VMAA 2025 Annual Report

(April 2024 – May 2025)

Organizational Highlights

Ingrid Valou, Past President and Acting President, writes:

Since the previous Annual General Meeting held on April 27, 2024, VMAA representatives have celebrated many milestones and made significant inroads into forward-thinking cultural spaces advocacy and design. 

Metal Arts Hub Feasibility Study completed and published

The two final reports of the feasibility study have been published. Although much of the engagement work concluded by summer of 2024, capacity challenges among VMAA volunteers and contractors made for some delays in bringing the report to publication. Celeste Lucero and I were honoured to represent VMAA in travelling to San Diego to present early findings at the Society of North American Goldsmiths's biannual conference in June 2024.

I am pleased to report that we soft launched a landing page for the study and created two dedicated pages for each phase. I want to thank Iris Lo, Cory Douglas, and Matthew Hessey and Emily Milliken, as well as all the artists who provided support to date.

VMAA Brand Refresh 

As part of the process of designing our publications, we took the opportunity to explore an updated look and feel for our materials. The inspiration for the colours and the site itself is a nod to one of metalsmiths’ most beloved materials: copper and its alloys. Verdigris, old copper, and bronze are some of the inspirations for the colour ways we will be using from hereonout.

Meanwhile, the font selections, design language, and linework of iconography speaks to the shapes found in the golden mean. The refresh aims to balance the feel of the roots of traditional metalsmithing with a contemporary feel. With the approval of the Board of Directors, this brand refresh has been gradually applied to the website, and will serve as a starting point for future materials developed by VMAA.

Financial Report

Ryan Caron, Treasurer, writes:

Reporting on the 2024 fiscal year from January 1 to December 31.

Overview

VMAA has continued to operate through 2024 in a position of financial stability, following several years of investment in programming. 

We completed our grant-funded Phase Two Metal Arts Feasibility Hub this year, invested in the management and upkeep of the Printermedia Metal Studio Residency, and resumed our annual exhibition programming after several irregular seasons since 2020. 

We have a healthy reserve of cash on hand equal to about four years regular operating and expenses, and are well situated to continue our gradual investment in our infrastructure programming. 

Income report and membership

Our membership fees remain our primary source of operational funding. As of June 10, 2025, we have 54 active members. 

It should be noted, however, that membership has yet to fully rebound since 2020, and this year covered only three-quarters of our regular annual budget.

Note that VMAA awards one year of complimentary memberships to residents of the Printermedia Residency, and launched a Keystone Membership program free for any First Nations or Urban Indigenous artists who claim it.

Summary of 2024 Finances 

Revenues total $1515, entirely from membership fees.

Expenses of $43293.77, of which $41140 was spent in completion of our grant-funded program. Our regular annual programming cost $1064.41, and $1089.34 was spent on basic operations. 

This leaves us with unreserved Funds totalling $7721.75 as of Jan 1 2025.

I am still working towards our external financial report and tax filings with our new bookkeeper Ryan Campbell at Rand Capital Accounting. 

Succession

I am now tidying up my workstation, notes, and record keeping in preparation for a smooth handoff of duties to our presumptive Treasurer, Jolene Raymond. I will stay on as Member at Large to enable ease of succession. 

This concludes my report.

Exhibitions

Celeste Lucero, Exhibitions Chair, writes:

Between April 2024 and June 2025, the Exhibitions Committee made several strides.

1. Developed a milestone exhibition protocol

2. Assisted with two resident shows (one of them, T I M E, is currently in development)

3. Saw the team transform.

During this period, the committee has parted with core members who left an indelible mark on the association. I want to personally thank long-standing committee members Clarissa Long and Zula, along with Eunhui Stella Lee for their collaborative support over the past years.

Exhibitions Protocol developed

This comprehensively lays out the process for creating and producing exhibitions. Importantly, it also sets set in place safety and security measures for the artists' works involved, ensuring integrity in their handling. 

The protocol operates as the primary source of information, centralizing files that have been operational since the early days of VMAA and its Exhibitions Committee activities. It holds the vast experience of longstanding members of the exhibition committee, along with members of the Board. 

It is structured and complemented by the result of the comprehensive experience of Evolving Spaces (2023/2024). We encourage future volunteers and members of the Exhibitions Committee to periodically update and potentially develop new versions of the protocol and its associated files to keep growing the professionalism of their activities. 

I once again suggest facilitating conservation and installation training for active members of the committee. This will allow the operational team members to engage in a more efficient way with the artists' work when setting up a show.

An Unfamiliar Happening (May 2, 2024)

This exhibition showcased works by Printermedia Artist Residents Cicy Sze-Yin Ching, Eunhui Stella Lee, Stevie Gwynn, and Celeste Lucero Maas. The show highlighted the intersection of metal arts and print media, reflecting the innovative outcomes of the residency program.

Theme TBC (early 2026)

The Exhibitions committee is at work on the call for its biennial juried exhibition. Every two years, VMAA co-presents a juried group exhibition in collaboration with the Craft Council of British Columbia (CCBC). The formal call will be issued in the coming months.

Community Engagement

Dinner with Charles Lewton-Brain and Nanz Aalund (March 12, 2025)

On March 12, 2025, VMAA hosted an intimate dinner at Nuba in Gastown, featuring esteemed metalsmiths and educators Charles Lewton-Brain and Nanz Aalund. This gathering provided members with a unique opportunity to engage directly with Lewton-Brain, renowned for his contributions to the field of metal arts, and Aalund, a celebrated educator and writer in the field. The event fostered meaningful discussions and strengthened community ties within the Vancouver scene.

MetalAid x VMAA Meet and Greet (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)

VMAA collaborates with MetalAid to host a meetup focused on industry discussions and networking among metal artists. These events aim to foster community connections and knowledge sharing.

MetalAid x VMAA Meet and Greet with Pasha Moezzi (April 17, 2024)

In April 2024, VMAA members were pleased to have the opportunity to meet and catch up with industry luminary Pasha Moezzi, visiting from Ontario.

Residency Program: Printermedia

The Printermedia Residency, a collaboration between VMAA and Malaspina Printmakers Society, continued to support artists exploring the nexus of metal arts and print media. The residency provided studio space and collaborative opportunities, culminating in exhibitions like "An Unfamiliar Happening."

Program Milestones:

1. Rolling completion of the inaugural cohort, including artists Cicy Sze-Yin Ching, Eunhui Stella Lee, Celeste Lucero Maas, Rob Van Yperen, and Stevie Gwynn. 

2. Appointment of Celeste Lucero Maas as residency coordinator and mentor and development of a more formalized artistic development angle to the residency..

3. Full recovery from a flooding incident in the adjacent studio. Residents demonstrated resilience and commitment to maintaining a conducive creative environment despite the setback.

4. Recruitment of seven new residents, bringing the residency to full capacity since its inception.

5. Definition of the Printermedia Residency - Metal Arts stream’s tripod purposes

6. Under the leadership of VMAA President Micaela Kwiatkowski, VMAA undertook the development of curricula to be taught out of the workshop. Curriculum for the first workshop is complete. The entry-level class on metal techniques is aimed at serving printmakers.

We are pleased to announce the new residents for the upcoming term:

• Mayari Rodriguez

• Cristiano Bruno

• Wendy Davey

• Alessandra Mei

• Sharon Wong

• Catherinn Campoy

• Drew Jang

Residency exhibition in progress: “T I M E” (working title)

The 2025-2026 cohort of residents has proposed an introductory exhibit centring around the concept of time in the context of jewelry. 

“We are a cultural act, simultaneously preserving the craft of metal work and jewellery through making: continuing the traditions and techniques while contributiog to the local jewellery field. Within the idea of time, the connection we create through our processes highlights the unique styles of each artist.”

SNAG Conference Presentation: "Forging Community on Unceded Lands" (June 2024)

In May 2024, Past President Ingrid Valou presented at the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference. Her talk, titled "Forging Community on Unceded Lands," was part of the "Meeting Points: Linking Community" session. Ingrid shared insights from VMAA’s metal arts hub feasibility project, which focused on building inclusive and sustainable metal arts communities on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ / sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Other metal artists from Vancouver attending SNAG included Celeste Lucero, whose work was selected for inclusion and viewing in the Queer Metalsmiths exhibition, Louise Perrone, overseeing a portfolio review session, and Linda Shea. 

Society of North American Goldsmiths

This marks a closer relationship with the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). 

Board of Directors

VMAA thanks the following board members for their service. 

Ingrid Valou, Past President (since 2019)

Micaela Kwiatkowski, President (since 2023)

Celeste Lucero, Exhibitions Committee Chair (since 2023)

Joy Sotomayor, Social Media Chair (since 2020)

The nomination slate for the 2025-2026 board of directors is as follows:  

Wendy Davey, Vice President and Interim President

Jolene Raymond, Treasurer

Catherinn Campoy, Secretary

Mina Saneei, Exhibitions Chair

Monique Huynh, Member at Large

Ryan Caron, Member at Large

Cory Douglas, Member at Large

Afsoon Jafari, Member at Large