Contact(s)
In 2018, City Council passed a resolution authorizing the Orillia Museum of Art & History to manage the City’s public art program under the direction of the Manager of Culture and an Art in Public Places Committee.
The Committee manages the Stack Gallery at the Orillia Recreation Centre, leads new calls for works of art, advises on proposed donations, and reviews proposals for public art from the community year-round.
Details on the committee, its application processes and projects are below. You can sign-up to receive direct emails as updates become available.
Stack Gallery Exhibits The Collection Public Art Checklist Art in Public Places Strategy Art in Public Places Committee
Stack Gallery Exhibits
The Orillia Recreation Centre (ORC) is home to the Stack Gallery, an exhibit space designed primarily for two-dimensional works of art curated by the Art in Public Places Committee.
The Gallery, along with many architectural features throughout the building, is designed to honour the site's industrial past as a manufacturing hub for Otaco Ltd. (Orillia Tudhope Anderson Company). The company produced a wide variety of products over the years, from farming implements to undercarriages to Minnitoys for nearly a century.
Today, the ORC brings a renewed vibrancy to this location in the heart of downtown Orillia. The Gallery is part of this vibrancy and is accessible throughout the day during regular business hours. Visit the ORC's webpage for its hours of operation.
Many of the works within the Gallery are priced for sale and can be purchased directly from the artists. Please inquire at the front desk or call 705-330-6479. Note: As a curated show, any items purchased from the Gallery must remain in the exhibit until its closing.
NEW Exhibit: Renewal
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The theme for the Stack Gallery’s newest Call to Artists is ‘Momentum’. The word relates to a body in motion and was selected as the theme in partnership with the Age-Friendly Orillia Advisory Committee (AFOAC). The AFOAC considers both the challenges and opportunities of our aging population through advocacy and support of policies and initiatives that enable people to benefit from an active, independent, and meaningful life. Through this new exhibit, the AFOAC invites artists and visitors to think critically and creatively about the correlation between movement, aging and quality of life. Artists are invited to interpret visually what the term Momentum means to them from an age-inclusive lens. This can be done through either new or existing original works of art. The deadline for this call has closed and the submissions reviewed by jury. The new work will be on display in June 2023.
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The City of Orillia’s new exhibit entitled 'Renewal' is now open, featuring ten original works by local artists. Defined as resuming something after a state of interruption, the word “renewal” seemed an inspiring theme following over two years of global interruption and isolation. Below are the final works selected by jury, representing a compilation of artist renderings related to renewal, rebirth, rejuvenation, and transformation. The artists and their work are listed in the order that they appear in the exhibit, from left to right, top to bottom.
For background information on the original call, click on the green box below. |
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The theme for the Stack Gallery's second exhibit is ‘Mechanics of Life’, and challenged artists to ponder both the mechanical and physical purposes of the site, both past and present. Artists were invited to draw on their own creativity to glean what ‘Mechanics of Life’ means to them through visual expression. The following pieces were select by jury and are featured in the exhibit.
Click here to see the exhibit online
Photo Gallery: Stack Exhibit Mechanics of Life will appear here on the public site.
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The theme for the Stack Gallery's inaugural exhibit was "From Foundry to Future," and challenged artists to explore the site’s evolution from an industrial centre to state-of-the-art sport and recreation facility in their work. It featured the work of the following local artists:
The exhibit was filmed and is available below. Filming and editing was kindly done by OMAH staff and volunteers. @orilliamuseum |
Orillia’s Public Art Collection is Growing!
Click on our Public Art Map to start your tour of the City's Public Art Collection.
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In 2022, the Art in Public Places Committee (APPC) led two calls for visual artists, muralists, and visual arts teams to create original works of art for seven sites across the City (map below).
The theme "Crossroads, connections and intersections" draws on the City’s strategic location along the shores of Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe, at the heart of the four communities of Oro-Medonte, Ramara, Severn and Rama First Nation, connected via the Trent-Severn Waterway, Highways 11 and 12, and the Trans-Canada Trail to anywhere you want to go in Canada and beyond. These crossroads, connections, and intersections breathe life into the Orillia area and are bring together visitors and residents and are the very reason Orillia has been a gathering place for Indigenous peoples for more than 5000 years.
The collection includes the following artists, works and locations to be installed by June 2023.
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By James (Jimi) McKee The piece entitled The Steering Drive for the Mariposa Belle is a creative use and display of the City’s industrial past, connecting visitors to Stephen Leacock and his fictional story of the sinking of the steamboat bearing the same name in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. For more on Leacock and his connection to Orillia, visit www.leacockmuseum.ca The Steering Drive for the Mariposa Belle is one of six sculptures by the artist, Jimi McKee, made of Dorr Oliver Long patterns. The patterns were used to cast molten metal at the Dorr-Oliver-Long Factory; one of the leading suppliers of a variety of mining equipment within North America. The factory was located at 174 West Street South, across the street from the work's home at the Orillia Recreation Centre entre. For more on the factory, watch this video compiled by the Orillia Heritage Centre. The Artist
McKee is Canadian artist born in 1943 in Toronto to John George McKee and Mary Margaret Gough. John George immigrated from Ireland 1907 to Toronto where we worked for the T. Eaton Co. for over 50 years. Mary Margaret was an illustrator, pianist, model, and one of the first women in Canada to fly her own sea plane. Jimi and his brother William were born on 125 Dunvegan Road in Forest Hill and attended Saint Michael's College. McKee has been involved in the art field since 1959. He works in various media on two-dimensional and three-dimensional work including paint, metal, wood, and various other media he comes across such as the Dorr-Oliver-Long patterns. For more on McKee, visit his website. |
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J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park Butterfly Garden |
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Papillio Planta by Robert Doan
The piece, entitled “Papillio Planta” by Robert Doan, was installed in J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park Habitat Garden following an open Call to Artists in 2020 by the City of Orillia and Art in Public Places Committee and endorsed by Council on October 26, 2020. The Call challenged local artist to create a dynamic piece of artwork that captures the essence of the pollinator garden. Doan’s proposal was selected for the strength and compelling nature of the literal and figurative imagery within the design. Inspired by the Call to Artists to create his own plant for the garden, the artist brings together six butterflies in flight to form a bloom. Similar to a real plant, Doan gave the piece a Latin botanical name: Papillio, meaning butterfly, and Planta, meaning plant. It stands approximately 7ft tall in the garden and is made of cold rolled steel. The material was chosen as it will weather over time to produce the natural orange-brown patina that will help it blend into its natural surroundings. The ArtistRobert Doan is a local sculptor who has combined his education and skill as a welder, jeweller, and visual artist to create compelling works of art for private and public commissions. He works with metal to create custom decorative pieces for commercial enterprises and residential properties. He has done work for Hawk Ridge Golf & Country Club, the CIBC in Mississauga, and Protea Health Centre in Barrie. Doan studied Material art & Design at the Ontario College of Art and Design and graduated from the welding course at Humber College. He also studied Jewellery and Metals at Georgian College - Barrie Campus and was awarded medals of academic and studio excellence. Mr. Doan taught welding at Georgian College when the Orillia Campus first opened in the 1980s. |
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Inspired: The Road to Gold |
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Local artist, Craig Mainprize, was commissioned by the City of Orillia and the 2020 OWG Games Organizing Committee to create a lasting impression mural for the 2020 Ontario Winter Games. Nine artists from throughout the province answered the call to create an 8’ X 12’ mural that encapsulates the theme, ‘Inspired: The Road to Gold.’ “Craig’s unique style, bold colours and simplistic designs captured the imagination of the jury,” said Jacqueline Sock, Manager of Culture and a member of the Games Organizing Committee. That, combined with his passion for sport resulted in his selection. The ArtistCraig Mainprize is a multi-disciplinary artist. Primarily a visual artist, he also works as a musician, curator, and actor. His paintings are known for their vibrant colour palette and use of drawing and line work. Mainprize was born in 1983 in Orillia, Ontario. He holds a BFA from the University of Ottawa, specializing in painting and sculpture. His works have been exhibited at arts museums across the province and are held in private collections around the world. He is the recipient of the 2019 Orillia Regional Arts & Heritage Award for Emerging Artist. |
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Public Art Proposals
Do you have a public art project you would like to bring to life? We encourage you to contact staff before completing our Public Art Proposal Checklist to ensure we have all of the necessary information to assess your proposal.
Jacqueline Surette, Manager of Culture
Ph: 705-325-4530; Email: jsurette@orillia.ca
Public Art projects are subject to the City of Orillia’s Art in Public Places Policy 1.12.6.1. and require a written proposal prior to being forwarded to Council for approval.
Art in Public Places Policy 1.12.6.1
Art in Public Places Strategy
The City of Orillia Art in Public Places Strategic Plan will be presented to Council on April 17, 2023, by Cobalt Connects (Cobalt). Cobalt is a non-profit arts service organization that works throughout Ontario to spur innovative events, programs, public art projects and facilities that advance the creative industries and cultural sector.
The Strategic Plan is meant to provide the City and community with a roadmap for the funding, development and installation of public art that reflect the needs and stories of Orillia.
Key City planning processes, such as the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan, Streets for All: Streetscape Improvement Master Plan and the City of Orillia Tourism Strategic Action Plan, call for public art to play a larger role in placemaking to enhance the quality of life of residents and support economic development. Grounded by these plans along with research into best practices and local voices, the Plan will help identify suitable locations, funding strategies and partnerships that support a vibrant public art program and link public art planning to future development across the city.
Visit orillia.ca/council for a link to the Council agenda.
The Art in Public Places Committee
The City of Orillia adopted its first Art in Public Places Policy 1.12.6.1 in 2010 to recognize and promote the value of arts and culture through the integration of artwork into public views. The objective of the policy is to establish a standard and transparent process for the acquisition, consultation, selection, site selection, maintenance, deaccession, monitoring and evaluation of purchased and/or donated works of art for display in public places.
In 2018, City Council passed a resolution authorizing the Orillia Museum of Art & History to manage the City's public art program under the direction of the Manager of Culture and an Art in Public Places Committee.
The Committee advises Council on donations and public calls for artwork originating with Council, the Committee, City staff or members at large. This page is dedicated to the work they are involved in. To stay informed, sign-up for page updates.
