Donation of Artwork

The strengths of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s collection are its Asian collection and holdings of contemporary and historical art from this region. There are also modest holdings of important contemporary and historical art from other parts of Canada and the world.

Proposed donations are assessed by our Collections and Curatorial team, to determine relevance to the Gallery’s institutional mandate, curatorial significance, and considerations related to care and conservation. Works that meet these criteria must then be approved by the Works of Art Committee of the Board, comprised of knowledgeable Board and community members, which meets 3 times a year. This donation process can take 4-6 months to complete. For works of art of outstanding significance and national importance, a donor may wish to seek certification by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB), which will require additional time.

All donations should be initiated early in the calendar year, allowing for as much time as possible to complete the process, in order to ensure that a tax receipt can be issued for the donation year’s tax deadline.

The AGGV covers most expenses associated with donations, however appraisal costs, and any shipping costs we incur to bring a work in, are typically reimbursed to the Gallery by the donor. The Gallery is able to issue an income tax receipt to the donor in the amount of these reimbursed expenses.

If a work offered for donation is deemed to be of interest and is in a local collection, accommodations can be made for the artwork to be viewed offsite or at the Gallery.

*Please note that although we appreciate the opportunity, we are unable to add every piece offered to our permanent collection.