Since its opening five years ago, Onsite Gallery has mounted several impressive and award-winning exhibitions.
To mark its fifth anniversary, OCAD U's flagship professional gallery is inviting students, faculty, staff and the public to join in the celebration on Friday, December 2 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at 199 Richmond St. W.
Why this matters: Onsite Gallery has showcased innovative programming that has stimulated art, design and digital media research, creation, exhibition and dialogue that has activated the wider public and university communities.
In-depth background: In 2018, Onsite Gallery took home two awards from Galeries Ontario Galleries (GOG) in two categories: Innovation in a Collections-Based Exhibition for raise a flag: works from the Indigenous Art Collection (2000-2015) and the Education Award for raise a flag: works from the Indigenous Art Collection (2000-2015) Education Guide.
In 2019, Onsite Gallery and curator Patricio Dávila received the GOG First Exhibition in a Public Art Gallery Award for the exhibition, Diagrams of Power.
A partnership between Onsite Gallery and the Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) has resulted in the initiative, Up Front: Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery. Through this new series of commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists, Onsite Gallery recognizes the important contributions of the Inuit art sector and is pleased to work with the IAF to support Inuit art and artists in the public realm.
Produced in vinyl, four Inuit artists will be commissioned over two years to create these public digital art pieces and be featured on the gallery’s external façade.
Curated by Ryan Rice, Onsite Gallery's Executive Director and Curator, Indigenous Art, the first mural by Inuvialuk artist/curator Kablusiak was installed in April 2022. The second mural by artist Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk, Northern Flash, 2022, was recently installed on the façade.