VMAA brings together metalsmiths, jewellers, sculptors, enamelists, mixed-media artists, and others working with metal, creating opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, share knowledge, and present their work.

Could you tell us briefly about the vmaa and its values?  

The Vancouver Metal Arts Association (VMAA) is an artist-run nonprofit organization supporting the jewellery and metal arts community in Vancouver, BC. VMAA brings together metalsmiths, jewellers, sculptors, enamelists, mixed-media artists, and others working with metal, creating opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, share knowledge, and present their work. Our programming includes exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, social events, and opportunities that support artists in developing their practices.

Our 2026 group exhibition, We Meet In Between, continues that mission by bringing together artists from different backgrounds and practices to explore a shared theme through contemporary metal and jewellery arts.                                                                                                                              Pince-Nez,  Anna Altwein

What is the inspiration for We Meet In Between as an exhibition? 

The inspiration for We Meet In Between comes from our interest in the spaces between things—between places, cultures, identities, and experiences. Many of us find ourselves between two worlds, especially during times of transition, when where we came from no longer feels fully familiar and where we are going is still uncertain. We wanted to explore this liminal space—a place of instability and uncertainty, but also of possibility and connection.

The exhibition brings artists with different backgrounds, materials, techniques, and perspectives together to explore these shared experiences. For the first time, we have also invited international jurors to bring fresh eyes and a broader range of perspectives to the selection process.                              The Original Copy, Lisha Jichuan

What do you hope the audience will take away from this exhibit?

The exhibition brings together artists from diverse backgrounds, working across a wide range of materials, techniques, and approaches, and invites them to respond to a theme that resonates with many of us.

By placing these different perspectives side by side, we hope audiences will discover both the contrasts and connections between the works, and reflect on their own experiences of existing “in between.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     CITDSM, Sherry Cordova                     

As the vmaa is a artist-run nonprofit organization, how involved is it in the community? What does the future look like for the vmaa? 

VMAA is involved in a broad range of activities that support the metal arts community. In addition to producing exhibitions, the association offers workshops, artist lectures, social and community events, and opportunities for artists to share skills and connect with one another.

VMAA also supports artist development through its Printermedia/ Metal Arts Residency in downtown Vancouver, which provides artists with a shared studio environment and opportunities for exhibition, skills-sharing, workshops, and participation in developing a dedicated metal arts space.

More broadly, VMAA is working toward strengthening the metal arts ecosystem in Vancouver, including the development of a new metal arts studio and residency program and a feasibility study for a larger metal arts hub.                                                                                                                                                    Neoflux, Yuki Yoshioka