Increasing Visibility, Accessibility, and Engagement with Publications: A Case Study of the Vancouver Art Gallery

Publishing in a gallery setting is a means of generating and disseminating scholarship around the institution’s holdings, exhibitions, and activities. Though publishing is an important part of their mandates, many galleries can’t support a publishing department or a full-time publishing coordinator. This predicament is one experienced by the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), despite producing several publications a year. In 2013 the VAG lacked the resources to create the infrastructure necessary to support its publishing activities while simultaneously producing new publications; as such, it was a challenge for it to undertake long-term strategic planning, document publishing activities, and distribute its backstock. In response to these challenges, the VAG’s Publications Coordinator initiated a publication study from May to December 2013. During this study research was conducted on how the VAG and other institutions publish, and a series of recommendations for the VAG were formed.