The VIVARIUM GALLERY is an online gallery with a 'window' space to hang 2D visual art, present 3D art objects, and with a 12x12ft rear projection screen for video projection installations.

Here are some frequently asked questions that help define us:

1/ WHAT is the VIVARIUM GALLERY?
An Online Gallery with a 'Real' Exhibition Space in Vancouver, Canada. LAUNCH DATE AUGUST 1ST 2008.
The Vivarium Gallery is an online gallery with an accompanying real window space in Vancouver, Canada, with a monthly rotating exhibit.
The Vivarium Gallery offers a large, window-front space, for traditional or multimedia artists to exhibit work and also aims to assist artists to generate financial income by eliciting direct sales of their works of art from the general public.
Vivarium can accommodate single works up to maximum of 12 x12 feet. On an average day 300 people pass by the window, which is located on a busy side street, just off the main 4th Avenue shopping strip in Kitsilano, and on a walking route between bus stops on 4th Avenue and Broadway. located in a heritage Victorian storefront built in 1905.
Each exhibition will be archived on the website. The website makes the artworks accessible to an international audience, while simultaneously encouraging the development of the local Vancouver art community. The VIVARIUM window can metaphorically be thought of as a large high resolution 'monitor', bringing the currently exhibited work into a 'real-world' environment.

2/ VISION: Single-Large-Work Exhibitions
" There is so much visual pollution in our daily lives; advertising dominates our visual space. Art Galleries and Museums are designed to provide a visual shelter from the bombardment of branding however even in a gallery, multiple images compete with each other for the viewers attention. The gallery aesthetic aims to simplify the space so the room disappears and the artwork shines. Unfortunately, I have often experienced exhaustion, headaches, dizziness and irritation in art galleries and museums, by becoming visually overwhelmed trying to take so much in, so quickly! My most memorable art experiences have been sitting or standing in front of 'one' work of art and being completely absorbed by it. " Christopher Rodrigues
Vivarium Gallery exhibits single works of painting, sculpture, drawing, print or digital print, photograph or moving images in film, video or animation. In this way the viewer can allow the necessary time with a single piece of work. With only one image to contemplate there is more time for the work to be appreciated and absorbed. (Intentional diptych/triptychs will still count as a single work if they are intended to be viewed as one piece.)

3/ WHO IS THE SPACE FOR?
2D and 3D Artists: Painters/Photographers/Sculptors/Textiles/Ceramics.
Artists must generate large volumes of work to fit in with the needs of commercial galleries. If selected for a large scale show, they often work in isolation for many months without a supporting income. Yet continuous sales are necessary for an artist to sustain and develop their career. By choosing to exhibit a single work, the artist can make a submission to the Vivarium gallery, while continuing to develop their multi-work exhibition ideas.
Video & Animation/Digital Artists.
The back wall of the window gallery multi-tasks as a rear-projection screen up to 10x10 ft. Video installations can therefore be accommodated, as a large-scale visual display between dusk and 10pm.

4/ THE VIVARIUM GALLERY WEBSITE & BLOG
The online gallery website (currently hosted at http://vivariumgallery.blogspot.com/) provides a place for the public to make comments and sign an online guest book, and for feedback from other artists and functions as the point of contact for the work exhibited. Sales enquiries are channeled through the website. Vivarium Gallery accepts an optional tithe back from the artist if their work sells as a result of the window gallery exposure. This money is put directly back into the Vivarium Gallery infrastructure, against website and general exhibition expenses.
The artists work is promoted through the window and the website only. We do not currently plan to print postcards or posters of the exhibitions, but exhibiting artists are free to do so.
Exhibiting work publicly not only provides income for artists but it also allows them to gain the respect and recognition of their peers. This acknowledgment is so important for the continuous production and exploration of work and ideas. Discussions with the artists and talk-back sessions will be organized through the website.
A new website is currently under construction at http://www.vivariumgallery.com

5/ PROMOTION AND EXPOSURE
Vancouver is a rapidly growing city and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games have forced it into even more of an accelerated growth. With property prices rising and the homeless situation getting worse, the arts can provide a bridge between the wealthy and poor, by generating communication and thoughtful discussion. However, all too often, the arts communities are the first to get pushed out of their studios when property costs rise. To better preserve the vibrant arts cultures of Vancouver during this time of increased living costs, new opportunities need to be created that fund artists. Galleries are the best way to circulate money back to the artists.
The Vivarium Gallery window was partly established as a response to the difficulty artists encounter when entering the commercial gallery scene. It aims to promote the work of local artists. Commercial galleries are mostly uncomfortable taking risks, preferring to exhibit work by established artists with guaranteed market sales. By keeping to this formula the viewer will often get the feeling that they have seen this image somewhere before. Judging good and bad art by its market value can only sterilize culture. The creation of artist-managed spaces like the Vivarium Gallery, provides local artists with a free alternative to the commercial galleries and offers a potential source of income that can assist emerging artists and the local art scene, supporting their artistic development and helping them to thrive in Vancouver.

6/ VANCOUVER OLYMPICS
The Vivarium Gallery aims to provide a visual voice for local artists who may not have access to large galleries during the Vancouver Olympics time period, or whose work may voice unpopular beliefs around the Olympic theme.
The 2010 Winter Olympics brings international attention to Vancouver. The Olympics put a lot of strain on a cities infrastructure before, during and after the games.
The blogsite will provide a space for online public debate of involvement of the arts to the Olympic infrastructure.