Shadbolt Centre for the Arts

The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts is an award-winning, multi-purpose community arts facility in beautiful Deer Lake Park. 

It offers spectacular natural views from its windowed studios, atrium, and exterior raised terrace. Designed in 1995 by the international firm of Hotson Bakker Architects, it received the prestigious Canadian Wood Council Award of Merit for the building’s creative design in 1996. The vibrant multipurpose cultural hub sees more than 250,000 people visit it annually.

Owned and operated by the City of Burnaby, the building is named after internationally acclaimed painter Jack Shadbolt and his wife Doris Shadbolt, a curator, author and art educator; they were two Burnaby residents who dedicated a lifetime of support and cultivation of the arts locally, nationally, and internationally

The Shadbolt Centre houses a recital hall, theatres, dance and pottery studios, music rehearsal rooms and more.

The centre offers a year-round schedule of live performances, festivals, exhibitions, and special events, ranging from theatre and music to dance, literature, and the visual arts. It is also a community resource that supports artists through an Artist in Residence Program. Artists have access to studio spaces and rehearsal rooms, including ceramics studios, kilns, visual arts and music studios, and dance and theatre rehearsal spaces.

Offering performing and visual arts programming to residents of Burnaby and beyond, the Shadbolt provides three areas of core programming: theatre presentation and rentals, arts learning, and festivals and events. From September to June, the centre presents a full live-performance season of local, national, and international talent. Among its programming is the annual February Jazz at the ’Bolt series, performances by Burnaby Lyric Opera, touring Arts Club Theatre Company plays, Culture Days, and much more.

In arts learning, SCA provides visual and performing arts programs for children and adults via special workshops, adjunct program activities, and weekly classes across music, dance, visual arts, ceramics, theatre, and literary arts.

In 2010, the Shadbolt built the BC Spirits Square next to its centre, a structure that now houses the City’s first piece of public art—carved stone monoliths by Coast Salish artist Thomas Cannell.

Scheduled to open in 2027, a new phase of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts will open, replacing the aging wing of the existing James Cowan Theatre, complete with a state-of-the-art, 364-seat venue equipped with a fully retractable, multipurpose stage that can host a diverse array of performances, events, and community functions year-round. The theatre’s overhanging second level is set to form a vibrant “artists’ alley” below, where local artists can engage the public with evolving installations, live performances, and exhibitions omn a dedicated artist wall.