That Green Ideal: Emily Carr at Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery presents its largest Emily Carr exhibition in over two decades. “That Green Ideal: Emily Carr” opens to the public on February 6, 2026 and is paired with a tours and events program for visitors of all ages. This will be the gallery’ first exhibition to focus exclusively on Carr’s evolving idea of nature. 

That Green Ideal: Emily Carr  at Vancouver Art Gallery

• Dates: February 6 to November 8, 2026
• Location: Vancouver Art Gallery 750 Hornby St, Vancouver
• Admission: Purchase tickets online or onsite.
  • Visit on the first Friday night of every month for free admission with Free First Friday Nights.

Widely recognized as one of Canada’s most influential artists, Emily Carr (1871–1945) developed a way of seeing nature that blurred observation, spirituality and artistic invention. That Green Ideal explores the space between Carr’s lived encounters with forests, coastlines and mountains, and the ideas—cultural, philosophical and artistic—that transformed those experiences into works of art. Through paintings, drawings, journals and archival materials, the exhibition traces Carr’s lifelong effort to capture not just the appearance of nature, but its perceived inner essence.

At the end of the exhibition, visitors will discover an interactive space designed for audiences to pause and engage creatively with Carr’s ideas of nature. Here, visitors can sketch their own responses to Carr’s work, browse books about her life and art, and take part in word-based activities that deepen their understanding of the exhibition. A sensory-friendly felt wall offers a tactile experience for younger visitors, while a search-and-find activity guides families through the galleries, encouraging close observation and playful exploration. 

Last year on World Health Day, the Vancouver Art Gallery announced a groundbreaking new collaboration with the BC Parks Foundation that recognizes the healing power of art and nature in supporting mental health and psychological wellbeing. Through this partnership, healthcare professionals can prescribe their patients a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery via the BC Parks Foundation’s PaRx program. 

That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature extends this approach by placing reflection and personal connection at the centre of the visitor experience. As audiences move through the exhibition, they are encouraged to consider how Carr understood, imagined and felt the natural world and how those ways of seeing continue to shape our own relationships with landscape today. 

Visitors are invited to experience the exhibition as a contemplative journey, using Carr’s vision as a starting point for renewed awareness. Prescribed visitors can take home Colouring Carr, a nature-inspired colouring book featuring works from the Gallery’s collection—also available for purchase at the Gallery Store. 

The exhibition is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Richard Hill, Smith Jarislowsky Senior Curator of Canadian Art with Andrea Valentine-Lewis, Curatorial Assistant.

The Gift Shop

The Store will complement the exhibition with a range of exclusive Emily Carr merchandise. Visitors can browse stickers and magnets featuring five of Carr’s iconic forest paintings, a postcard series highlighting her lesser-known charcoal drawings or a tote bag or poster featuring the exhibition’s signature artwork, Untitled, 1931. In Spring 2026 the Vancouver Art Gallery will publish That Green Ideal: Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature, a lavishly illustrated catalogue, the centrepiece of which is an extensive, scholarly essay by Richard Hill that expands his investigation into Carr’s life and work. 

Carr-Inspired Afternoon Tea

The Vancouver Art Gallery has collaborated with Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s Notch8 tea salon to present Among the Trees with Emily Carr, an afternoon tea inspired by Carr’s celebrated paintings. Running from Friday, May 22 to Sunday, September 6, 2026, the experience invites guests to enjoy a selection of sweet and savoury treats in an immersive, forest-inspired setting. 

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