Unit/Pitt Gallery
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Unit/Pitt Gallery is a gallery based in Vancouver, Canada. As an artist-run centre, their mission is to "empower collective, cumulative action through art, resistance, advocacy, and critical awareness-raising by supporting emerging artists and their diverse communities of practice."[1]
Unit/Pitt Gallery was previously named Helen Pitt Gallery. It was founded in 1975 by students of Vancouver School of Art. The gallery was named after a philanthropist who had established scholarship for students of the school[2] The gallery's original location was 163 West Pender Street, which was across the street from the school. The gallery initially operated using funds from student membership fees raised by the student society.[2] When Vancouver School of Art rebranded to become Emily Carr University and moved to Granville Island, the gallery became an independent entity.[2] In 2023, Unit/Pitt gallery moved to their current location at 2954 West 4th Ave.[3] The artist Dana Claxton have worked and curated a number of events and exhibitions at the gallery.[4] Catherine de Montreuil is the current director of the gallery.[5]
Programming
The mission of Unit/Pitt Gallery is to support emerging artists and the range of programming at the gallery over the years reflect this mission. The gallery exhibited the work of Share Coursaut in May 1978, who was a graduate of Vancouver School of Art.[6] In March 1986, the artist Burrell Swartz exhibited his oil paintings at the gallery.[7] On November 1983, the gallery held an exhibition titled "Sexuality and Seeing" curated by Gary Coward.[8] On September 1989, the gallery re-enacted the courtroom of the Gitskan and Wet'suwet'en land title fight with the provincial and federal government in an exhibition titled "Courtroom 53: Gitskan and Wet'suwet'en Land Title Action".[9]On October 1, 1992, Dana Claxton and Mike Macdonald curated an event called "First Ladies", which was a group exhibition of contemporary and traditional art by Indigenous women.[10] Dana Claxton also curated an exhibition of Indigenous conceptual artists titled "Neo Nativist: A laboratory of Contemporary Native Artists" in October 1991.[11] In May 1994, the gallery hosted jazz musicians, including New York quintet Lost Tribe as part of the Jazz festival.[12] In August 2006, the cartoonist Amy Lockhart exhibited her work at the gallery.[13] In 2007, the gallery became one of the hosts of LIVE Performance art Bienalle. [14]
References
- ↑ Projects, UNIT/PITT (2010-07-12). "About - UNIT/PITT". Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- 1 2 3 "ArcPost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres". arcpost.ca. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- ↑ "UNIT/PITT - Capture Photography Festival". 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- ↑ "Dana Claxton wins prestigious $100,000 Audain Prize for Visual Art". Stir. 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- ↑ "Catherine de Montreuil New Director of Vancouver's UNIT/PITT". Galleries West. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- ↑ Scott, Andrew (May 16, 1978). "Share Corsaut's art is simple - but far from simple-minded". The Vancouver Sun. p. 49.
- ↑ Johnson, Eve (March 13, 1986). "Painful images of one man's protest". The Vancouver Sun. p. 55.
- ↑ Johnson, Eve (November 10, 1983). "A deeply earnest endeavour". The Vancouver Sun. p. 53.
- ↑ Taylor, Lisa (September 2, 1989). "Artist join tussle on native land fight". The Vancouver Sun. p. 42.
- ↑ Bosley, Alison; De Montreuil, Catherine; Saragih, Kira, eds. (2025). Unit is U: 50 Years of Unit/Pitt. Unit/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-1-927394-43-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ Rosenberg, Ann (October 26, 1991). "Absence creates strong presence". The Vancouver Sun. p. 63.
- ↑ Andrews, Marke (May 5, 1994). "Jazz fest swings freely from centre to edge". The Vancouver Sun. p. 45.
- ↑ Burnham, Clint (August 5, 2006). "The Laborious Art of Animation". The Vancouver Sun. p. 87.
- ↑ Griffin, Kevin (October 11, 2007). "LIVE brings performance art to Vancouver's public spaces". The Vancouver Sun. p. 55.
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