About

Fort Gallery was founded in 2006 as an artist co-op to provide a space for experimental, non-commercial art practice in the Langley area. In 2019 the co-op was dissolved and Fort Gallery became the first and only artist-run-centre in the Fraser Valley. In 2022, after seventeen years exhibiting contemporary art in its heritage Fort Langley storefront at the corner of Glover and Francis, Fort Gallery moved out of this beloved space to begin a new venture as a mobile artist-run-centre. Responding to growing online engagement and the challenge of maintaining a physical gallery in a post-COVID world, the board determined that going mobile was a way to embrace experimentation and reimagine Fort Gallery for this moment. Fort Gallery will continue to bring engaging, challenging and thought-provoking contemporary art to the Fraser Valley in alternative and public spaces throughout the region.

Calvin Bergen is a painter based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on the traditional lands of the Semá:th and Mathxwí First Nations. He holds a BA in Art and Design from Trinity Western University and has been involved with the Fort Gallery as an exhibiting artist and as a board member since 2021.

Alysha Creighton is an artist, educator and arts administrator, living and working between Langley and Vancouver on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Sto:lo peoples. She sees each of these roles as integral to her creative practice and her role in nourishing the larger arts ecosystem. She holds a BA in Art from Trinity Western University and MFA in Drawing and Intermedia from the University of Alberta. Alysha has served on the board of the Fort Gallery since 2019, first as Chair of Exhibitions, and since 2022 as Board Chair.

About Olivia

Christopher Friesen is a painter, community advocate and an educator. Friesen lives and has hisstudio in Langley, British Columbia. His work has been shown extensively throughout WesternCanada in public and commercial galleries. Friesen has work in international public, private and corporate collections. His teaching focuses on painting and community engagement through mural projects. Friesen also sits on the Board of Directors for the Artist Run Center, The Fort Gallery. Friesen is an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in the School of Creative Arts. He received his BFA with great distinction from the University of Lethbridge and his MFA in painting from the University of Regina. Friesen currently has gallery representation with Ian Tan Gallery in Vancouver and Gibson Fine Arts in Calgary.

About Scott

Sora Park (She/Her) is a Korean-Canadian interdisciplinary artist. She lives and works on the traditional lands of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Matsqui, and Semiahmoo First Nations, also known as Langley, BC. She received her BFA in Photography from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and received a MA in Fine Arts from Bergen Academy of Art and Design from Bergen, Norway.

Rachel Wiebe is a Fort Langley resident that loves art.  She is thankful that after working as an accountant during the day, she can be engaged with an organization that champions contemporary art, celebrates creativity and engages our community through art appreciation.  Rachel is interested in making a positive contribution to her local community and in addition to serving as the treasurer for the Fort Gallery, sits on the board of an affordable housing society.