In Conversation: Naomi Watkins and Tania Willard on Resonant Bodies.
Sunday, October 18, 1pm to 3pm | Free | at grunt gallery.
Join us at grunt gallery on October 18, 2026, from 1pm to 3pm, for an evocative artist talk featuring Naomi Watkins in conversation with curator and artist Tania Willard.
Together, both artists will explore Watkins’ exhibition Resonant Bodies, examining how raw materials, kinetic movement, and acoustic frequencies transform the gallery into a surrogate landscape of reciprocal return. Centering Secwépemc culture and language (Secwepemctsin), the dialogue delves into the installation’s sensory architecture—from carved cedar chambers carrying aerial waterways to low-frequency transducers (114–115 Hz) that physically pulse through the room. Watkins and Willard will unpack the intersections of ancestral land, material memory, sound, and nationhood, offering insights into how contemporary spatial practices disrupt the white cube to ground viewers in relational humility.
Limited capacity, arrive on time to secure a seat!
Please email access@grunt.ca with any accessibility questions or concerns.
Tania Willard is a mixed Secwépemc and settler artist whose research intersects with land-based art practices. Her practice activates connection to land, culture, and family, centering art as an Indigenous resurgent act, through collaborative projects such as BUSH Gallery and support of language revitalization in Secwépemc communities. Her artistic and curatorial work includes Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture at the Vancouver Art Gallery (2012-2014). Willard’s work is included in the collections of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Forge Project, Kamloops Art Gallery, and the Anchorage Museum, among others. In 2025 Willard won one of the top Canadian contemporary art awards, the Sobey Art Award.
Call for Artists: Creators’ Favourite Sluts, a Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer Art Market.
Saturday, December 12, 2026 from 1pm to 7pm.
Apply by October 31! No fee to apply or table, artists keep 100% of proceeds.
“Creators’ Favourite Sluts” Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer Art Market is back! This popular market had its first run back in February in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is returning to grunt gallery on Saturday, December 12th, 2026! grunt is seeking 2S and/or Queer Indigenous artists from Turtle Island and Palestine to join our roster of tabling artists.
Taking over two rooms of the gallery, we will have space for 13-15 artists. Please consider how much table space you will realistically need, as most artists will be two to one table. If you need more space, please note it in your application, but the more people are okay with sharing space, the more artists we can include! Artists will be responsible for handling their own transactions; chairs and tables will be provided by grunt.
The market will run from 1pm to 7pm, with load-in starting at 12:30pm —if these times don’t work for you, please reach out to vance@grunt.ca. For information on accessing grunt’s space, please read the information available by scrolling to the bottom of this page. Please email access@grunt.ca with any specific concerns.
Apply via Google form linked here!
Submissions Now Open for the 2027 Non-Verbal Co-Learning Engagement
Deadline: January 8th, 2026
More information about the engagement on the full program page.
grunt gallery’s Non-Verbal Co-Learning Engagement is a six-week paid program for artists exploring non-verbal communication within contemporary art spaces. Centring gesture, text, signed languages, silence, and other forms of non-verbal communication, the program brings artists and grunt gallery staff together to share knowledge, identify access barriers, and imagine more inclusive ways of working within contemporary art.
Artists based in Metro Vancouver who identify as Deaf, deaf, Hard of Hearing, Non-Verbal, Neurodiverse, or whose practices engage meaningfully with non-verbal communication are encouraged to apply. Priority is also given to Indigenous artists from the Host Nations (Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh) and Trans and Queer artists navigating voice changes or silent/non-verbal practices.
Selected artists receive $2,000 CAD for their participation. This is a co-learning and knowledge-sharing opportunity, not an exhibition or production-based residency, and no completed artwork is required.
Spring 2027 Engagement: February 2–March 12, 2027
Application deadline: January 8, 2027
Info session: January 6. Register now.
Learn more about eligibility, program activities, accessibility, ASL resources, FAQs, and how to apply on the full program page.
Accessibility:
grunt gallery is accessed from the sidewalk via a 106” long, 64” wide concrete ramp that rises 12”. The slope is 1 : 8.75. There are no rails on the ramp. The front entrance is an outward-swinging double door with a total width of 64”, and with hand and foot height buttons for automated opening. Entry to the Media Lab behind the gallery space is via a 42” wide passage and entry to the neighbouring amenity space is through a manually operated outward swinging double door with a total width of 70”. No stairs, inclines, or elevators are necessary to access the public areas once inside the gallery.
grunt gallery has a single gender neutral washroom that is accessed via a 31” wide doorway with an automated swinging door with a door handle that is 40” high. The toilet has a 10” clearance on the left side and a 21” clearance in front, with a support bar on the left side. The sink height is 34”.
grunt has immunocompromised guests and staff. Masks are strongly encouraged and are provided at the door. Masks are required on Thursdays for low-sensory and silent visiting hours.
Please contact us via access@grunt.ca with any questions, feedback or to discuss access needs.
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Check out past event documentation on our Vimeo page.