Vancouver Art Gallery reaches new collective agreement with CUPE Local 15

VAG employees to receive wage increases, provisions around remote work

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY and CUPE Local 15 have today announced the ratification of a new collective agreement.

CUPE Local 15 is the union that represents the organization’s 159 bargaining unit employees.

The new agreement is effective from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026.

Under the four-year agreement, employees will receive a 2.75 percent increase plus an additional 25 cents per hour in year one, with a 2.5 percent increase in year two and a 2 percent increase in each of years three and four.

The deal also includes new provisions around remote work to best support the evolving needs of employees and Gallery operations.’

The Gallery and CUPE Local 15 began collective bargaining in February 2023. The parties met a total fof 13 times over the past four months, with members ratifying the new Collective Agreement on June 8.

“We are pleased to have completed this round of negotiations and reached a deal that provides stability for workers and improved services for Vancouver Art Gallery visitors,” CUPE 15’s VAG Bargaining Committee said in a release. “CUPE 15 members who work at the Vancouver Art Gallery are passionate about the work they do and the impact it has on our community. We look forward to continuing to work with the Vancouver Art Gallery to provide high wuality services and an enjoyable guest experience for all Vancouver Art Gallery visitors.”

Anthony Kiendl, CEO and director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, added: “As the Gallery continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to have reached a deal with CUPE Local 15 so that staff and management can focus on delivering rich and engaging exhibitions, programs and access to art for the people of British Columbia. I would like to thank CUPE Local 15 for the spirit of collaboration that was achieved during these negotiations, and also our staff, for their continued dedication and commitment.”

Having just opened at the VAG is Fashion Fictions, which runs to October 8. The exhibition's launch took the form of an epic Art Party and features couture, streetwear, sneakers, headgear, and other pieces of wearable design that meet at the intersection of art and style. Stay tuned to Stir for more coverage.

Articles

Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards unveils nominees for 40th edition, spanning Yaga, A Doll’s House, Part 2, and more

Winners will be announced at a Granville Island Stage ceremony on November 3

With picket lines gone, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra concerts set to resume October 10 with Saint-Saëns' Third Violin Concerto

With the help of a mediator, the musicians and the VSO Society have come to a tentative agreement

National Film Board doubles down on defining what it means to be Canadian for an “elbows up” era

Attending VIFF, NFB chair Suzanne Guèvremont has a new strategic plan that strives to reach out to the next generation

Vancouver Art Gallery announces Formline Architecture + Urbanism and KPMB Architects to envision new structure

Specific design proposals expected in 2026; Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron’s original plan had been discarded in December

B.C. artist Brian Jungen wins $100,000 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts

He’s made his name reimagining everyday objects, including reconstructing Nike Air Jordan sneakers to resemble Northwest Coast Indigenous masks

VSO musicians on strike for first time in orchestra's 107-year history

Several concerts over the weekend will not go ahead

Stir receives Jack Webster Award nomination for Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting

In-depth article shone a light on B.C. contemporary-dance artists wrestling with the fallout of losing Canada Council tour funding

Macbeth and The Merry Wives of Windsor on deck as Bard on the Beach announces summer of 2026 programming

Goblin:Oedipus and Antigone set to hit the Douglas Campbell Theatre next season

Curve! and A Haida Wedding amid BC Book Prize winners

At award gala, Vancouver poet Fred Wah received Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence.

Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum opens at SFU Burnaby campus

The 12,100-square-foot building features timber and glass, bridging art and the surrounding forest and opening with an inaugural exhibition called Edge Effects

Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney's Figures in Extinction wins Sky Arts Award

Former Ballet BC head Emily Molnar praises artists in acceptance speech for Europe’s Nederlands Dans Theater and Complicité

Firehall Arts Centre sounds off on how Canada Post's neighbourhood mail strike is hurting local arts organizations

Theatre company spent over $13,000 on nearly 30,000 brochures that can no longer be delivered to Vancouver neighbourhoods, shares artistic producer Donna Spencer

The Polygon Gallery hosts An Oral History of Television With Judy Radul, September 18

Artist’s book and multimedia installation look at the evolution of the form through everything from Craigslist sales to the moon landing

Campaign for Culture urges federal government to allocate one percent of overall spending to the arts

More than 30,000 people have emailed members of Parliament in support of the Canadian Arts Coalition initiative

Archie Barry channels testimony and trans history in Western Front exhibition

In their exhibition Try Keeping an Open Channel, the Melbourne-based artist explores selfhood, mortality, and the monumental significance of the everyday

Yota Kobayashi explores the nature of perception and reality in Shiki & Kū

The locally based soundscape artist and his global collaborators have crafted an immersive experience at VIVO Media Arts Centre, with Formscape Arts, Vancouver New Music, and IM4 Media Lab

Millennia of Coast Salish tradition are woven into Continuing the Ceremony, at West Vancouver Art Museum

Chief Dr. Janice George brings knowledge as both curator and practitioner to works that reflect not only the deep past but also the emerging future of Indigenous weaving arts

BC Coalition of Arts, Culture and Heritage addresses "glaring gaps" in 2026 provincial budget consultation report

Steering committee member Rainbow Robert says key recommendations are missing, including increasing BC Arts Council funding to $58 million annually

Clocking In for Unpaid Labour pop-up exhibition turns timecards into artworks, August 22 to 24

The show is the result of workshops held across the country

On Granville Island, 221A makes shortlist to turn former Emily Carr building into an arts and innovation hub

Nonprofit’s proposal for the 125,000-square-foot building revolves around a concept by Musqueam weaver Debra Sparrow

In Maker + Mother, artists explore the tension between creative identity and motherhood

Parker Street Gallery exhibition features works by 10 artists, including co-curators Felicia Fraser and Emiko Mizukami

The 2025 Polygon Award in First Nations Art goes to Rebecca Baker-Grenier and Gordon Dick

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun receives Award of Distinction, while Kari Morgan earns Emerging Artist award

Film review: Make Me Famous travels back to 1980s East Village to rediscover artist Edward Brezinski

Documentary screening at VIFF Centre uncovers a driven artist, and immerses viewer in an art scene that included Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring

Amid urgent calls from more than 40 arts community members, Vancouver votes for "watered-down" motion for cultural sustainability

“If we don’t act now, we risk losing a vital part of this city’s identity,” said Bard on the Beach’s Christopher Gaze, echoing calls by other Vancouver festivals and artists

Vancouver City Council motion calls for “urgent investment” in local arts and culture sector

In the motion set for July 23, recommendations to address funding and space shortfalls include setting a $40,000 minimum for operating grants and establishing a Festivals Vancouver Fund