The Ottawa Art Gallery wasn’t about to let an important anniversary slip by without a grand celebration, not when it’s been five years since it made its exciting and momentous move into the expanded new space where it resides today.
It had the perfect excuse to throw a big bash with its annual Give to Get Art Auction that took place Thursday, serving as a great segue into the May long weekend. The evening drew 450-plus friends and supporters from the visual arts community under one big roof for a night of food, drinks, art auction, bidding and fun.
“It’s a hell of a party,” OAG’s chief development officer, Lydia Blanchard, told OBJ.social. “It’s definitely not your usual gala.”
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The creative juices were certainly flowing. The event offered attendees a series of immersive experiences, featuring live music and visual art installations.
Attendees were encouraged to wear rosy-hued attire, in keeping with the gallery’s signature colour and the theme of the night, Paint the Town Pink.
“From the arts lens, the Give to Get Art Auction is one of those events that gives us a chance to show the public what the OAG is all about,” said Blanchard. “It’s about engaging the community and bringing them into the gallery.”
The stars of the night were the art auction and the 94 contributing artists. They included Bastien Martel, Don Kwan, Tim desClouds, Eryn O’Neill, Andrea Mueller, Andrew Beck, Cara Tierney, Christopher Griffin, Karen Bailey, Leslie Reid, Greta Grip, Simon Brascoupé, Guillermo Trejo, and many more.
The art auction showcases artists from across the region in varying stages of their career and who represent a diverse range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, textile, photography, printmaking, mixed media and jewelry.
Fifty per cent of the art sales go back to the exhibiting artists while the other 50 per cent helps to ensure that the OAG can continue to offer free admission, grow its mental health and art therapy initiatives, support local artists and foster an inclusive, welcoming environment. The event raised $135,000, exceeding last year’s total of $113,000. Attendance was also up from 2022, with an additional 100 people in the room.
Give to Get Art has been a staple social event in the arts community for more than 20 years, having earned itself a loyal following of business sponsors, art collectors and art aficionados.
Blanchard said it’s always thrilling to watch interested art buyers scramble to get their final offers in as the deadline for bidding draws near.
And if the public needed a reminder of how important our city’s downtown is, both as a gathering space and a cultural incubator, Give to Get Art does just that. The future of the downtown is of concern due to accelerated remote- and hybrid-work trends that have reduced the amount of downtown office workers. “One of our missions is to help with those efforts,” Blanchard said of the large-scale event held over multiple floors. The OAG is located at 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, steps away from the Rideau Centre, Shaw Centre, University of Ottawa and Rideau Canal.
The OAG threw a big party in 2018 to celebrate the opening of its beautiful and spacious new building, which has four times more gallery space than before, as well as a café, art shop, studio space, multi-purpose programming space, outdoor terraces, and more. “Because of the pandemic, it doesn’t really feel like it’s been five years,” said Blanchard of the milestone anniversary. “For a good portion of that, we were closed and everything went quiet.
“We’re trying to get that energy, that excitement back from our 2018 grand opening. That’s what we’re trying to harness with this event.”
caroline@obj.ca
