As the Ottawa Art Gallery prepares to move into new digs as part of a major expansion to the Arts Court creative hub on Daly Avenue, the OAG is mounting an exhibition that runs until Jan. 2 called Love Letters to Arts Court.
Senior curator Catherine Sinclair chose a group of artists who have been active members of Arts Court over the years to initiate a chain of “love letters”.
In the spirit of Mail Art, each artist is encouraged to share their stories and experiences through letters, memories, readymade or altered objects.
The selected artists are members of the Ottawa art scene who have regularly contributed their work, talents and creative energies to Arts Court.
Pat Durr, Penny McCann, Marie-Jeanne Musiol, and Jeff Thomas were the main artists invited to contribute a piece to the exhibit and they encouraged other artists to do the same as homage to the space that has served the community for 25 years.
The exhibit is not limited to artists, handmade letters by members of the community are plastered on the walls of the exhibition room in an ode to Arts Court.
Durr, abstract artist and founding member of the Arts Court Foundation, created a colourful piece with triangular shapes and stark lines with the vinyl text “OAG embodies Ottawa’s visual arts history” on the left side of the frame and “OAG showcases art’s present and looks to its future” placed on the right.
“Before the founding of this gallery, there was no focus for the visual arts in Ottawa,” said Durr. “In this painting, I tried to add things from all the years of my career.”
McCann has been working with Arts Court since it opened in the 1980s. Her piece is a series of seven black and white photographs of the court’s bathrooms which signify the history and origins of the building.
“The Love Letters to Arts Court exhibition is an expanding contribution to the history of a building that’s really had a profound impact on the arts community here in Ottawa.”
Love Letters ultimately pays tribute to the early stages of the establishment of the OAG. Arts Court was originally The Carleton County Courthouse which was given to the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation in 1985. In 1988, the foundation established the Ottawa Arts Court as the community’s municipal arts centre.
“We have a vibrant arts scene and too often, people get caught up in the national galleries,” said Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury. “The Ottawa Art Gallery brings a really important focal point for our talent for our arts community and for the vibrancy of our downtown.”
Alexandra Badak, director and CEO of the OAG, said that even though Love Letters is the final exhibit in Arts Court, it’s not the last we’ll hear from them come 2017.
“We’ll be programming offsite under the banner of OAG Out There … We’ll be doing a series of exhibitions at City Hall … and then you’re going to see us popping up in interesting locations all over the city,” said Badak.
The OAG will officially move out of Arts Court in January and will be operating out of its new location at the corner of Mackenzie King Bridge and Waller Street by the end of next summer.