Gallery School

The cornerstone of The Polygon Gallery’s elementary school program, Gallery School invites teachers to move students outside of their classrooms for an entire week: instead of going to school, they come to The Polygon. The week is a catalyst for a long-term program developed by the classroom teacher and provides a unique opportunity for students to be immersed in a site all day, every day, allowing them to slow down and take ownership of their surroundings. With an artistic and cultural lens, and including direct encounters with professional artists, an interdisciplinary approach to all facets of the core curriculum helps young learners draw new connections to the world around them.

If you are a teacher interested in participating in Gallery School, please email galleryschool@thepolygon.ca.

Generously supported by Beech Foundation and Edith Lando Charitable Foundation


Response: All Woven Together

Initiated in 2014/2015, Response was designed as a successful one-time outreach program for Indigenous youth, in collaboration with Capilano University’s First Nations Student Services. Now an annual program, Response inspires ways of responding artistically to historical and contemporary images of Indigenous cultures through a series of workshops led primarily by Indigenous artists. The upcoming program will culminate in a showing of participants’ works at The Polygon Gallery in early 2024.

Response: All Woven Together explores the depth of connection that is felt through shared stories and experiences. The 2024 Response program will consist of a series of conversations and workshops on the theme of interconnection, in ways that consider the relationships we hold and the strength, reciprocity, and care that can be derived from them.

Participants will have the opportunity to work on a film-based project with several inspiring artists and Knowledge Holders.

Participation in the program and inclusion in resulting public programmes is limited to registrants. Priority is reserved for emerging artists and Indigenous participants. For more information, contact: response@thepolygon.ca.


Chester Fields

Chester Fields, The Polygon’s youth photography program, is now in its tenth year. In collaboration with Metro Vancouver secondary school teachers, hundreds of high school students hone their visual literacy and learn about photography through their own art-making. The program culminates with an exhibition of student work, providing firsthand learning about the presentation, interpretation, and public reception of photography.

Corporate Partner:
Scotiabank

Generously supported by The Hamber Foundation


The Lind Prize

The Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize has been established to support emerging artists working with photography, film, and video, and reflects The Polygon’s long history of nurturing new talent among the province’s visual artists. Every year, post-secondary visual art instructors are invited to nominate a student enrolled in a BFA or MFA program in British Columbia. Shortlisted students are profiled in an exhibition, and the winner is awarded a commissioning prize, for the production of a new work to be displayed at The Polygon.

The Lind Prize is made possible through a generous donation from Rogers Communications to honour Phil Lind’s commitment to the company over 40 years.

Presenting Sponsor