For nearly thirty years, VU has presented a dozen exhibitions each year of new or recent work by artists from Quebec, the rest of Canada or abroad. This programming, which includes artists at various stages of their career, is representative of the most innovative trends in contemporary photography.

Since the late 1980s, VU has produced several major public events and has toured its exhibitions internationally. These include Mirabile Visu (1989), Le Réel et ses simulacres (1991-95), La Traversée des mirages (1992), Trois fois Trois Paysages (1997-99), La Disparition (2002-04), Habiter (2006) and 6*ÉMISSAIRES_Québec réinventée par la photographie actuelle (2008).

Since 1990, VU has maintained a regular publications program to provide artists with additional means for making their work known and to create a forum for thinking about contemporary photography. VU and Éditions J'ai VU have published more than 40 books on photographic art and 200 pamphlets on the artists represented in the centre's exhibitions.

Since the mid-1990s, VU has provided artists with production equipment for silver gelatin and digital photography: individual darkrooms, a colour processor, computer terminals and large-format ink-jet printers. The centre offers very reasonable rates and a wide range of professional services. Its facilities, unique in Quebec, are staffed by highly-skilled technicians and are a place for artistic enquiry and the exchange of ideas in the service of artistic creation.