Canada Council Art Bank

The Canada Council for the Arts, Canada’s public arts funder, established the Art Bank in 1972 to raise awareness of the remarkable breadth and quality of Canadian art being produced at the time. The aim was to purchase works and make them available to a wider public across the country through an art rental program and outreach initiatives.

Since then, Canadian art has continued to grow and earn acclaim nationally and on the world stage. The Art Bank collection has grown significantly, and now includes more than 17,000 paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptures by over 3,000 emerging and established artists. This collection includes works by both Indigenous and settler artists in Canada, including those from culturally diverse communities. The collection is currently valued at over $71 million. At any given time, a large part of the collection is on view to the public—across Canada and around the world—through the Art Bank’s corporate art rental program and its exhibition and outreach program, which includes loans to museums.

Contact us: artbank@canadacouncil.ca