Looking for art and design events to attend over the holiday season? Here is an overview of the exhibitions and installations featuring the work of OCAD University students, faculty, staff and alums that are on view in and around Toronto this holiday season:
For the fourth consecutive year, the Aga Khan Museum is hosting Light Up The Dark, a celebration of light and artistry that sees its external façade transformed into a vibrant canvas of colour. As part of the three-day event, students and alums from the Experimental Animation program will dazzle visitors with thematic projections and animations inspired by the Aga Khan’s collection and exhibitions. Works by Hossain Ataher, Nancy Hatoum, Yubang Huang, Charlotte Lavoie-Auspert, Atiya Malik, Jeffrey Norman, Alireza Razzaghi, Nader Soliman, Namitha Thomas, Xinyi Tian and Olivia Wilyman will be projected on the museum’s exterior every evening between Dec. 27 to 29.
Assistant Professor Emma Nishimura’s collaborative exhibition Paradise, with Mitchell Akiyama, is on view through Jan. 24 at United Contemporary. Their collaboration takes the form of a multimedia installation that responds to their respective Japanese Canadian families’ shared histories of internment during the Second World War.
Assistant Professor Jason Lujan’s work is on view as part of the exhibition Early Days: Indigenous Art at the McMichael until March 29, 2026. The exhibition presents more than 100 works by Indigenous artists across two centuries, including former faculty member and OCAD U honorary doctorate recipient Dr. Robert Houle, alums Meryl McMaster and Shelley Niro, and OCAD U honorary doctorate recipients Dr. Rebecca Belmore, Dr. Alex Janvier and Dr. Kent Monkman.
In collaboration with OCAD U, Soulpepper Theatre is transforming its lobby and exterior façade into a magical winter forest during the annual Winter Village at Toronto's Distillery Historic District. Inspired by Soulpepper's hosting of Bad Hat Theatre’s production of Narnia, visitors can tour a multimedia, immersive experience that extends the magical world of Narnia beyond the stage.
In addition to the thematic installations, OCAD U is having a merchandise pop-up in the lobby of Soulpepper Theatre with an array of clothing and gifts designed specifically for this partnership. This includes an OCAD U x Soulpepper t-shirts, totes, ornaments and cards – also available online (great holiday gifts!). The pop-up is open until Dec. 28. Visitors can also browse a marketplace featuring handcrafted items by OCAD U alums, adjacent to the Soulpepper lobby from Dec. 15 to 24.
OCAD U Professor Lillian Allen, a two-time Juno Award winner, is featured in the exhibition Retro: Popular Music in Canada from the '60s, '70s and '80s. The exhibition on musical movements of the 20th century is on view at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau until Jan. 18, 2026. Allen's work is featured in a section that explores the many ways that artists expand what is seen and heard in the public sphere through their art.
