This season features emerging and award-winning artists, highlights key partnerships that support artistic careers, and celebrates the region’s vibrant creative sector.
This fall, OAG invites the public to engage with bold new voices, connect across disciplines, and celebrate the future of art and the creative economy in the capital region. The season will showcase OAG’s ongoing partnerships with key educational institutions such as the SPAO Photographic Arts Centre and the University of Ottawa, reflecting the Gallery’s commitment to supporting emerging artists, advancing contemporary art practices, and fostering professional development across disciplines.
“As a leading institution in Ottawa’s arts ecology, the Ottawa Art Gallery is deeply committed to nurturing artistic talent and supporting creative careers. Through mentorship, exhibitions, bold new initiatives and strategic partnerships, we provide meaningful opportunities for artists to grow, connect, and thrive—both in the Gallery and in the public realm. Artists are the driving force of a vibrant cultural economy, and their creativity and dedication continue to inspire us every day.” – Alexandra Badzak, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ottawa Art Gallery
Endless Becomings: Explorations in Contemporary Art is presented at OAG as part of a longstanding partnership between the Gallery and the Visual Arts Department at uOttawa. Suggesting that identity and practice are never fully fixed but always in flux, the exhibition brings together eleven recently graduated MFA artists who are shaping the future of art. Their works engage themes of remembrance, resistance, displacement, care, and change. Curated by Elisa Jiménez Robles and Shems Benmosbah through a mentorship with OAG curators, the exhibition is made possible with support from the RBC Foundation.
“The experience of curating such a monumental exhibition has been the opportunity of a lifetime. We are grateful for the chance to demonstrate our knowledge and skills, while expressing our creative voices under the guidance of inspiring mentors and within an institution that plays such a vital role in Ottawa’s artistic community. To be part of such an important happening has taught us skills that we will forever carry in our professional and personal lives.” – Elisa Jiménez Robles and Shems Benmosbah, Endless Becomings Curators
Because 2025 marks SPAO’s 20th anniversary, OAG is partnering with the SPAO Centre on a number of initiatives. Together they co-present On the Shoulders of Giants: Commemorating 20 Years of SPAO, on view at OAG. This exhibition celebrates the milestone with work by 58 artists from SPAO’s diploma program. They also present Alexa Mazzarello | Failure to Progress, winner of the 2025 Project XO Award, in the OAG Skylounge. This photography-based exhibition offers a deeply personal reflection that challenges the cultural silence surrounding birth. Drawing on her own experiences, Mazzarello illuminates and demystifies the often invisible realities of this life-altering transition.
“SPAO’s survival is rooted in our scrappy grass roots beginnings that prioritized our passion for community over common sense. Our evolution over the past 20 years into one of Canada’s foremost photographic arts centres has been possible because of strategic partnerships, such as our ongoing relationship with the Ottawa Art Gallery. I think why we work so well together is we are both founded and inspired by big dreamers with the vision and drive to turn ideas into reality.” – Jonathan Hobin, SPAO Creative Director
The fall programming will kick-off with Focus Fest: Igniting Creative Pathways, a four-day celebration of the region’s creative sector, also presented in collaboration with SPAO. Taking place from October 16 to 19, 2025, the festival brings together exhibitions, panels, a gallery hop and a networking event that showcase the strength and diversity of Ottawa-Gatineau’s artistic community. The Creative Opportunities Conference, onSunday October 19 at OAG, will conclude the festival with discussions on developing sustainable careers in the arts, featuring industry panels, artist talks, and networking sessions. Focus Fest launches with a public opening celebration and vernissage at the Ottawa Art Gallery on the evening of October 16. Whether you’re an aspiring artist, student, educator, or creative professional, Focus Fest is your invitation to be part of Ottawa-Gatineau’s vibrant cultural future. Full program below.
Listings:
Endless Becomings
OAG, Spencerville Galleries (level 3)
September 19, 2025 to March 15, 2026
Artists: Aylin Abbasi, Annie Bérubé, Armand Diansambu, Elaine Diguer, Sophie El-Assaad, Emily Escoffery, Lea Hamilton, Sarah Hughes, Éric Mailloux, Shiva Nasiri, Leigha Stiles
Alexa Mazzarello | Failure to Progress
Project XO Award 2025
OAG, Skylounge (level 3)
October 4, 2025 to November 2, 2025
On the Shoulders of Giants
OAG, Galerie Annexe (level 1)
Until October 19, 2025
Artists: Fran Ages, Stéphane Alexis, Shane Armstrong, Alexandra Barlow, Glenn Bloodworth, S. Maria Brandt, Oliver Brown, Barbara Brown, Yu-Sheng Chiu, Kaya Comeau, Joyce Crago, Saman Deilamani, Magida El-Kassis, Alexander Finlay, Christine Fitzgerald, Abigail Gossage, Nicolai Gregory, John Healey, Josh Hotz, Leslie Hossack, Olivia Johnston, Joy Kardish, Adam Kennedy, Jocelyn Keays, Jamie Kronick, Victoria Laube, Ruth Less, Whitney Lewis-Smith, Ava Margueritte, Margo McDiarmid, Kelly McDonald, Julie Melaschenko, Santiago Molina, Leah Mowers, Lucia Mugica, Manfred Mueller, Tyler Nykilchyk, Kate Oakley, Marcela Ochman, The Observer, Neeko Paluzzi, Trish Parsons, Ann Piché, Dion Prints, Louise Radmore, Michael Ricco, Richard Robesco, Kathy Roussel, Chris Schmitt, Jennifer Stewart, Ruth Steinberg, Jon Stuart, Shaelynn Tredenick, Linh VH Nguyen, Steve West, Crystal Wiesner, Elsa Weibe, Nicholas Wojitas
The Ottawa Art Gallery would like to recognize RBC Foundation’s support of OAG’s Connect: Artist Mentorship Program and also acknowledge the support of the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. OAG also wishes to acknowledge its valued partnerships with the University of Ottawa and SPAO.
Free and open to the public
Thursday, October 16, 6 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Ottawa Art Gallery, 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa
Friday, October 17, 5 pm – 8 pm
Location: SPAO Centre, 77 Pamilla Street, Ottawa
Saturday, October 18
Location: please refer to the gallery map located at spao.ca/hop
Sunday, October 19, 10 am – 4 pm
Location: Ottawa Art Gallery, 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa
Monday, October 20
Apply at: spao.ca/spark
Focus Fest is made possible with the support of the Ottawa Community Foundation and the City of Ottawa, and through a partnership between the Ottawa Art Gallery and the SPAO Photographic Arts Centre.
The Project XO Award partners and sponsors are: SPAO, OAG, Centre de production DAÏMÔN and Wall Space Gallery + Framing.
Media images
Endless Becomings: Explorations in Contemporary Art
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/516rupyzjirl9gfwt6dmw/AMvxPtxs2AFE9jEzbctbgQY?rlkey=cfesanwofzl4nvi79ipr578ny&st=71ei8oz6&dl=0
Alexa Mazzarello | Failure to Progress (Project XO Award 2025)
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5j0f4h2g6j8jesg9j1l3z/AO26K7P5KxXsfZ17VF3wmjo?rlkey=ypypfhffy054px94v7yp4mrua&st=ezvoa54j&dl=0
On the Shoulders of Giants: Commemorating 20 years of SPAO
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i33tl9y3q44v6x8cfczln/On-the-Shoulders-of-Giants_Installation-Views-08_LoRes.JPG?rlkey=hdkxml4dj3eik6d9ynjqwy2re&st=dt4yove5&dl=0
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Véronique Couillard, Media Relations, Ottawa Art Gallery
vcouillard@oaggao.ca, 613-233-8699, x244
About the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG)
The Ottawa Art Gallery is situated on traditional Anishinābe Aki and is Ottawa’s municipal art gallery and cultural hub. Located in Ottawa’s downtown core, the expanded Gallery is a contemporary luminous cube designed by KPMB Architects and Régis Côté et associés.OAG supports artists at all stages of their careers through exhibitions, mentorships, acquisitions, funding, and recognition—working in collaboration with institutions such as the University of Ottawa, SPAO, OBAK, the National Gallery of Canada, Algonquin College, La Cité, and others.
OAG receives funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa.
50 Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 0C5, CANADA
Mailing Address: 10 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1N 6E2 | Rideau O-Train Station
Ottawa Art Gallery is situated on traditional Anishinābe Aki.
Charitable No. 137078960RR0001
Open from 10 AM to 6 PM Tuesday and Sunday and from 10 AM to 9 PM Wednesday to Saturday. Closed on Mondays. Admission is always FREE. | Support the Bill Staubi Acquisition Fund.
