University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries

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University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries We are the University of Victoria’s art museum. At Legacy, art works to promote dialogue about issues that matter.

The University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries manages and exhibits the university's extensive art collection. All of our exhibits are free and open to the public. The Legacy Downtown is the university's primary gallery space. The Legacy Maltwood on campus (formerly the Maltwood Prints and Drawings Gallery) is located in the lower level of UVic's McPherson Library (Mearn's Centre for Learning) - open during regular library hours.

When you enter the exhibition, DIS - displaced, dispersed, dispossessed, you are greeted by Renay Egami's piece, "Glimme...
10/20/2026

When you enter the exhibition, DIS - displaced, dispersed, dispossessed, you are greeted by Renay Egami's piece, "Glimmer." Created of glass mirror tiles, wood, and cast chalk in 2026, "Glimmer" is a site of public and private memories for the artist, bridging the past and the present.

Renay Egami is a visual artist, born and raised in Vancouver, BC and now currently based in Lake Country, BC on the traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples. Her art practice is diverse and employs a wide range of material and processes, such as sculpture, immersive installations, and textiles. Alongside her artistic career, Renay is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan within the Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies, Visual Arts.

DIS - displaced, dispersed, dispossessed
Nikkei Artists explore the legacies of uprooting.
Sept. 16 - Dec. 5, 2026
Wednesday - Saturday, 10 - 4

Peek through the Noren ("Warm curtain / cloth screen") and take some time to sit in the respite area in the DIS – displa...
10/13/2026

Peek through the Noren ("Warm curtain / cloth screen") and take some time to sit in the respite area in the DIS – displaced, dispersed, dispossessed exhibition.

Reflect, read and respond to the interactive question - looking at the photograph entitled "‘Repatriation’ to Japan, Slocan, British Columbia", c. 1946., we ask visitors:

What Do We Carry?

Look closely at the photograph.

In 1942, Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes and communities. Many were allowed to take only what they could carry.

What do we carry with us?
A memory.

A story.
A relationship.
A place.
An object.
A feeling.
A hope.

On the washi paper, write or draw a response inspired by the photograph.

What would you like to remember, carry forward, or never forget?

Hang your response in the window.

You may participate by writing, drawing, observing, or simply spending time with the artwork. There is no wrong response.

Join us Wednesdays to Saturdays from 10-4 to add your response and hang it in the window.

Image courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Odamura Family Collection (1996.178.1.33.a-b).

Legacy Art Gallery Downtown will be closed Saturday, October 10th. We will be back open regular hours Wednesday October ...
10/10/2026

Legacy Art Gallery Downtown will be closed Saturday, October 10th. We will be back open regular hours Wednesday October 14th (Weds. to Sat. 10am - 4pm).

Meet Alisa!Hi! My name is Alisa Zheng (she/her), and I am the Collections and Engagement Intern. I am originally from Ot...
10/07/2026

Meet Alisa!

Hi! My name is Alisa Zheng (she/her), and I am the Collections and Engagement Intern. I am originally from Ottawa and am a recent graduate from University College London, where I completed my MA in History of Art. I am so excited for my new chapter at the Legacy Art Gallery in beautiful Victoria, where I hope to spend the coming months exploring the gallery’s collections and connecting with its wonderful community! In my free time, you can usually find me sketching, reading, singing, or taking photographs.

Come say hello to Alisa at the gallery (630 Yates) and engage with our new exhibitions! We hope to see you soon!

Open & Free to the Public,
Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Join members of the Past Wrongs, Future Choices team for exhibition tours of our current exhibition, DIS – displaced, di...
10/02/2026

Join members of the Past Wrongs, Future Choices team for exhibition tours of our current exhibition, DIS – displaced, dispersed, dispossessed"at Legacy Art Gallery on October 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Register for your tour spot today!
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dis-exhibition-tours-tickets-1998927861042

Dates & Times:
October 4-7, at 11am and 2pm
Location: lLegacy Art Gallery (630 Yates St.), Downtown Victoria.
All are welcome. Registration is required.

These tours are in conjunction with the opening of the Japanese Canadian Monument at St. Ann's Academy (839 Academy Close) on October 3rd.

DIS – displaced, dispersed, dispossessed brings together work from contemporary artists exploring the lasting influence of the Second World War on Nikkei communities globally. Through installation, video, sculpture-informed 2D/3D work, performance, illustration, and text-based practices, participating artists engage inherited memory, cultural continuity, and intergenerational experience

The Legacy Gallery Downtown will be closed on Wednesday, September 30 to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconcil...
09/28/2026

The Legacy Gallery Downtown will be closed on Wednesday, September 30 to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We honour the Survivors, remember the children who never came home, and stand with and uplift the families who continue to carry the lasting impacts of Residential Schools.

To honour the teachings of LEXIXELEK, the late Dr. Baptiste Harry “Skip” Dick of the Songhees Nation, the UAC would like to uplift the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Nations on whose territory the Legacy Art Gallery is located, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations on whose territory the University of Victoria now stands on. This is to honour and respect the territory where we live, grow, and work and to respect the teaching of Nəw̓es šxʷ cən ʔay̓ šqʷeləqʷən | ÁMEḴT TŦEN ÍY, ŚḰÁLEȻEN | Bring in your good heart and mind.

We encourage you to attend one of the multiple ceremonies and events occurring across the city, to honour and observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Listed below are details of a few of the events:

- Orange Shirt Day: Gathering in truth, strength, and action. September 29, 2026. UVic Centennial Stadium. 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

- Orange Shirt Day Community Gathering. September 29, 2026. John Horgan Campus, Royal Roads University Langford. 12: 00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

- 5th Annual South Island Powwow, Presented by the Songhees Nation. September 30, 2026. Royal Athletic Park (1014 Caledonia). 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Pictured is the Survivors’ Flag, gifted to the University of Victoria by Elder and Survivor, Kilth-wii-taa, Dr. Barney Williams of the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation, photo courtesy of uvic.ca.

In 2025, retired surgeon Dr. Fred Wurlitzer, donated significant works of art to the University Art Collection. Among th...
09/24/2026

In 2025, retired surgeon Dr. Fred Wurlitzer, donated significant works of art to the University Art Collection.

Among them were artworks by Napachie Pootoogook, Cee Pootoogook, Pitseolak Ashoona, and Shuvinai Ashoona whose work is an important addition to the collection.

Spanning multiple generations of one remarkable Inuit family, their artwork reflects Inuit life, knowledge, storytelling, and culture while offering powerful perspectives on identity, resilience, and the continuity and evolution of Inuit life.

Their work supports teaching and learning across disciplines, including Indigenous studies, history, environmental studies, and visual arts. By centering Inuit voices and ways of knowing, these acquisitions contribute to ongoing efforts to decolonize education and affirm Indigenous knowledge as an essential part of the university experience.

See more this artwork from the Wurlitzer collection from the last week of November 2026 at the First Peoples House in an exhibition curated by guest curator and artist Uumati Kisoun-Inuarak!

Thank you to Dr. Fred Wurlitzer for financial support to make this exhibition possible.

Image: Shuvanai Ashoona, Untitled (hands closeup, c. 2004. Coloured pencil and ink on paper. Gift of Dr. Fred Wurlitzer in memory of his wife Ann Allan-Wurlitzer.

09/24/2026

Do you know that you can try out the shadow puppets in the WARA WARA exhibition? This piece is by the wayangpolah art collective and is called “Naya Kanthi Gegana in Netra”. Indonesian shadow puppetry is known as wayang kulit.

Wayang Polah is a collaborative art collective from Yogyakarta that work across many mediums including traditional arts, street art, experimental music, digital media, and performances and visual works that are unruly, wild or even ‘feral’ and theatrical, while focused on social issues and mythologies of everyday life.

WARA WARA
An Exhibition of Street Art and Graffiti from Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Sept. 16 - Dec. 5, 2026

Thank you to everyone who came to the joint opening of DIS: displaced, dispersed, dispossessed, here at the Legacy Art ...
09/23/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to the joint opening of DIS: displaced, dispersed, dispossessed, here at the Legacy Art Gallery and at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby, BC! We were so grateful to have Sarah Stillwell (Past Wrongs, Future Choices Project) and artists Brava Kilo (Brian Kobayakawa), Nao Uda, and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, join Lorilee Wastasecoot (UAC) in-person at the Legacy Gallery for the artist panel.

DIS: displaced, dispersed, dispossessed - Open till Dec. 5, 2026 at the University of Victoria Legacy Gallery (630 Yates), lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, Victoria, BC

Address

630 Yates Street
Victoria, BC
V8W1K9

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

250-721-6562

Website

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