Ottawa Art Gallery

Founded in an effort by artists to represent local art and the artistic community in the late 1980s, "the Gallery at Arts Court" opened in 1988 in the old County Courthouse building. In 1993, it officially incorporated and changed its name to the Ottawa Art Gallery. The Gallery's opening was preceded by a survey exhibition of local art in 1975 in the Hall of Commerce Building at Lansdowne Park, including over 300 artworks by 156 artists. This exhibition was organized by artists Victor Tolgesy, Gerald Trottier, and James Boyd among others, and was one of the outcomes of the Visual Arts Ottawa coalition formed in 1974. In 1985, with the support of the City Council, the Ottawa Arts Centre Foundation (formed the year prior) identified the Carleton County Courthouse as its intended municipal arts centre which is located on traditional Anishinābe Aki territory. == Building and expansion ==

Since its founding, the Ottawa Art Gallery had previously resided at Arts Court along with 25 other organizations in the artistic community including SAW Gallery, Canadian Film Institute, Council for the Arts in Ottawa, CARFAC National, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Ottawa Fringe Festival. Designed by architect Robert Surtees and built in 1870, the Carleton County Courthouse was an important centre for local government and administration. In 1985, the courthouse and its property were entrusted to the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation and later designated as a space for municipal arts in 1988. With major support from the City of Ottawa and the province of Ontario, as well as donations from community members, the Ottawa Art Gallery constructed a new 55,000 square foot home that more than tripled its previous size. The expanded OAG building opened on 28 April 2018. With increased governmental funding, the Ottawa Art Gallery was able to develop public programming in the mid-1990s. Along with ongoing programming, the OAG organizes special events that engage the local artistic community. == Collections ==

The OAG cares for two main collections: the City of Ottawa-owned Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, as well as its own permanent collection. In 1992, Ottawa Art Gallery became the custodian of the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art. Begun by Dr. O.J. (Jack) and Isobel Firestone (née Torontow) in the 1950s, this substantial private collection of twentieth century Canadian art grew through their acquisition of works by artists from coast to coast, and was exhibited and stored in Belmanor, their home in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, that they shared with their four children. In 1972, the Firestone family donated 1,200 of their works of art, along with their house and an endowment fund for support, to the Ontario Heritage Foundation (now the Ontario Heritage Trust). The City of Ottawa and the newly established Gallery jointly pursued a successful bid to acquire the Collection, with the arrangement that the city would own it and it would be housed, cared for and exhibited by the Ottawa Art Gallery. Originally named the "Firestone Art Collection," but now known as the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art (FCCA), it includes artwork by prominent Canadian artists such as A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer, Edwin Holgate, (members of the Group of Seven), Emily Carr, Alma Duncan, David Milne, and Norval Morrisseau. At the OAG, its artworks have been exhibited in rotating exhibitions within its dedicated Gallery space, borrowed by major institutions including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and toured across the country. Originally known as the Contemporary Collection, and guided by an Acquisitions and Programming Committee, its focus was to begin a collection mapping and record of contemporary Ottawa-Gatineau Art. The estates of artists such as Juan Geuer and Gerald Trottier have donated substantial collections of these artists' works to the Collection. Max Dean donated of 50 of his photographs and installations to the gallery in 2016. == References ==