150 years of art and design education in downtown Toronto
For over 150 years, OCAD University has grown alongside Canada, both shaping the country’s evolution and being shaped by it. Since opening as the Ontario School of Art in 1876, just nine years after Confederation, our artists, designers and innovators have helped define how the nation sees itself and how the world sees Canada. From the Group of Seven to pioneers of digital art and the technologies reshaping our future, this is the story of a school and a country evolving together — and of the people who have helped shape what comes next.
From a single art school with 14 students in 1876 to the Ontario College of Art and now OCAD University, we’ve spent 150 years as Canada’s oldest and largest art and design university. Our history includes the founding of the country’s first school dedicated to educating artists, the opening of our Design School, achieving university status in 2002, and the rise of the internationally celebrated Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design. Thousands of artists and designers have passed through our doors, and we’re just getting started.
Over 150 years, the people who passed through our doors have left their mark on Canadian art, design and culture.
Prolific graphic designer of iconic Canadian corporate logos
Group of Canadian landscape painters who initiated Canada's national art movement
Well-known sculptor and interdisciplinary artist
Pioneering Canadian graphic designer
Award-winning illustrator of Robert Munsch children’s books
Influential art director and designer of iconic Canadian brands
Modernist painter known for vivid portrayals of Canadian mining towns
Multidisciplinary contemporary artist exploring themes of gender and identity
Artist who designed Canada's one dollar loonie coin
Award-winning artist celebrating Indigenous women and Mohawk culture
Prolific creator of retail brand icons
Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator known for his New Yorker covers
Painter known for realistic paintings of everyday Canadian life
Trailblazing automotive designer
Award-winning industrial designer and pioneer of contemporary workspaces
Trailblazing artist, musician, and performer
Visionary artist and photographic innovator
OCA educator created logos for Air Canada and financial sector
Official war artist leaves enduring legacy
Printmaker known for his depictions of Newfoundland and Labrador
As OCAD University approaches its 150th anniversary celebration launching in fall of 2026, we’re inviting you, our alumni community, to help us tell our story.
We’d love to hear about the moments that shaped your time here. A favourite class or instructor, your first exhibition, or a connection that changed your path. No story is too big or too small.
Selected submissions may be featured as part of our 150th anniversary initiatives, celebrating the many voices, experiences, and perspectives that have defined OCAD U over the past century and a half.
