In 2003 the Richmond Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection was redefined as being comprised of three distinct collections:

1. RAG: Two Decades of Collecting
This collection consists of the works acquired during the first twenty years of the Richmond Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection.

2. Artists’ Early Works and Preparatory Material
This collection will constitute a valuable resource for Richmond Art Gallery exhibitions and educational programs as well as being a resource to other galleries by providing material for artists’ retrospectives, research and documentation of what was happening in the discipline of art at a specific time.

3. Contemporary Collection
This collection is defined by the inclusion of works created from 1980 forward and encompasses a variety of artistic practices. The artworks may employ a wide variety of techniques, advanced from the history of concerns and issues built within the discipline of art. This collection focuses on the artists of Richmond and British Columbia, but other works are considered as they complement and contextualize these holdings.

These distinctions within the Permanent Collection allow for the Gallery to recognize and value its history. By implementing an acquisition policy that allows for designed growth the Gallery has also been able to address storage and budget concerns.