Education
• L.V. Rogers Secondary School, 2011.
• Olds College, Textiles Design and Technology 2011-2012
• Associate of the Arts Degree at Selkirk College, 2014-2018
• Critical & Cultural Practices Major, Curatorial studies Minor, 2019-2024
Experience
December 2024 - December 2025
Curatorial Fellow | grunt gallery | Vancouver, BC
Work with artists and grunt’s curatorial team to develop and execute exhibitions and programs in 2025, work under the guidance of the program Director and Curator, Lead curation of one exhibition in 2025, participate in curatorial and programming meetings, aid in curatorial research, information gathering, and writing, contribute to execution of 2025 exhibitions submissions call and jury process, research and development of curatorial project.
October 2024 - January 2025
Research Assistant | The Aboriginal Gathering Place | ECUAD | Vancouver, BC
Support research into Indigenous Alumni since the founding of Emily Carr, manage project deadlines, compile contact information, liaise with past alumni and record their stories, manage and organize files and research resources, write literature reviews.
September 2021 - March 2022
Curatorial Assistant | The Polygon Gallery | North Vancouver, BC
Support curatorial activities including research, text management, and promotion, cultivate partnerships and community engagements, act as co-host and technical support during workshops, provide administrative support to members of the Curatorial team, Liaise with artists, contract workers, programmers and volunteers, Prepare exhibition materials including labels, didactics, travel itineraries, contracts and promotions, administer information production, image work and coordination of publications and in-house documents, assist with education and public programs, including liaising with workshop participants and facilitators in planning and coordination of sessions.
March 2020 - August 2021
Peer Tutor & Reading Series Co-Host| ECUAD Writing Center | Vancouver, BC
Manage own timesheet and hours, coordinate shifts with other peer tutors, attend weekly meetings, have working knowledge of University website, resources and assets, assist students in understanding their project outlines, help develop their writing at any stage, provide access to resources, summarize appointment in students file for future peer tutors, assist in setting up zoom meetings, give land acknowledgements, facilitate readings with authors and facilitators, facilitate Q&A’s.
Oct 2018 - Feb 2020
Sales Associate & Book Section Lead | Little Sister’s | Vancouver, BC.
Accurately ring through customer's orders, educate the public on scope of store’s products, handle & balance till float, memorize co-op policies and procedures, become familiar with products and brands sold by Little Sister’s, coordinate breaks with co-workers, operate SMS computer system, maintain store cleanliness, tidy book section, manage stock of books and research new titles to carry.
Volunteer Work
2020 | Treasurer of the Board | Oxygen Art Centre | Nelson, BC.
Attend monthly meetings, help define organizations mission statement, consult with bookkeeper and oversee organization’s spending, relay financial information to the rest of the board, help facilitate AGM, deliver financial information to members at the AGM, attend Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion meetings, consult with other board members on best practice for JEDI initiatives.
2018 | Social Media & Donations Coordinator | Bent On Art Festival | Nelson, BC.
Establish and maintain professional relationships with local businesses, communicate and coordinate donations of materials and resources, create engaging while also informative social media content, provide information on participating artists and their respective practices, maintain social media presence, assist in planning and executing festival events, organize volunteers, installing main juried exhibition, maintain gallery space, work with a tight knit team of coordinators.
2017 | September - October | Downtown Nelson | Kootenay History Mural
A mural project promoting local emerging artists, envisioned by the Heritage Working Group of the Cultural Development Committee (City of Nelson) in partnership with Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History. Funded by the Nelson Youth Action Network (CBT), Nelson and District Youth Center, the Capitol Theater and Home Hardware Building Center.
Gallery Showings
2024 | November 2 - December 13 | Massy Arts Society | I Have Begun Making Myself
Curated by jaye simpson, Wrights existing work was displayed in the north-west window of Massy Arts Society for a period of five weeks, and explored the threads of art vs. craft, practice as a way of making work and oneself, and cultural and kinship connections.
2024 | Sept 19 - Feb 2 | Musée régional de Rimouski | Creation Stories; BACA Survey Group Show
BACA and Musée régional de Rimouski partnered to bring the public of Rimouski and surrounding communities a survey or artworks included in the original run of Creation Stories. This survey show included Vance Wrights work that was included in the Roots and Revelations exhibition, originally shown at Galerie de Stewart Hall earlier that spring.
2024 | April 27 - June 23 | Galerie de Stewart Hall | Creation Stories; Roots and Revelations Group Show
BACA presented the 7th edition of the Contemporary Native Art Biennial, a multi-venue exhibition that explored the deep-rooted theme of Creation Stories through the eyes of a talented collection of four curators. The exhibition displayed works of approximately sixty artists, including Vance Wright, creating a unique and thought provoking experience for art lovers.
2024 | January - February | Emily Carr University Exhibition Commons | Frybread as Fok Exhibition
Co-Curated by Taylor Baptiste-Sparrow, Rylee Taje, Aaron Rice and Vance Wright, Frybread as Fok presented the recent works of Indigenous students, faculty and staff of Emily Carr University. The exhibition boasted 32 artists and over 80 works of art on view for the Emily Carr community and greater public.
2023 | April - June | Oxygen Art Center | Residency & Tracelines Exhibition
Spanning April 27th to May 18th, Wright was engaged in their first Artist Residency with Oxygen Art Center. During this time, Wright developed new works concerning traces, archives, and beadwork. The exhibition “Tracelines” opened on May 19th, and ran for three weeks. Extended programming through both engagements included an artist talk with the Executive Director Julia Prudhomme, two open studios, and two guided tours of the exhibition with local schools.
2023 | January - February | Emily Carr University Exhibition Commons | Sacred Fires Exhibition
Co-curated by Zoei Greyeyes, Aaron Rice, and Vance Wright, the Sacred Fires Exhibition was a group show of thirty indigenous students with over eighty contributed works. Wright helped install the show under the supervision of Lawerence Lowe, the Gallery Preparator from Libby Leshgold Gallery. Wright also contributed three sculptures to the show.
2021 | March - April | Gordon Smith Gallery | A House of All Sorts Exhibition
Facilitated through Patrik Andersson, Emily Carr University, and Gordon Smith Gallery, the show “A House of All Sorts” was co-curated by Orly Ashkenazy, Sierra Bronkhorst, Tallon Ellison, Dorsa Hadikhanloo, James Peach and Vance Wright. The co-curators were asked to put contemporary emerging artists' work in conversation with curated works from the Artist For Kids collection. Wright curated work by Atheana Picha to be put in conversation with works from Robert Davidson, Brian Jungen, and Bill Reid.
2018 | June - July | Oxygen Art Center | Wayfinding: Identity and the Kootenays
In this professional, juried exhibition featuring emerging Kootenay artists, youth respond to the theme of Wayfinding: Identity and the Kootenays through textile work, photography, installation, sculpture, painting and video. Vance Wright’s embroidery work takes up mapping as a way of engaging with queer politics and decolonization,
2017 | June – July | Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History | Indigenous Artist Showcase
An exhibition showcasing contemporary and local indigenous artists. Vance Wright’s contributions consist of acrylic paintings on wooden canvas.
2017 | Oxygen Art Centre | In Flux
A youth gallery show centered on the concept of continuous change, passage or movement featuring my first sculptural pieces which explored depth and shadow through folded paper and moving light.