Art and Museum Exhibits in
Oakville, Ontario
  

Oakville Galleries is committed to providing public access to its collection through a growing variety of approaches. Major institutions across Canada borrow work from it for exhibitions, and new research and exhibition initiatives from emerging curators are encouraged through an ongoing mentoring program.  Today the permanent collection has grown to a size that allows us to create annual exhibitions from it.  

Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate is a four-acre estate home and gardens set on the shores of Lake Ontario in downtown Oakville.  The Museum preserves and interprets the town’s history through the heritage and home of Oakville’s founding family, the Chisholms.  The Town of Oakville owes its existence to the vision of Colonel William Chisholm (1788-1842), an enterprising merchant and shipbuilder.  In 1827, he bought 960 acres of land from the Crown at the mouth of the Sixteen Mile Creek on Lake Ontario to establish a port, shipbuilding yard and the village of Oakville.

Today, visitors to the Oakville Museum can take a guided tour of Erchless, the Chisholm Family Home, (c.1858), which is authentically restored to the elegance of its 1925 appearance.  Visitors can also experience the Custom House, once home to a bank, general store and Oakville’s Custom Offices, now housing the Museum’s temporary exhibits with a beautiful view of Lake Ontario. Visitors may also enjoy a delightful walking tour of the estate grounds and gardens with a panoramic view of the Oakville Harbour; across from Erchless is the Old Post Office, open seasonally. 

October | November | December |
2012: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September |
 

To November 1
Denyse Thomasos: Kingdom Come
Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square
Curated by Marnie Fleming

Over the past twenty-five years, Denyse Thomasos has become internationally known for her singular brand of abstract painting. Born in Trinidad, raised in Canada and now based in New York City, Thomasos began her career after emerging as an outstanding graduate of Sheridan College’s Art and Art History program in 1987. In honour of the program’s fortieth anniversary, Thomasos has been invited to return to Oakville to create an in situ wall painting in collaboration with the college’s current students and recent graduates. The resulting work, Kingdom Come (2011), combines the visual properties of indigenous dwellings and eco-friendly designs to create a green utopia gone awry.

While many of Thomasos’s past works have addressed themes of slavery, confinement and other forms of physical exclusion, in Kingdom Come the artist turns her attention to the subtle divisions created by contemporary “green” architecture. Taking its inspiration from sketchbooks made during the artist’s travels through Africa, India and China, the wall work is filled with allusions to indigenous architectures, such as simple, hand-constructed pod forms. By amalgamating these elements over found images of high-end ecological architecture, Thomasos foregrounds the increasing economic divide between the necessity of vernacular structures made with local materials and the elite aesthetic associated with the branding of sustainable urban living.

To November 6
Marla Hlady: Rooms
Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens
Curated by Marnie Fleming

The multidisciplinary practice of Toronto-based artist Marla Hlady is characterized by her playful explorations into the mechanics and expressive possibilities of structure and sound.

Invited to produce a new work at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens, Hlady was drawn to the acoustic nature of this former home. To her well-tuned ears, the building is awash with noise, from the whirring fans and subterranean drones of the boiler, to the chirping ticks of the security system. The resulting installation, Rooms (2011), works to draw attention to these otherwise unnoticed elements, encouraging viewers to see sound.

To create Rooms, Hlady recorded sounds throughout the building to reveal the unique sonic qualities of the space. Conceiving of sound as an invisible phenomenon that is normally perceived in relation to other sensory stimuli, the artist sought to isolate it, while augmenting it with a visual presence. By constructing three-dimensional scale models of each room in the building, Hlady provides visible analogies for the gallery’s architecture that also serve as “sound objects,” emitting each space’s unique tones.

To March 1, 2012
Scouts' Honour: 100 Years of Adventure in Oakville
Erchless Estate

Over the past 100 years, thousands of Oakville youth have found adventure through scouting. The Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate is celebrating this anniversary with its new exhibition, Scouts’ Honour: 100 Years of Adventure in Oakville, which launches at a free family event on Saturday, February 19, 2011, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event includes camp-inspired snacks, “dogsled” races, Cub car racing, outdoor camping demonstrations and campfire stories.

“Oakville Scouts have played a significant role in our town’s history,” said long-time supporter of Oakville scouts, Mayor Rob Burton. “This exhibition highlights a special piece of Oakville’s heritage and I encourage all residents to visit the Oakville Museum to learn more."

The exhibition features a 1920s camp menu with cooking instructions, historic uniforms, badges, manuals, flags and a genuine wolf’s head totem used by the Second Oakville Troop. Visitors can also listen to campfire stories and watch a video interview with Roy Kelley, a Scout in Oakville in the 1920s. The exhibition runs from February 19, 2011 to March 1, 2012 at the Oakville Museum. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

“Since Frank H. Chisholm’s single troop in 1911, Oakville’s Scouts have maintained a strong and meaningful presence in the community,” said Carolyn Cross, curator of collections at the Oakville Museum. “This exhibition has lots of hands-on activities such as knot tying, animal tracking, guessing the age of a tree and a survival game. It should be lots of fun for the whole family.”

October 19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Fall and Winter Program: Painted Canvas Floorcloth Workshop
Erchless Estate

Age: 18+
Fee: $45.00 plus H.S.T.
Material Fee: $15.00
IRIS Code: 154517

The Oakville Museum invites you to indulge your artistic side as you design and create a beautiful work of art (and conversation piece) for your own floor! Before the advent of linoleum and affordable wall-to-wall carpeting, winter's heavy wool carpets would have made way for lightweight, durable and versatile painted canvas floorcloths in the spring. Learn a variety of decorative art techniques. All materials will be supplied by the instructor. A material fee of $15 is due on the day of class. To register click on the IRIS link or call 905-815-2000.

October 30, 1 to 4 p.m.
Halloween Masquerade Party
Erchless Estate

Fee: $4 per person

"Choose a mask and wear it well, so your true identity, no one can tell"

You are invited to a family friendly Halloween masquerade at the museum. There will be a magic lantern show and our special guest Squeaky the clown will present a magic show. Make a vintage inspired Halloween ornament and your own personal fortune teller. Try your skill at guessing games and hunt for creepy bats hiding in the house. Wear your costume if you dare! BOO!!!

November 11, 7:00pm
Art Privé: An event in support of Oakville Galleries
Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens

Art Privé is one-of-a-kind fundraising event in support of Oakville Galleries' artistic and educational programming.

This November, Oakville Galleries will mount a three-day exhibition showcasing Oakville. For one night only, join us for an elegant cocktail reception to preview the artworks, meet the collectors and hear them talk about their prized possessions.

November 23, November 30 and December 6
or November 24, December 1 and December 8
Fall and Winter Program: Mini Museum Mornings!
Erchless Estate

10 to 11 a.m.
Age: 2-5
Fee: $40
IRIS Code: 154516 (Wednesdays) IRIS Code: 163098 (Thursdays)

Explore the Oakville Museum with your child. For one-hour each week learn a little about history, participate in a hands on activity, and spend quality time together at the beautiful and historic Erchless Estate. This is a parented program.(Only one parent/guardian per registered child).

Week 1: Decorate a cookie for someone special.
Week 2: Explore the storybook ‘The Mitten’.
Week 3: Make an old fashioned holiday ornament.

November 26 - February 19, 2012
Chris Kline: Bright Limit
Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens
Curated by Marnie Fleming

Bright Limit is a solo exhibition of recent paintings by Montreal-based artist Chris Kline. Using varying methods of execution, Kline works with a quiet formal and material vocabulary to explore the legacy of modern abstraction, while meditating on limits, boundaries and the nature of vision. Seen in the context of Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens, the works in Bright Limit will take on particular resonance in Gairloch estate.

November 26 - February 19, 2012
Hyper Spaces
Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square
Curated by Shannon Anderson

Featuring works by José Manuel Ballester, An Te Liu and Lynne Marsh.

Hyper Spaces brings together artworks that explore urban architecture and public space through the lenses of tension and anxiety. With a particular focus on spatial dislocation and estrangement, the works in this exhibition suggest that the architecture of our everyday life contains the makings of a discomfiting parallel world

December 7, 7 to 9 p.m.
Fall and Winter Program: Folded Fabric Star Ornament
Erchless Estate

Age: 18+
Fee: $35.00 plus H.S.T.
IRIS Code: 154517

Enjoy an evening at the Oakville Museum creating a unique Christmas ornament. These no-sew ornaments, also known as quilted star ornaments, are made with folded fabric, and placed in a unique quilted pattern around a foam ball. There is no limit to the types of materials, colours and themes used in creating these quilt ball ornaments. All materials supplied. Beware, you will want to do more of these at home! To register click on the IRIS link or call 905-815-2000.

December 11, 1:30 to 3 p.m. or 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Fall and Winter Program: Christmas Tea and Tour
Erchless Estate

Age: 6+
Fee: $5.00 plus H.S.T.
IRIS Code: 154480, 154481

Share the warmth of the holiday season with family and friends at the Oakville Museum’s annual Christmas Tea and Tour. Enjoy a visit to the historic Erchless Estate, including a guided tour through the elegantly decorated home, our featured exhibition, and tea and cookies. Tour available for all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult. All participants must be paid registrants. Allergies cannot be accommodated for this event. To register click on the IRIS link or call 905-815-2000.

February 8, 7 to 9 p.m.
Fall and Winter Program: Valentine Workshop: Cards of Sentiment
Erchless Estate

Age: 18+
Fee: $45.00 plus H.S.T.
IRIS Code: 156214

Come and be the artist! In this workshop, you will learn the process of one-of-a-kind card making. We will explore various techniques in folding, designing, layering and creative embellishments. Many of the papers used are from all over the world, especially Japan and Thailand. We hope to make several cards during the workshop, using a more collage approach to card-making. This is a very popular workshop, so we hope you will sign up early! Instructor Rozanne Homsy from Oakville Paper Boutique, leads this workshop. To register click on the IRIS link or call 905-815-2000.

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