Tour | Art Hop and Sip Social: Granville Island

ADMISSION
$42 – $52
Register here

Organized by Curated Tastes. Led by Maria Cecilia (Film curator and creative facilitator).

Join a guided art hop finalizing with a private reception on Granville Island. The tour begins with Jane Adams, known for her abstract acrylic paintings that capture the essence of urban life. Wil Aballe gallery, showcasing pieces by Alex Gibson, a queer, non-binary artist from Barbados whose work explores digital and material processes. We’ll conclude with a reception at New Leaf Editions, presenting a solo exhibition by Valerie Durant, a Vancouver-based interdisciplinary artist whose practice delves into the interconnectivity between humans and the natural world. Meet the artists and gallerists over a glass of wine.

To conclude, we’ll unwind with a private reception featuring drinks and nibbles, the perfect setting to connect, discuss, and celebrate art together.

Stops
Jane Adams’ Studio – A behind-the-scenes look at an artist’s creative process.
Wil Aballe – A celebrated contemporary art gallery featuring Alex Gibson and Dion Smith-Dokkie.
New Leaf Editions – A unique printmaking studio showcasing Valerie Durant’s solo exhibition.

Wil Aballe
Alex Gibson is a queer Barbadian artist whose works center on queer identity and space. They have been exhibited at Capture Photography Festival, Or Gallery, Wil Aballe Art Projects, Tomato Mouse, Fondazione Antonio Ratti and Artists Alliance Barbados, among others. Alex was a 2024 graduate of the UBC MFA program.

Dion Smith-Dokkie (at Wil Aballe’s)
Dion Smith-Dokkie is a painter and visual artist, a recent UBC MFA graduate with degrees from UVic (BA) and Concordia (BFA). His work explores mediation, translation, and interface phenomena through painting, drawing, and video. A gay/queer mixed-race European-Indigenous artist, he is a member of West Moberly First Nations. Earlier this year, he was shortlisted for the 2025 Lind Biennale Prize. His work can currently be seen at the Polygon Gallery and SUM Gallery.

New Leaf Editions Gallery (3-1244 Cartwright St – Valerie Durant’s solo photography exhibition)
Valerie Durant (BFA,MA) engages with found objects, photography, sculpture & sound, centred upon a contemplative, daily ritual of deep connection with nature. She investigates the seemingly invisible interconnectivity between humans and the natural world, exploring concepts of sustainability, regeneration and continuum. She works with ice, organic and inorganic materials which have minimal impact on the environment.

She has received Canada Council Grants (Points & Perforations, 2006), Invisible Rivers (GPAG 2021) Silence of the Sea (2021) & Understory:The Hidden Connections (2004). Her work is held in public and private collections, locally and internationally. @valeriedurant.art

Jane Adams
Jane Adams, born in Vancouver, studied at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University) from 1962 to 1965, learning from Jack Shadbolt, Don Jarvis, Roy Kiyooka, and Orville Fisher. In 1965, she worked with William Townsend at the Slade School of Art in London. Her first solo exhibition was in 1973 at Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver. Adams has exhibited across Canada, with her works held in corporate, private, and public collections, including the National Art Bank, Royal Trust, and Via Rail.