Brian Cullen was born in North Vancouver, B.C., and grew up there on what are the unceded traditional lands of the Tsleil-Waututh and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixwand (Squamish) First Nations. He has lived for extended periods in Quebec, and also the Kootenay Lake region of British Columbia.

Much of his practice in the visual arts is informed by the work that he does in the language arts, and vice versa. In both, he has tended to start from the perspective of landscapes, whether natural or built environments, to learn how these both determine but are also affected by shifting patterns of human migration and settlement.