, contested spaces, and political borders while reflecting on political and environmental perspectives about the places we occupy.