All the free museums and galleries you can visit in & around Vancouver
Vancouver can be pricey for many daytime excursions, but these museums and art galleries are always free to visit. So, if you want to check out the local art and history scenes, it’s worth going down the list and seeing what’s on in the coming weeks.
Here are all the museums and galleries you can visit for free in and around Vancouver.
The Belkin Gallery
The Belkin Gallery is currently exhibiting Town + Country: Narratives of Property and Capital until April. 13, 2025, Glen Lewis’ films Blue Tape Around a City Block (1969) and Forest Industry (1970). The exhibit explores the duality of town and country, the theoretical and political boundaries between them, and how they’ve led to an urban/rural divide that persists today.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, and from noon until 5 p.m. on weekends.
Where: 1825 Main Mall, UBC
The Gallery George
Situated in Gastown, The Gallery George always has plenty of amazing artists on rotation.
Right now, you can check out “Unconquered” by the Veterans Artist Collective, which honours members of the Canadian Armed Forces by exhibiting the work they’ve created at immersive art retreats.
The gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday from noon until 6 p.m.
Where: 140 West Hastings Street
Pendulum Gallery
The Pendulum Gallery also showcases some incredible artwork free of charge to view, including Ruan Guang-Min’s Comics on the Island: Taiwan until Feb. 22, 2025.
The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday, until 9 p.m. from Thursday to Friday, and until 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Where: 885 West Georgia Street
Contemporary Art Gallery
Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery has a ton of exciting exhibits and programming in the works.
Visitors can check out the work of Divya Mehra at B.C. Binning and Alvin Balkind Galleries and a double feature by Inuvialuk artist Kablusiak until March 2, 2025.
The gallery is open from noon until 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday.
Where: 555 Nelson Street
Vancouver Bienne Open Air Museum
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At the crux of local art, social action, and community engagement is The Vancouver Biennale – a nonprofit exhibiting public art throughout the city.
The Open Air Museum includes everything from sculptures and murals to new media, music, and film projected at various locations in Vancouver. The exhibition features both local talent and internationally acclaimed artists like Ai Weiwei, Dennis Oppenheim, and OSGEMEOS.
One staple piece that you’ve likely seen hundreds of times is Giants by OSGEMEOS, which transformed the silos on Granville Island into 70-foot murals, now a part of the Ocean Concrete manufacturing and distribution plant.
Where: Public art throughout Vancouver
Gallery Jones Fine Art
At Gallery Jones, visitors can check out the current exhibition, “COLOSSUS” by Peter Aspell, which will be available until Feb. 22, 2025. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from noon until 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Where: 258 East 1st Avenue
Equinox Gallery
From now until Feb. 22, 2025, Equinox Gallery is presenting “A Paz Que Você É (The Peace That Is You)” by Isabel Wynn, which explores the reinvention of ceramic sculpture heralded by a new generation of artists. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.
Where: 3642 Commercial Drive
Vancouver Art Gallery
Want to check out Emily Carr’s newest exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Navigating An Impenetrable Landscape? The gallery is free to visit on the first Friday of every month, and there are plenty of other current and upcoming exhibits to get excited about.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week except Tuesdays.
Where: 750 Hornby Street
Chali-Rosso Art Gallery
The Charli-Rosso Art Gallery offers a look at original works of art by some of the most well-known modern artists like Picasso, Dalí, Chagall, Matisse, and more.
The gallery is located at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.
Where: 312-999 Canada Place
Burnaby Village Museum
While the open-air Burnaby Village Museum is open seasonally and always free to check out, there are a handful of events coming up that are open to the public, including a movie night at the historic Central Park Theatre on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, and Family Day programming on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
Otherwise, the museum officially reopens for the season in May.
Where: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby
Time to discover your new favourite artists and galleries!
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