Current exhibitions
آبِ رواں Aab-e-Ravaan: Language Like Water
May 2 to August 1, 2026
Legacy Downtown | 630 Yates St.
Lekwungen Territory
آبِ رواں Aab-e-Ravaan: Language Like Water explores the artistic practice of Farheen Haq, an interdisciplinary artist born into an immigrant family with roots in Bihar, India, and Karachi, Pakistan, she now lives and works on lək̓ʷəŋən territory (Victoria, BC). Through her work, Haq returns to her parents’ experience and ancestral lands, drawing on the Urdu poetry of Mirza Ghalib (1797–1869) as a source of connection, memory, and reflection.
In this exhibition, Haq looks to water as a guide in relationship building and to understand the flows of migration; as well as tracing the fluidity of language through poetry. Her work moves like a ghazal, where every droplet carries the meaning of reconnection. In آبِ رواں Aab-e-Ravaan, Urdu becomes a living current, flowing and shaping relationships. Like water, it holds memory and connects seemingly distant lands and waters to the Salish Sea, offering a space where identity remains in motion, always shifting and creating new meanings.
Curated by Anahita Ranjbar.
The opening celebration will take place on May 2, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Image: Farheen Haq, Aankh Band ke Dekho (Close Your Eyes and See), 2022. Video still, courtesy of the artist.
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Everything is Special: A Celebration of Queer and Trans+ materials from the University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections & University Archives and University Art Collections
June 2, 2025 – extended to May 10, 2026
Legacy Maltwood Gallery | Mearns Centre for Learning – McPherson Library
University of Victoria | lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
What’s special about Queer and Trans+ artists’ books, zines, and multiples? Everything. From one-of-a-kind limited editions to unique historical items, the University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections & University Archives and University Art Collections is not only home to the world’s largest collection of Trans+ archival materials, but also a range of printed matter, DIY creations, art, and ephemera representing Queer and Trans+ people and activism from a diversity of creators and communities.
As part of the inaugural Queer Island Festival of the Arts, it’s extra special for UVic Libraries and University Art Collections to be part of a larger conversation with other community partners and organizations, to show our colours and our Pride!
Curated by Michael Radmacher, Transgender Archives Metadata Librarian; Caroline Riedel, Interim Director, Legacy Art Galleries and University Art Collections; Lara Wilson Director, Special Collections & University Archivist and Christine Walde, Fine Arts Librarian, with Heather Dean, Associate Director of Special Collections.
Exhibition is open during regular library hours.
Image: Self Portrait, Joe Average, 1997.
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Located on campus, First Peoples House displays artwork from the university's collection through rotating exhibitions.
Walking in Spirit: Francis and Beau Dick
March 1, 2024 — early 2026
First People’s House | UVic Campus
Lekwungen Territory
Before his passing in 2017, cousins Beau and Francis Dick frequently talked about exhibiting their work together. This exhibition seeks to honour that wish and to foster a deeper connection to their relationship as parallel artists and family.
Walking in Spirit is an intimate display of serigraphs by Beau and Francis from the late 1970s to early 2000s, that explore the incredible cultural teachings of their artworks.
Curated by Teresa Sammut with Lorilee Wastasecoot.
Image: Francis Dick, Spiritual Truth, serigraph, 1998.
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