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Presentation House Gallery’s history is amazingly complex
given that it has existed only since 1976. It was, until May 1996,
operated by the Presentation House Cultural Society, founded in
1976. It is now operated by the autonomous British Columbia Photography
and Media Arts Society. The complexity stems, in part, from the
fact that several non-profit societies operated from this building,
and several cultural organizations were operated by a single one
of those societies.
Presentation House Cultural Society was founded in 1976 as a non-profit
charitable society on the initiative of the North Vancouver Arts
Council. From 1976 to 1981 it operated as a generalist gallery
serving mainly the needs of North Shore residents. In addition
to the Gallery, the Society's Board of Trustees was responsible
for a multi-purpose building housing a Centre for the Visual and
Performing Arts, which was also home to the North Vancouver Community
Arts Council and the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. The
Theatre, Museum and Archives are still housed in the building,
but the Arts Council moved in 2001.
The Gallery’s photographic mandate goes back to 1981, the
year in which it was the only commercial photography gallery in
Vancouver. the Nova Gallery, closed its doors. Over the years
it expanded its mandate to include photo-related media and film
and video. Currently PHG is the largest independent, non-profit
photography gallery in Canada. We offer many touring exhibitions,
a publishing program and operate a bookshop dedicate to books
about photography, film and video.
The Presentation House Cultural Society split into two separate
societies in 1996. Presentation House Gallery is operated by BCPMAS,
a new entity with a mandate to provide stimulating photographic
exhibitions and education. The Gallery continues to seek a new
home with better facilities than we currently have – we are
up two flights of stairs, and lack an elevator, for instance.
Our exhibition history is gradually being added to our web site
– please go to ‘past exhibitions’ for that history.
Our touring exhibitions and publications are listed there as well.
June 2002
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