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OTTAWA ART GALLERY
Construction to expand the Ottawa Art Gallery has begun. Currently one of the smallest municipal galleries in Canada, the expansion will see the OAG grow to more than 80,000 square feet on five floors. The new gallery will connect on four levels with a multipurpose film-screening room, a changing exhibition gallery, a permanent collection gallery, a studio for workshops, a café and a gallery shop for visitors, as well as a new dedicated gallery space for the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, which includes works by the Group of Seven and other important Canadian artists.
The OAG Expansion is part of a long-standing vision for Ottawa that coincides with other major projects to revitalize the downtown. While the gallery is under construction, operations will continue within Arts Court and at the OAG Annex located at City Hall. Scheduled to open in 2017, during Canada’s 150th birthday, the new OAG will be a vibrant cultural landmark in the heart of the nation’s capital.
The summer 2016 exhibition at the OAG features four powerful and diverse female artists. Gail Bourgeois’ exhibition Correspondence: from roots to rhizomes to mycelial networks features artwork that depicts overlapping lines and nodes in ink wash, wax crayon, graphite and watercolours. Paula Murray uses clay vessels as a medium to explore life and art, to produce a wondrous collection of bowls. Her exhibit Paula Murray: You are Me runs from June 24 –September 25. Jerry Grey’s exhibit on the Grid: 1968–1978 is a celebratory exhibition of her artwork with paintings that mix colour with her experience of the landscape. Robbin Deyo’s exhibition is a collection of drawings and watercolours using the Super Spirograph, a children’s toy from the 1960s. Robbin Deyo: Still Moving is an imaginative compilation of shape, line and colour. Visit ottawaartgallery.ca for more general information.
CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE
For a great outdoor experience, take the kids to explore three of Canada’s great ecozones at the Canadian Museum of Nature’s first living outdoor exhibition. Immerse yourself in landscapes commonly found in the boreal forest, prairie grasslands and Arctic tundra in the Landscapes of Canada Gardens. Enjoy the plants and other features that are native to these Canadian habitats like the woolly mammoths and the stainless steel “iceberg” sculpture, and then have a picnic on the museum’s grounds.
Afterwards, visit the newest, biggest, meanest exhibit of dinosaurs from the ancient continent of Gondwana. New this summer to the museum, this exhibit features the most bizarre creatures displayed in skeletons, fossils and video walls. For more information visit nature.ca/en/home.
ATMOSPHÈRE & BOIS
Make your home a place where stories are made with reclaimed wood from a variety of sources, for use in home and furniture construction. Atmoshpère & Bois, originally from Belgium, markets wood with a story – it came from somewhere – a barn, a castle, a rail car, a wine barrel.
Partnered with The Wood Source, one of North America’s largest wholesalers of reclaimed wood, Arnaud Mockel and Margaux Auboyneau, opened the first North American showroom this winter in an old barn in Manotick, importing wood from Europe as well as repurposing wood from Canadian sources. The company also produces handcrafted furniture using repurposed wood, and very little of the wood A&B salvages is wasted. Visit online for more information at atmosphere-bois.com.
THE HAUNTED WALK
Do you believe in ghosts? The Haunted Walk of Ottawa conducts a variety of tours of Ottawa’s oldest and most haunted buildings sharing scary ghost stories along the way. The original outdoor tour is led by lantern light to some of the city’s favourite haunted spots, including the Bytown Museum, the Fairmont Château Laurier and Ottawa’s haunted high school.
The Ghost and Gallows Tour takes you inside the 153-year-old Carleton County Jail (now the Ottawa Jail Hostel) to wander the cellblocks. It’s internationally recognized as one of the most haunted buildings in North America! If you’re interested in more remote haunted locations, the Haunted Walk offers night-time road trips to the Mackenzie King Estate and Upper Canada Village. More info at hauntedwalk.com/ottawa-tours/.
PERTH ANNIVERSARY
Harken back to days when horse-drawn wagons wound their way through the cobbled roadways of Perth and the surrounding area. This year marks the 200th anniversary of The Perth Military Settlement, originally established as one of three defensive outposts along the Rideau River after the War of 1812.
In celebration, Lanark County and the municipalities are marking the occasion with a variety of fun and interesting events including: Blast from the Past; a Heritage Stone Carvers Festival; the Lanark County Plowing Match and Legacy Farm Unveiling; the Perth Kilt Run Weekend and much more. Blast from the Past Homecoming Weekend July 22-24, will feature a nightshirt parade, a military tattoo, the Canadian Stone Carving Festival and a Blue Rodeo Concert, as well as a three-day BBQ Block Party. Outlander fans can enjoy a gathering to celebrate the Scottish set television program from July 29-31. For more information visit perthtourism.ca/perth-200th-anniversary.
