Surrey Art Gallery in Bear Creek Park, Vancouver, has opened a free temporary exhibition titled "In The Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art." The show revisits the cultural legacy of Expo '86, the 1986 World's Fair that transformed Vancouver's urban and economic identity, through contemporary artworks in photography, video, installation, and archival materials. It highlights the many public artworks commissioned for the fair, the architecture of pavilions, and features an anonymous documentary slideshow of over 1,700 photographs by Michael de Courcy capturing visitors and everyday scenes.
The exhibition matters because it offers both a nostalgic look back at a landmark event that drew over 22 million visitors and a critical examination of the promises of progress and growth the fair represented. It encourages visitors to consider how Expo '86 affected everyday people and neighborhoods over time, bridging the gap between memory and contemporary reflection. For younger generations, it provides an educational window into a pivotal moment in Vancouver's history, while for those who attended, it sparks new questions about the fair's lasting impact.