MSVU Art Gallery respectfully acknowledges that the Gallery and Mount Saint Vincent University are situated on Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral, unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.
MSVU Art Gallery was opened in a purpose-built space in 1971 by University President Catherine Wallace. Since its founding in MSVU Art Gallery has championed the work of women artists and explored the role of women as cultural producers and subjects—drawing in part on the history and educational aims of Mount Saint Vincent University, which was established in 1873 by the Congregation of Sisters of Charity as a school for women and girls.
Through its exhibitions, outreach programming, publishing activities, and development and stewardship of the Mount Saint Vincent University art collection, MSVU Art Gallery serves as a visual arts resource for the Mount Saint Vincent University community, Metro Halifax residents, and art publics everywhere. Our programming strives to reflect the needs, interests, and experiences of the constituent communities we serve, often aligning with or complementing University research and curricular offerings.
As a university art gallery, MSVU Art Gallery is uniquely well-positioned to host projects that explore art making as a form of inquiry. Aligning our work with the educational mission of Mount Saint Vincent University, we allocate our space and resources to support artistic and curatorial experimentation, research, and production, as well as presentation. Gallery exhibitions and resources are accessed by students and faculty, Artists at all stages of their careers, from the Atlantic region, across Canada, and around the world are represented in our programming. We are a proudly feminist institution and our framework for feminist cultural praxis is unequivocally intersectional.
Consistent with the principle that galleries are civic spaces, MSVU Art Gallery is committed to making our exhibitions and programs accessible to everyone. Admission is always free of charge. Information about MSVU Art Gallery’s accessibility features and interpretive services can be found here.
MSVU Art Gallery receives operational support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Halifax Regional Municipality, and Mount Saint Vincent University. Programs and special initiatives receive additional funding from federal, provincial, and municipal agencies.
