Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
A Rockland art gallery for exhibitions, collections, and events.
Canada's second-best Asian art collection, behind a Victorian merchant's mansion.
A Rockland art museum that opened in 1951 inside the 1889 Spencer Mansion, then grew seven modern galleries off the back of it. The headline is the collection nobody expects in a city this size: over 22,000 works, the largest public holding in BC, and an Asian collection the gallery ranks second only to the Royal Ontario Museum. Out back, a Japanese garden hides the only authentic Shinto shrine in North America. It feels made for the people who keep coming back, not the once-through tour bus.
The move
Skip the lobby and head for the Asian galleries and the garden first: find the Shinto shrine among the bamboo and Japanese maples, then the 1641 Ming dynasty bell. Time it for a Carr exhibition when one is up.
Go when
Thursday evenings, when it is free from 5 to 9pm courtesy of TD, or the first Saturday of the month. Under 25, Indigenous, or a support worker, it is always free.
Known for
Perfect for