Stan Douglas and the exhibition arc of Tales of Empire
Published on 08/27/2026 at 14:45 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Stan Douglas stands at the center of a new survey titled Tales of Empire at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The museum frames the show as a focused overview of four decades in which Douglas has examined colonization, history and memory through large-scale photographic series, film and installation.
The survey at McMichael
Tales of Empire brings together five major photographic series in which Stan Douglas tracks different histories of colonial expansion and its imprint on landscapes and lives, from Vancouver Island to Havana and the Caribbean. The McMichael Canadian Art Collection describes the exhibition as a concentrated survey of his career, organized by executive director and chief curator Sarah Milroy. McMichael exhibition page
The exhibition includes the Nootka series from 1996, mapping traces of Indigenous presence and historic points of contact between settlers and Indigenous communities on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, alongside the 2005 Cuba series examining successive colonial and political interventions in Havana's architecture. These bodies of work underline how Douglas uses staged yet meticulously researched images to condense long histories into single frames.
Exhibition & show arc
In addition to Tales of Empire, Stan Douglas currently anchors the exhibition Bodies Never Lie at LUMA Arles, where a new film work titled Exquisite Corpse explores flamenco in 1950s Spain under Franco, extending his interest in the staging of historical tensions. Gallery materials situate this Arles show within a run from July 2026 to early 2027, positioning it alongside the Canadian survey as part of a broader institutional focus on his work. David Zwirner exhibition note
Photography-focused platforms list Bodies Never Lie as a solo exhibition for Douglas in Arles in mid-2026, indicating how his moving-image and photographic installations travel between European and North American institutions. This constellation of shows underscores the scale at which museums now frame his practice, often combining film, multi-channel video and large-format photographs within single exhibition architectures.
All news and background on Stan Douglas
For more coverage on Stan Douglas, from exhibitions like Tales of Empire to his large-scale video installations, our archive offers additional news and background.
The position in institutions
Over more than forty years, Stan Douglas has built a body of work that moves between photography, film, video, installation and theatre, often restaging pivotal historical moments at social or political tipping points. The McMichael survey emphasizes how these media serve his investigations into collective memory and the long shadows of colonialism. McMichael artist biography
Douglas has exhibited at the Venice Biennale five times, most recently representing Canada in 2022 with the project 2011 ? 1848 and the video installation ISDN, and his works enter major institutional collections at venues such as the Centre Pompidou, MoMA and the National Gallery of Canada, underscoring his position within the international canon of lens-based and installation art.
Where the artist stands now
Against this backdrop, Stan Douglas currently maintains an active studio in Vancouver, with recent institutional surveys and commissions consolidating his status as a reference figure for critically engaged photographic and moving-image practices.
Stan Douglas at a glance
- Artist: Stan Douglas
- Medium / Genre: Photography and moving-image installation
- Born: 1960, Vancouver, Canada
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in Vancouver
- Active since: 1980s
- Key work groups: Nootka, Cuba, Klatsassin, The Enemy of All Mankind
- Current/last exhibition: Tales of Empire, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, focused survey of photographic series examining colonization and its imprint on landscapes and lives
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), Venice Biennale archives
- Awards: Audain Prize for Visual Art (2019), Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography (2016), Scotiabank Photography Award (2013), Infinity Award, International Center of Photography (2012)
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Stan Douglas
What is shown in Stan Douglas's exhibition Tales of Empire at the McMichael?
The survey brings together five major photographic series, including Nootka, Cuba, Western, Klatsassin and The Enemy of All Mankind, all examining different histories of colonization and their visual traces.
How does Stan Douglas's work connect photography and history?
Douglas constructs highly staged yet historically grounded images and films that restage pivotal moments or cultural tensions, using lens-based media to question how histories are narrated and remembered in the present.
Which major institutions hold works by Stan Douglas?
Museums including MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the National Gallery of Canada have collected his works, and he has appeared multiple times at the Venice Biennale, confirming his institutional presence.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
