Main Gallery

Sacred in All Forms

May 7th — August 8th, 2026

Sandeep Johal, Xiaojing Yan, Kourtney Jackson, Aaron McIntosh Curated by Jenelle Pasiechnik

This exhibition brings together artists whose practices engage the sacred as a living, relational force rather than a fixed identity. Moving beyond narrow or essentialized definitions of “the feminine,” the works assembled here trace lineages of creation, care, embodiment, and cosmology that both precede and exceed patriarchal frameworks of gender and divinity.

Across cultures and geographies, the sacred has long been understood as plural—emerging through bodies, lands, and worlds, and shaped through relationships between them. Many of these understandings have been suppressed, erased, or transformed through colonial systems and the dominance of singular, masculinized god-figures. The artists in Sacred in All Forms reclaim and reimagine these expansive cosmologies through culturally specific and embodied practices: Xiaojing Yan engages the divine through a Daoist lens grounded in material transformation and energetic flow; Sandeep Johal centers the fierceness and complexity of motherhood through an Indo-folk feminine aesthetic that holds both suffering and resilience; Kourtney Jackson employs hybridized and experimental forms of storytelling that permeate the interiorities of Black queer womanhood; and Aaron McIntosh mines the intersections of material culture, family tradition, sexual desire, and identity politics through his quilted works.

 Across these practices, the sacred emerges through entanglement—between human and more-than-human worlds, between inherited traditions and lived experience, and between resistance and care. Queer and gender-expansive bodies are not positioned at the margins but understood as generative sites of knowledge, where identity is continually negotiated and reimagined. By unsettling normative definitions of femininity, the works resist containment and open space for forms of being that are fluid, relational, and self-defined.

 

The works gathered here do not seek to define the divine feminine. Instead, they ask what becomes possible when the sacred is understood as plural, embodied, and already within, around, and in relation to us—and what it might mean to live in accountability to those relations.

 

44th Annual Member’s Show

January 30th — April 25th, 2026

Curated by Ken Blackburn

The Members’ Show is our annual ode to local artists. We invite members of the Campbell River Arts Council and the Campbell River Art Gallery to take part in this celebration of local creativity. Artists of all ages and skill levels are welcome to contribute, showcasing the abundant imagination and passion for artmaking that thrive in Campbell River.

Reflecting both the natural beauty of our region and the community’s deep love of arts and culture, the exhibition often features more than 50 works in a wide variety of media. Together, these pieces create a vibrant portrait of the many artists who call this area home.

The Campbell River Arts Council and the Campbell River Art Gallery collaborate to offer programming that supports and connects our community, including networking events and professional development workshops.

We thank our long-term partner, the Campbell River Arts Council, and to the many artists whose contributions make this exhibition possible.

Satellite Gallery

Our satellite gallery is an exhibition space located in the lobby of the Campbell River Art Gallery and Visitors Centre. Four large showcases are devoted to contemporary artwork.

 

Preparatory Work for Beast of Burden

May 7th – August 8th, 2026

Sandeep Johal

Sandeep Johal’s preparatory work for Beast of Burden offers a glimpse into how an artwork takes shape—through sketching, reflection, revision, and experimentation.

These early stages are often hidden in gallery spaces, yet they are where the work begins. By bringing them into view, this presentation highlights how ideas evolve over time, and how meaning is formed through making.

When you visit, take a moment to look closely.

What materials, marks, or gestures do you notice?

Where do you see change, repetition, or uncertainty?

What decisions might the artist be working through?

Now, consider your own process.

How do you begin something new?

Do you plan carefully, or discover as you go?

Where do you find similarities with the artist’s approach—and where do differences emerge?

What does experimentation look like for you?

Let this be a space for curiosity, reflection, and perhaps inspiration—for your own ways of thinking, making, and becoming.

 

Held in Common

Jan 30th — April 25th, 2026

Laurie Bartlett, Liz Carter, Richard Calver, Lyn Farquharson, Ross D Fisher, Doris Ritchie

This exhibition draws from the Campbell River Art Gallery’s permanent collection to honour artists and leaders who have helped shape both the cultural life of our region and the gallery itself. Featuring works by founding artists and long-time CRAG members, the exhibition highlights artistic excellence rooted in place, community, and sustained creative practice.