Artists often question and ponder the events and zeitgeist of the moment. Hindsight: 2020 Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection presents artworks that address many fraught issues highlighted by the pandemic, including racial and gender inequity, political discord, poverty, migration, environmental crisis, physical vulnerability and psychological breakdown. If the major pandemics and social movements of the past are any indication, we may well experience paradigm shifts on an individual and collective basis, allowing us to break with the past and imagine a more inclusive, equitable, sustainable and creative future.
This annual exhibition, which features recent additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, is a moment of cultural and community celebration. In a typical year, dozens of artists would gather with their families and friends, as well as members of the public, to attend a crowded vernissage. Only now can we fully appreciate just how precious these gatherings were.
We hope many people will have the opportunity to view this exhibition in person, but we understand that may not be possible this year. Please watch the short video that will be released in January 2021 to highlight the artworks showcased in this exhibition. Produced by Lesley Marshall, the video features local artists, words by Ottawa Poet Laureate Jamaal Jackson Rogers and music by Merganzer (Mika Posen).
Artworks from this circulating collection are placed in over 170 public spaces and municipal buildings to be viewed and enjoyed by residents and visitors. The City of Ottawa and its various municipal predecessors have been actively collecting artwork by professional artists for over 30 years. As a result, the City of Ottawa Collection has grown to include more than 3,000 artworks by more than 800 artists. The artists featured in this exhibition are but a small fragment of a much larger visual arts community that comprises an abundance of artistic talent in the region.
Artworks are added to the Collection each year by way of a peer assessment process through purchase, donation and/or commission.
Hindsight features a selection of artworks by the following artists:
- Barry Ace
- Alexander Angnaluak
- Fiona Annis
- Gabriela Avila-Yiptong
- Karen Bailey
- Julie Beauchemin
- John Benn
- Judith Berry
- Barbara Carlson
- Chromogenic Curmudgeons
- Kristina Corre
- Joyce Crago
- Pixie Cram
- Lynda Cronin
- Betty Davison
- Brendan de Montigny
- Jennifer Dickson
- Maura Doyle
- Kimberly Edgar
- Rosalie Favell
- Laurena Finéus
- Atticus Gordon
- Colwyn Griffith
- José Guénette
- Claudia Gutierrez
- Lynda Hall
- Erin Hunt
- Sarah Jaworski
- Olivia Johnston
- David Kaarsemaker
- Gillian King
- Donald Kwan and Justy Lisa Dennis
- Sébastien Lafleur
- Claude Latour
- Jim Logan
- Lesia Maruschak
- Henri Masson
- Natasha Mazurka
- Julie Melaschenko
- Caroline Monnet
- Francis Montillaud
- Jennifer Anne Norman
- Anne Orton
- Jose Palacios
- Christos Pantieras
- Sasha Phipps
- Barry Pottle
- Susan Pritchard
- Benjamin Rodger
- Komi Seshie
- Sally Lee Sheeks
- Ranajit Sinha
- Andrew Smith
- Katherine Takpannie
- Amy Thompson
- Guillermo Trejo
- Carol Wainio
- Robert Waters
- Joyce Westrop
- Colin White
2020 Direct Purchase Peer Assessment Committee: Guy Bérubé, Marisa Gallemit, Rachelle Dickenson, Diana Thorneycroft, Howie Tsui
2020 Donation Review Committee: David Barbour, Neven Lochhead, Annie Thibault, Melanie Yugo
Commissions:Tara Blasioi, Joel Boudreau, Hala Boushey, Eric Chan, Brendan de Montigny, Steve Fick, Christopher Griffin, Dipna Horra, Stuart Kinmond, Maryse Maynard, Susan Murray, Barbara Pickthorne, Jocelyn Pirainen