Start with Art
March 4 – April 26, 2025
Start with Art is a unique exhibition that focuses on encouraging young people to appreciate, collect, and curate their own art collection – with a special price list just for kids 16 and younger!
This year, Start with Art turns 20! For this special anniversary exhibition we’ve invited established artists who’ve exhibited in Start with Art over the past two decades. As in past years, artwork is hung lower in the gallery, visitors can colour on the walls in the ‘secret room’, and we’ve planned family-friendly programming throughout the exhibition to make Start with Art truly kid-centric.
Our take home art projects – Kids’ Kits – are available by donation. We’re also playing a short video in the gallery featuring advice the exhibiting artists offer to budding artists. This advice frequently sparks the idea in kids that one day their work could be shown in a gallery, too.
Artists: Kristian Adams, Sichen Grace Chen, Wesley Clowder, Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk, Pen Hsuan-Hsing, Eri Ishii, Shima Itabashi, Paige Jung, Heike Kuzminski, Ron Love, Meghan Parker, Robin Reid, Jess Stanley, Mary Anne Tateishi, Joan Tayler, Liane McLaren Varnam, Sande Waters, and Kate Whitehead
Secret Room drawing by Kara Wightman and ‘Take your Own Hike’ workbook by Graeme Zirk
Exhibition Reception: Sunday, March 9 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Family Art Sunday with Svetlana Bardos: Sunday, March 30 from 2 – 4 p.m.
‘How I Build a Bot’ with Lynne Tayler Fahnestalk: Sunday, April 6 from 1 – 2 p.m.
Painting with Light Workshop with Artist Meghan Parker: Sunday, April 13 from 10 – 11 a.m.
Zine-Making Workshop with Artist Paige Jung: Sunday, April 20 from 1 – 2:30 p.m.
More information about these family-friendly programs below!
Family Art Sunday with Svetlana Bardos
Sunday, March 30, 2025 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Appropriate for children of all ages
Admission by donation . Children must be accompanied by an adult
Join Svetlana Bardos for an afternoon of creativity and fun making paper bugs and butterflies! Create an artwork yourself or collaboratively as a family.
Svetlana Bardos has always been passionate about visual arts and literature, and her primary interest is textile art. After the completion of the Textile Art Program at Capilano University, she got deeply interested in puppet design, fabric design and creating one-of-a kind pieces of clothing. She enjoys experimenting with unusual materials and combines them with hand printed materials and found objects.
‘How I Build a Bot’ Demonstration with Artist Lynne Tayler Fahnestalk
Sunday, April 6, 2025 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Appropriate for children of all ages – children must be accompanied by an adult
FREE
Please join us in the gallery for a demonstration of how Lynne creates her one-of-a-kind upcycled metal robots! Learn about her process, inspiration, and watch a robot come to life.
Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk is a Canadian artist specializing in metal sculpture, single panel cartooning, and magazine illustration. She is a two-time recipient of the Canadian Prix Aurora Award for Artistic Excellence. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, gallery exhibitions, and art shows and she has also served as Art Director for two national magazines and was co-owner of a small fine art printing company. Lynne currently creates one-of-a-kind robot sculptures from upcycled metal objects. These sculptures have been described as 3-D cartoons and she likes that comparison.
Painting with Light Workshop with Artist Meghan Parker
Sunday, April 13, 2025 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Appropriate for children 4+
Admission by donation. Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please join us for a hand-on workshop with exhibiting artist Meghan Parker. In this workshop, you will create your own painting that actually lights up!
Meghan Parker is an artist and educator based in North Vancouver. She paints wild and whimsical colourful floral forests as well as lots of bears. Her recently published book, Teaching Artfully, is an autobiographical comic exploring the questions and experiences of a high school art teacher and celebrates and advocates for the arts in education.
Zine-Making Workshop with Artist Paige Jung
Sunday, April 20, 2025 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Appropriate for children 6+
Admission by donation . Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please join us for a hands-on workshop with exhibiting artist Paige Jung! In this workshop, learn how to make a zine from scratch using mixed media and your own unique ideas!
Paige Jung (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian illustrator, muralist and artist from so-called “Vancouver”, Canada. Paige is known for her proficient use of colour and gestural shapes to create illustrations that tell stories of connection, community power, and what makes us human.