Western Front Society

The Western Front is an artist-run centre located in Vancouver, Canada. It was founded in 1973 by eight artists (Martin Bartlett, Mo van Nostrand, Kate Craig, Henry Greenhow, Glenn Lewis, Eric Metcalfe, Michael Morris, Vincent Trasov) who wanted to create a space for the exploration and creation of new art forms. After they purchased the former Knights of Pythias lodge hall located in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver, it quickly became a centre for poets, dancers, musicians and visual artists interested in exploration and interdisciplinary practices. Many of the Western Front's early works reflect this interdisciplinary ethos with early influences of Duchampian and Fluxus-based investigations into mail art, telecommunications art, live electronic music, video and performance art. As a focal point of experimental art practice through the 1970s and 1980s, the Western Front, in connection with other centres like it, played a major role in the development of electronic and networked art forms in a national and international context.

Over its nearly 40-year history the Western Front has promoted critical investigations into and surrounding interdisciplinary, media-based, anti-object, and ephemeral practices with particular attention to the contexts and economies in which art is produced. While general curatorial priorities have remained dedicated to these practices, the Western Front’s internal structure has continued to evolve and a number of distinct programs have been established and retired over the years including Performance Art, Movement Arts, Literary Arts and Front Magazine. The Western Front still continues to program events and exhibitions related to these genres, but no longer supports fully dedicated departments. The Western Front continues to maintain programs in Media Art, New Music, and Exhibitions.

In 2015, the society received a gift of $1.5 million from Vancouver property developers Rize that enabled the society to purchase the building from its owners.