8th Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse

Tickets

Cost: Free

Participating artists were selected by a new, inclusive curatorial committee comprising past VOAF artists and respected community members. This year features 15 Indigenous artists from Canada and beyond, 18 artists from the ​​2SLGBTQIA+ community, and 24 artists with mental illness.

Opening event Friday, October 11th from 5:30pm – 8:00pm
RSVP to events online in advance.

The Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival showcases the work of visual artists and performers outside of mainstream art institutions.

“VOAF provides a platform to showcase a unique selection of works from those on the margins — including refugees, low or unstable income groups, neurodivergent people, and more,” says Kristin Cheung, executive director of CACV. “By involving VOAF alumni in our curatorial process, we’re committed to building a strong, supportive network of outsider artists and fostering long-term relationships between participants that will grow beyond the festival. Embodying that spirit ourselves, we’re also thrilled to have even more local organizational partners this year, which allows us to offer visitors a richer community experience.”

One of the new partnerships is the presentation of Gift of Madness, an exhibition curated by Kagan Goh in collaboration with Gallery Gachet, Workman Arts, and Voices With Impact. Rather than focusing on disabilities, the exhibition celebrates the transformative power of artistic expression.

Poems from the Kitchen is a unique culinary workshop series that blends food and storytelling, featuring chefs and home cooks from diverse backgrounds alongside poets who explore themes of community, identity, and inclusion. Participants will experience and learn about different cultures through cooking demonstrations, spoken word presentations, and facilitated dialogues led by artist Johnny D. Trinh.

VOAF will also feature three workshops: a sketching club with Ania Salmina, a photo walk with Cole Schmidt, and a cyanotypes workshop with Hazel Yuhang Zhang. In celebration of their 15th anniversary, SAD Mag will host a collage activity in the lounge area of the exhibition hall. This year also sees the continuation of the international partnership with the Outsider Arts Festival in Helsinki, with a showcase of artists from both festivals accessible online. Works by Erin Audley, Katalina Guerrero, Alex K. Masse, and Tim Varro will be featured on the Finnish festival’s online stage.

VOAF is presented by the Community Arts Council of Vancouver (CACV), an independent non-profit organization and the first arts council in North America. Since its beginning in 1946, the Community Arts Council of Vancouver has been a contributor to shaping the cultural life of Vancouver. CACV has been a powerful force in creating and advocating for many of the institutions, traditions, and policies in Vancouver that we benefit from today. Key programming includes the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival and the Community Arts Fund, which provides grants to community artist
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