The Virtual Water Gallery is supported and funded by the Global Water Futures program (GWF), the largest university-led freshwater research program in the world. GWF is funded in part by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund with the overarching goal is to deliver risk management solutions, informed by leading-edge water science, to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems, and the water environment.

Art is an important tool to share knowledge, encourage conversation, and can foster emotion; GWF strongly supports diversifying the ways in which scientific findings are shared through initiatives such as the Virtual Water Gallery and Artist in Residence program.