Who we are

Located in Mt Pleasant, Vancouver, on traditional shared territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, The Playground is a not-for-profit Artist-run space centering justice, trauma informed care & collective futures. We welcome artists of all ages, backgrounds, and disciplines to share knowledge, experiment boldly, and build connections across generations. Fostering themes of transformative justice, workers’ rights, decolonization, intersectional environmentalism, mutual aid, and radical community care.

We also hold space for those who study and work with the body, artists, tattooers, movement practitioners, and somatic healers exploring the body as both a site of memory and transformation. Through the craft of tattooing and other embodied practices, we explore how art lives on and through the body: as ritual, as resistance, and as communal healing.

Whether you’re an artist looking to guest for a week, you want to curate a pop-up, or hoping to showcase your work, this space offers flexible opportunities to curate, research, exhibit, tattoo and connect.

Meet our team

What We Offer:

• Open Booking for Guest Artists:
  Reserve a day, a week or a month to create, research, share, or sell your work. Whether you’re a visual artist, an interdisciplinary maker or a tattoo artist the space is yours to explore your practice in the most vibrant neighbourhood of the city.

• Curation Support:
  Bring your concept, and we’ll help you shape it—whether it’s a solo exhibition, a collaborative project, or a research presentation. We can co-curate with you or handle the curation entirely.

• Showcase & Sell:
  Exhibit and offer art prints, zines, ceramics, or handmade goods in a space that’s more accessible than a gallery and more fluid than a shop.

• Community-First Atmosphere:
  This is a studio-showroom hybrid where process is valued as much as product. Expect conversation, co-learning, and creative exchange—not white walls and silence.

It’s a space that grows.

A community centre for contemporary creators, anchored in respect for craft, experimentation, collaboration, and intergenerational solidarity.

Before you submit a proposal make sure to read our FAQ.