Join our community of artists, arts professionals, organizations, and volunteers who help bring the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival to life! We are currently seeking volunteers to help with art sales, public workshops, performances, and more!
Apply by September 22: https://form.jotform.com/252385440133249
If you require assistance completing the form or want to apply over the phone or email, please contact us at either voaf@cacv.ca or 604-682-0010.
This festival celebrates the creativity of Vancouver artists who break the mould. Whether you work in paint, clay, sound, movement, or anything in between, we want to see what makes you an outsider artist. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your unique vision and connect with a community of like-minded folks!
Application Deadline: May 15, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT
Dates of Festival: October 10-12, 2025
Accessibility: Our staff will work with each applicant to meet their needs and make their experience at the festival as comfortable as possible. If you would like to request assistance with your application, please reach out at voaf@cacv.ca or 604-682-0010.
We are celebrating another successful festival!Ā
A recap of our festival numbers:
Special thanks to our amazing team, generous volunteers who donated their time and our partners and sponsors: Creative BC, BC Gaming, BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver, Canadian Heritage, Modo, Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, BC Culture Days, SAD MAG, Outsiders and Others, GIFTS OF MADNESS and our international partners Outsider Art Festival from Helsinki Finland.
Photo of our team: Beck, Annika, Ella, Madeleine, Mary-Anne, Kaya, Kristin and Sammy!
Did you attend the festival? We would love to hear from you! Please complete the Festival Audience Survey and tell us about your experience at the festival and youāll have a chance to win a $200 Opus Art Supplies Gift Card. The deadline for the survey is November 15, 2024. As a growing festival, we want to make the necessary changes and improvements to create a better environment for both artists and audiences for next year!
Looking forward to seeing you at our festival in 2025!
We’re thrilled to introduce Madeleine Polak as the Stage Manager for the 2024 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival! š
Madeleine Polak (she/her) is a lover of emerging new theatre, name brand sharpies, iced oat lattes, and colour-coded spreadsheets. Sheās a queer theatre maker & manager based in Vancouver, where she is in her fourth and final year of the UBC BFA Design and Production program. A firm believer in wearing multiple hats within the industry, Madeleine is active as both a stage manager and costume designer, as well as a fledgling director.
As a stage manager, Madeleine sees well organized spreadsheets as their own artform. She has previously worked with Theatre Terrific on their 2024 Harvest production, āProximityā and with local queer rock-band āHot Dyke Partyā during their original performance run.
Current creative endeavors include costume design for UBC Theatreās ‘The Very Book Indeed’ and assistant direction for UBC Musical Theatre Troupeās ‘Heathers’, both opening in November.
Join us in welcoming Madeleine!
Join our community of artists, arts professionals, organizations, and volunteers who help bring the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival to life! We are currently seeking volunteers to help with art sales, public workshops, performances, and more!
Apply by September 22:Ā https://form.jotform.com/242407573753258
If you require assistance completing the form or want to apply over the phone or email, please contact us at eitherĀ voaf@cacv.caĀ orĀ 604-682-0010.
Weāre delighted to announce that Annika Walsh is joining the CACV team as our new Marketing Assistant!
Annika Walsh is an emerging transdisciplinary artist who works with food, cooking, and everything in between to further the notion of connectedness and togetherness. They utilize all things food to create and inform relational and embodied ways of knowing through their experience based work. Annika completed a BFA with a specialization in Media Arts at the University of Ottawa in 2022. Currently working on a Masters of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, their research seeks to investigate the ways in which Chinese-Canadian adopteesā relationship with food influences their feelings of identity, connection, and belonging.
We are excited to have Annika join us and we look forward to seeing all that she will achieve in this role. Join us in welcoming Annika!
CALL FOR ARTISTS & PERFORMERSāØ
This festival celebrates the creativity of Vancouver artists who break the mould. Whether you work in paint, clay, sound, movement, or anything in between, we want to see what makes you an outsider artist. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your unique vision and connect with a community of like-minded folks!
Application Deadline: May 14 at 11:59 pm PT
Dates of Festival: October, 2024
Accessibility: Our staff will work with each artist to meet their needs and make their experience at the festival as comfortable as possible. If you have any accessibility needs for the application process, please contact our team at voaf@cacv.ca or 604-682-0010.
Head to our website to learn more and submit your application: https://www.voaf.ca/
This is your opportunity to shine, to be seen, and to make a statement. Let’s show Vancouver what it means to be an outsider artist!
We are celebrating our most successful festival ever! šš
A recap of our festival numbers:
Special thanks to all our our amazing team, generous volunteers who donated their time and our partners and sponsors: Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver, Canadian Heritage, Modo, Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, Jamie Poh Photography, BC Culture Days, Disability Alliance of BC, Y.P Heung Foundation and our international partners Outsider Art Festival from Helsinki Finland.
And we’re going on tour! The first stop on our VOAF touring exhibition is Port Moody Arts Centre from January 11-March 2024. Looking forward to seeing you at our festival in 2024 with expanded programs & events!
Photo of our team: Kaya, Gina, Kristin, Ava, Lizzie, Becca, Ella, Casey, Mary-Anne! š
Special thanks to our photographer, Jamie Poh. You can view more photos of our festival here.
As the 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival fast approaches, our team has been hard at work making all the important preparations – including an ongoing video project! Planned to release in early 2024, this project aims to showcase the journeys of talented artists and performers as they participate in the 2023 festival. We are so excited to present you the final product, so until it is completed, here are some behind-the-scenes sneak peeks at what we’ve been up to!
We met with Katalina Guerrero (she/her), one of the many visual artists participating in the 2023 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival. A Mexican-Canadian artist of both informal and formal training, Katalina uses art to explore her own lifelong journey of learning and healing, while centring the theme of embodied existence. Stay tuned to hear all about what she had to share with us, coming to you early 2024!
Alex K. Masse (they/them), also known as Fairything, is a singer-songwriter solo act you can catch performing in the 2023 festival. We sat down with Alex, whose music reflects synthy, sapphic, and dreamy sounds you’ll want to watch clouds to. Their impressive portfolio of work includes collaborations with local pride events, arts festivals, and more, lending valuable representation to their communities as a neurodivergent, nonbinary lesbian. Be sure to stop by the festival to catch their performance!
See the artists in action at the festival this October 12-17. Learn more about the artists and performers at https://voaf.ca/2023-artists-performers-2/
It is with a heart both heavy and with gratitude that I share the news that I will be moving on from my role as Programs Manager at the Community Arts Council of Vancouver (CACV). These past two years have been a complete joy to work alongside such a dedicated and passionate team and to connect with so many talented artists in so-called Vancouverās vibrant arts community.
I am excited to introduce theĀ new Programs Manager,Ā Mary-Anne McAllister. Mary-Anne is a creative and cultural producer hailing from South Africa, bringing with her five years of experience in the arts sector. Now residing on the unceded territories of the xwmÉĪøkwÉyĢÉm (Musqueam), SįøµwxĢ±wĆŗ7mesh (Squamish), and SelĢĆlĢwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Mary-Anne is dedicated to fostering collaborative networks that empower young creatives and cultivate growth opportunities. With an Honours Degree in Fine Art from the University of Pretoria, her background in creative producing, fine arts, and curatorial work will undoubtedly enrich our community. Mary-Anneās involvement in national and international community-driven projects showcases her dedication to the transformative power of art. Her recent co-production of POWER TALKS Durban demonstrates her commitment to facilitating meaningful conversations through creative collaboration. As we bid farewell, I am confident that Mary-Anne will lead the Programs team with passion and innovation, and I canāt wait to witness the incredible impact she will undoubtedly make.
Mary-Anneās inaugural role at CACV involves leading the upcoming Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, making its return to the Roundhouse this October 12-17. With her prior involvement as a volunteer in the 2022 festival, Mary-Anne deeply understands the festivalās mission, the community of artists, and our team. Mary-Anne will undoubtedly thrive in this role, and I canāt wait to see all that she achieves.
Join us in welcoming Mary-Anne!
Warmly,
Shannon Goodman
Former Programs Manager