Exhibitions, installations and activities that inspire human connection
The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) reopens its doors this Saturday, February 26 at 10 a.m. The Gallery will also be open on Monday, February 28 and Tuesday, March 1, in addition to regular hours of operation from Wednesday to Sunday. Time-ticketed admissions are now on sale online at gallery.ca. Proof of vaccination and government-issued ID cards are required for all visitors over the age of 12. Masks and physical distancing remain in place for all visitors until further notice.
“We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to the Gallery. We have an inspiring series of exhibitions, installations, and art experiences that will bring joy, light, inspiration and connection to the many communities we exist to serve,” said National Gallery of Canada Director and CEO, Dr. Sasha Suda.
The Indigenous and Canadian Galleries, the European and International art galleries, and the Contemporary art galleries await visitors, as well as the highly anticipated exhibition Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons. They will also discover Snobird: A Public Sculpture for The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1985, an installation by the Canadian collective General Idea, to whom the Gallery will devote a major retrospective exhibition this summer. Rashid Johnson’s large pyramidal sculpture Capsule will be the focus of a year-long series of events highlighting Black experiences, with one evening per month. The Family Art Adventures program offers weekend art-making activities, private tours of the national collection with games and a mini drawing class, or visit using the self-guided activity kit that includes art materials provided by DeSerres.
Canada and Impressionism. New Horizons
Featuring more than 100 works by 36 renowned 19th- and 20th-century artists from across the country, Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons is a fascinating introduction to the multifaceted contributions of two generations of pioneering Canadian artists to the global phenomenon of Impressionism and to the development of the Canadian art world. New Horizons is a fascinating introduction to the multifaceted contribution of two generations of pioneering Canadian artists to the global phenomenon of Impressionism and the advent of modernity in Canada. Visitors will be able to admire works that depict the rise of modernism and urban life in Montreal and Toronto, as well as Halifax. The exhibition focuses on women artists, with paintings by Florence Carlyle (1864–1923), Emily Carr (1871–1945), Prudence Heward (1896–1947), H. Mabel May (1877–1971), Helen McNicoll (1879–1915), and Kathleen Moir Morris (1893–1986), to name a few. William Blair Bruce (1859–1906), W.H. Clapp (1879–1954), Maurice Cullen (1866–1934), Clarence Gagnon (1881–1942), Lawren S. Harris (1885–1970), James Wilson Morrice (1865–1924), and Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté (1869–1937) are among the other great names represented whose works are highlighted in the exhibition.
General Idea
The installation Snobird: A Public Sculpture for The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1985, a parody of Michael Snow’s Flightstop (1979)—a permanent installation of sixty fibreglass Canada geese in full flight suspended above the patrons of Toronto’s Eaton Centre—also depicts a flock of birds, but made from ordinary plastic bleach bottles. This work illustrates General Idea’s willingness to reinvent the work of other artists and bring mundane objects into the realm of art.
Rashid Johnson: Capsule
Rashid Johnson’s large pyramidal sculpture Capsule, installed in the Gallery’s main entrance, will be at the heart of a year-long series of dialogue between thinkers. creators and community with one evening per month. Details of the programming, developed in collaboration with Kwende Kefenste, General Manager of Ottawa’s CKCU radio station, TIMEKODE’s Producer and Creative Director, and an internationally renowned DJ, will be announced shortly.
About the National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada is home to a rich contemporary Indigenous international art collection, as well as important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian and European Art from the 14th to 21st centuries. Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for more than a century. Through the visual arts, the Gallery nurtures interconnection across time and place, and creates dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, each other, and our diverse histories. To find out more about the Gallery’s programming and activities visit gallery.ca and follow on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. #CanImp #Ankose #EverythingIsConnected #ToutEstRelié #AmplifyVoices.
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For media only: For more information, please contact:
Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations
National Gallery of Canada
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Denise Siele
Senior Manager, Communications
National Gallery of Canada
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