Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery
EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
YongZhen Li: Structures of the Unsaid
March 4 – April 13
ARTIST RECEPTION and Q & A: Thursday, March 5, 6pm – 8pm
We are pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Chinese artist Yongzhen Li. Li’s work examines the psychological and symbolic violence embedded within Chinese patriarchal culture, focusing on its impact on identity formation, gender expectations, and emotional expression. Grounded in lived experience and informed by a neurodivergent sensitivity to sensory detail, the practice employs traditional Chinese painting materials—ink, rice paper, brush, and mugwort dye—to construct fragmentary, emotionally charged visual narratives.
Capture Photography Festival
April 14 – May 18
ARTISTS’ RECEPTION : Thursday, April 16, 6pm – 8pm
Wes Bell: Snag
We are delighted to present this exhibition as part of the Capture Photography Festival. Snag emerged from a moment of profound personal reckoning. During a drive across the windswept prairies of Alberta, shortly after saying goodbye to his mother, who was dying of cancer, Wes Bell became captivated by the eerie presence of shredded plastic bags tangled in barbed-wire fences.
Hope Forstenzer: If Not Now, When?
Hope Forstenzer is a New York–born, Vancouver-based glass artist whose work builds on the rich history of glassmaking, experimenting with traditional techniques to explore their intersections with the contemporary world. Using blown glass alongside stained glass, she brings the modern human experience into a space historically reserved for religious iconography.
Lilian Broca: Lilith
Part of the Festival of Jewish Culture
Sponsored by Averbach Family Foundation
May 20 – June 29
ARTIST RECEPTION: Wednesday May 20, 6pm – 8pm
ARTIST TALK: Tuesday, May 26, 7pm
Throughout her career, Lilian Broca has explored subjects ranging from intimate relationships and
personal objects to brides, goddesses, and foundational myths, examining narratives that have shaped
Western cultural identity. Since 1980, her work has increasingly focused on women and the forces that
shape female self-image.
In this exhibition, Broca revisits the myth of Lilith, Adam’s first wife, with symbolic intensity, exploring
the struggle of an empowered, independent woman whose conflicts echo those faced by women today.
Drawing on lesser-known texts, she highlights Lilith’s refusal to submit, her departure from Adam, and
her embrace of autonomy—offering an alternative origin story that challenges dominant narratives
and reclaims female agency.
Pandora’s Collective & Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery Presentation
Sponsored by the Yosef Wosk Foundation
Poets will respond with original work inspired by the current art exhibits on display. Please bring paper and pen. There will be an open mic time when the audience will have an opportunity to write and read poems relating to the exhibit. Free admission.
Tuesday March 24
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Featured Poets: Ingrid Rose, Rosemary Nowicki, Heidi Greco, Adrienne Drobnies, and Sophea Heang
Host: Bonnie Nish
Past Exhibit
CHIM’s Photojournalism: From War to Hope (April 22 to June 15, 2025)
View Photo Book | Exhibit Highlights Video
THE GALLERY IS LOOKING FOR DOCENTS
The Docent Program will be a group of trained volunteers who function as part-time gallery docents. Those interested in being docents will be trained by the Gallery Director in late summer or early fall, and, once trained, will receive a briefing on all exhibits. Docents will average one four-hour shift a week. A docent calendar will be managed by the Gallery Director. Email gallery@jccgv.bc.ca for more information, and to sign up to participate.
STAY IN TOUCH
Please email gallery@jccgv.bc.ca for any information, or if you’d like to be on our email list.
COPYRIGHT
Each artist owns the copyright in his/her respective images. These images may not be copied, modified, duplicated or used in any way without the express prior written consent of the artist.