Artropolis 2003 showcased the work of over 400 artists from across British Columbia. The public was invited to experience the largest visual arts exhibition in Western Canada. Three curated shows, a Juried exhibition and an open invite Adjunct exhibition offered a variety of media from painting to performance. Visit Artropolis 2003 and be a part of a visual art tradition started twenty years ago. Presented by A.T. Eight Artropolis Society & CBC Television.

Artropolis 2003 artists were selected from over 450 entries representing an intriguing variety of media and disciplines. Artropolis 2003 was located at the CBC Television Studios at 700 Hamilton st., in the heart of downtown Vancouver.



The first Artropolis exhibition was titled The October Show and opened in 1983.The October Show featured over 120 artists and was in the grand tradition of "salons des refusees." It was created in response to the Vancouver Art Gallery announcement for their exhibition Art and Artists: 1931 to 1983 which showcased very few artists.

Flush with the success of The October Show, another exhibition, titled The Warehouse Show, took place in 1984. Seven floors of an old unoccupied warehouse featured art work by approximately 190 artists and drew 10,000 visitors.

1987 was the first year the arts exhibition chose the name Artropolis. The new space was three floors of another warehouse. Six curators addressed a specific theme in the artwork they selected for the exhibition which featured the work of 185 artists and included a music and video section. Roughly 18,000 people attended the exhibition.

In 1988, the A. T. Eight Artropolis Society was created to undertake future exhibitions in the tradition of earlier shows. Artropolis 90 took place at the Roundhouse Community Centre, utilizing the whole building during its conversion and in advance of its opening as a cultural centre. The show filled 27,000 square feet, and contained the work of 190 artists selected by ten senior artists and curator/critic Ann Rosenberg. An estimated 24,000 people attended the show.

Artropolis 93 was held in the historic former Woodward's Department Store building at 100 W. Hastings Street. Over 70,000 square feet of exhibition space housed the work of more than 245 artists and approximately 32,000 people attended the show. Artgoers lined up around the block to attend the opening of the exhibition.

The 1997 version of Artropolis was called Browser. It featured 240 artists in an exhibition space of approximately 7,000 square feet.The unique Browser concept has been interpreted by the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art at Bankside, in London, England.

Artropolis 2001 created the first exhibition at the CBC Broadcast Centre. 10,000 sq. feet of studio space, over 400 artists and more than 15,000 visitors flooded downtown. The press response added measurably to the positive national and international attention that B.C. artists have garnered over the years.

In the past twenty years, starting with The October Show, Artropolis exhibitions have utilized non-traditional spaces and represented an enormous amount of talented BC artists. The exhibitions have successfully introduced the public to contemporary BC art and artists in numbers that private galleries could only dream of. Artropolis exhibitions always attract considerable media attention and offer an opportunity for business and culture to celebrate the diversity of visual art in BC. Artropolis 2003 clearly upheld this tradition while forging new ground and opening eyes and minds to the splendour of contemporary art.