A colour photograph that looks north onto Western Front exterior, a large three story heritage building, with green wooden siding, and a false front façade.

Western Front exterior (2023). Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.


Admission

Free entry.

Some events are ticketed by donation.


Hours

Wednesday – Saturday: 1 – 6 p.m.
Sunday – Tuesday: Closed

Office:

Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Archives:

The archives are open by appointment on Thursdays and Fridays. Please contact our archivist, Anna Tidlund, to plan your visit.

Western Front is closed on all statutory holidays.


How To Get Here

Location:

Western Front is located at the corner of E 8th Ave and Scotia St in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Vancouver.

Address:

303 E 8th Ave
Vancouver BC V5T 1S1
Canada

By Skytrain:

The nearest stations are Main Street–Science World and Broadway–City Hall Station. From either station, Western Front is a 10-minute bus ride or 15-minute walk.

By Bus:

There are many bus stops on Broadway (8, 9, 99), Kingsway (19), and Main St (3).

By Car/Taxi:

It is possible to drop off passengers at the main entrance of Western Front. There is street parking available on the blocks surrounding, including free two hour street parking on Scotia St between E 7th and E 8th Ave, as well as around Guelph Park. There are several paid parking lots along Kingsway, Broadway, and Main St.

Accessible parking is currently very limited, with the closest options being several blocks away on 10th Ave and Main St.

By Bicycle:

There are racks for locking bikes in front of Western Front. There is a Mobi by ShawGo docking station on the corner of E 8th Ave and Scotia St.

Bicycle rack.


Facility Information

Building:

Western Front is a large three story heritage building. It can be recognized by its green wooden siding and its false front façade.

Entrance:

These are the doors to enter Western Front. Each door measures 82 cm in width and swings outwards. The door to the right can be opened using the knob while the other can be opened from the inside when necessary.

The doors are typically unlocked for special events. Occasionally, they may be kept locked during office and gallery hours. To enter when the doors are locked, buzz 01 on the intercom to the left of the entrance and a staff member will greet you in the lobby. The entrance is not currently equipped with automatic doors.

Entrance door at Western Front.

Reception:

This is the reception area. It is located immediately to the right side of the lobby upon entering the building. During gallery hours, it is attended by a staff member who can assist with inquiries, manage complimentary coat and bag check, and provide information about the exhibitions and programs. During events, a Western Front staff member is present to manage tickets at the door, while another staff member manages complimentary coat and bag check behind the reception desk.

Reception area at Western Front.

This is our gallery space. It is located on the ground floor and can be identified by the sign on the doorway header. The space changes regularly to meet the needs of our temporary exhibition program. We recommend that you check the accessibility information on the event listing before visiting, which will describe audio, visual, spatial, and other sensory elements for each exhibition, as well as details of its content.

Entrance to gallery at Western Front.

Inside gallery at Western Front.

Stairs:

Here is the staircase to access our second floor which houses the Grand Luxe Hall, archives, library, guest accommodation, and AV studios. There are twenty-six stairs, with a landing and turn after the first eleven stairs. We are working towards making the second floor an accessible space for wheelchair users in the future.

Stairs at entrance (11 steps).

Landing and turn.

Last part of stairs (15 steps).

Hallway upstairs.

Grand Luxe Hall:

This is the Grand Luxe Hall, our main performance space. It is located on the second floor and can be identified by the sign on the doorway header. The space and seating configuration changes regularly to meet the needs of our live events program. We recommend that you check the accessibility information on the event listing before visiting, which will describe audio, visual, spatial, and other sensory elements for each exhibition, as well as details of its content. During events, a staff member will be stationed near the door to assist with the audience’s entrance and exit to the space, and a bar with refreshments will be available just outside the Grand Luxe Hall.

 

Entrance to Grand Luxe Hall.

Inside Grand Luxe Hall.

Washrooms:

There are two all gender washrooms located on the ground floor and one on the second floor. There is a partially accessible washroom located on the ground floor that is 3.72m2 and is fitted with handrails.

Entrance ground floor washrooms.

Inside partially accessible ground floor washroom.

Inside ground floor washrooms.

Entrance second floor washroom.

Inside second floor washroom.


Accessibility

For first-time visitors to Western Front, it is useful to understand accessibility in our heritage building:

  • You can access a visual story for Western Front here.

  • Our second floor is currently not accessible to wheelchair users. The second floor houses the Grand Luxe Hall, archives, library, guest accommodation, and AV studios. Events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available for free online via high-quality livestream.

  • The ground floor is wheelchair accessible. The ground floor houses the box office, gallery, EDAM dance studio, and staff offices. Two all gender washrooms are located on this floor, with one being 3.72m² and fitted with a handrail.

  • Our didactic material is available in English, and our events are typically spoken in English unless otherwise noted.

  • Assistance animals are always welcome.

  • As we are in a shared building, we cannot guarantee a scent-free space. However, we aim to provide a scent-reduced space.

  • Unfortunately, we do not have reserved accessible parking in front of our building. Car and taxi drop-offs are possible.

  • Visitors with an Access 2 card or CNIB card are entitled to free admission for a support person to ticketed events. Please contact us to reserve a ticket for your support person at the time of your booking.

  • We can offer American Sign Language interpretation. Please reach out to us two weeks in advance in order for us to secure an interpreter.

  • This website has been developed to conform to the W3C accessibility guidelines for level AA compliance. We have endeavoured to conform to all the presented guidelines in level AA, wherever possible. It is possible to increase (or decrease) the size of all the text on the pages of most websites. You can do this by using the font size controls integrated in your web browser.

If you require a reservation for an access requirement, or you have an access requirement that we have not listed, please get in touch in advance of your visit at info@westernfront.ca or +1 (604) 876 9343. We will make our best endeavours to help you.

If you are interested in supporting Western Front in improving our accessibility, either by sharing your knowledge and experience, or by making a financial contribution, please contact Executive Director Susan Gibb.


Feedback

If you recently visited Western Front, your perspective is vital to understanding what we’ve done well and where we can improve. If you have feedback, please share it at info@westernfront.ca.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.