As Nature Blooms… | A Message from Alexandra Badzak

Spring arrives with a quiet but powerful sense of renewal. After a long winter, we find ourselves returning to the light—drawn to the promise of growth, connection, and the unfolding of something new.

At the Ottawa Art Gallery, this season is marked by a series of exhibitions that invite us to reflect on our relationships and responsibilities to the land, and to one another. These projects bring together diverse perspectives across art, science, and Indigenous knowledge, encouraging us to consider how we care for the places we inhabit and the futures we are shaping together.

We are proud to present Faith Fyles: In Full Bloom, developed in partnership with Ingenium, alongside Leah Decter’s solo exhibition becoming| un |becoming: deepening relations, in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada. These exhibitions are joined by the latest iteration of Anishinàbe Mazinibìhigan, our exterior banner program, featuring Kitigan Zibi artist Stephanie Tenasco, as well as and three public spaces installations by Jennifer Macklem. Together, these works honour the land we are on—Anishinābe Aki—and reflect on the many ways artists observe, care for, and remain in relationship with it.

As Ottawa marks more than 200 years, we embrace the “plus”—a recognition of the generations who have lived on and stewarded this land since time immemorial, and a commitment to the generations yet to come. Through these exhibitions, we are invited to think not only about history, but about continuity, responsibility, and possibility.

With Earth Day approaching, these reflections feel especially urgent. This is a time to consider how we nurture the conditions for life to flourish—how we support growth, resilience, and renewal in our communities and in the natural world. After the stillness of winter, there is something deeply hopeful in the act of tending, of listening, and of allowing things to bloom. I invite you to experience these exhibitions and spend time with the ideas they bring forward.

And as we look ahead to gathering together, I encourage you to join us for Give to Get Art Auction, our annual art auction and fundraiser. Tickets are now on sale for what is truly the best art party of the year. Your support helps keep the OAG free and accessible to all—ensuring that art, and the conversations it sparks, remain open to our entire community.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Badzak, Director and CEO