Prepare to be amazed! Preview of 2025 fall-winter season at the National Gallery of Canada

Four new exhibitions and engaging public programs in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 20, 2025 /CNW/ - Get ready for a memorable fall and winter at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and across the country. Our iconic building on Sussex Drive will play host to four new exhibitions as well as art-making, learning and wellness & community activities designed to captivate visitors and enrich their lives. Outside our walls, the Gallery makes visual arts accessible to all Canadians with exhibitions and installations by high-profile Canadian and international artists in various locations across the country.

"After two years at the helm of this remarkable place, I can say with certainty that the Gallery is not just a home for art. It is a living space where Canadians see themselves and their communities," said Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO, National Gallery of Canada. "In 25/26 we will continue to be guided by the rhythm of collaboration: partnering with the visual arts sector to link artworks with communities, connect the past to the present and bring people together through art."

Four new exhibitions

The 2025 Sobey Art Award Exhibition, organized by the NGC in collaboration with the Sobey Art Foundation, opens on October 3, 2025. On view, works by six of Canada's top contemporary visual artists who have been shortlisted for this year's Award, now in its 24^th year and 22^nd running. The finalists are Tarralik Duffy (Circumpolar region), Tania Willard (Pacific region), Chukwudubem Ukaigwe (Prairies region), Sandra Brewster (Ontario region), Swapnaa Tamhane (Quebec region), and Hangama Amiri (Atlantic region). The exhibition runs until February 8, 2026.

Winter Count: Embracing the Cold reflects on winter's significant impact across diverse cultures and artistic expressions. Featuring more than 150 works from the early 19^th century to the present, this exhibition brings together Indigenous, Canadian settler and European perspectives on the subject. Starting November 21. Notable artists include Inuit printmaker Pitseolak Ashoona, Cree artists Duane Linklater and Kent Monkman, Canadian painters Maurice Cullen, Clarence Gagnon and Lawren S. Harris as well as French Impressionists Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. On display until March 22, 2026.

Drawing upon the rich collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Camera and the City brings together the work of a wide range of photographers who have captured the spirit of city streets. Opens on December 12, 2025. Featuring the work of photographers Diane Arbus, Barbara Probst, Charles Gagnon, Fred Herzog, June Clark, Jeff Thomas, Gordon Parks, Kwame Brathwaite and many others. On view until March 15, 2026.

The work of the internationally acclaimed Montreal-based artist Sylvia Safdie will be featured for the first time at the NGC. Safdie gathers and utilizes found natural materials in a variety of mediums to explore different themes in her work. The solo exhibition Sylvia Safdie: Terra, also opening on December 12, presents her latest sculptural installation and introduces previously unseen highlights from her video work. Until August 23, 2026.

Public programs

With a wide range of public programming, visitors can learn, connect and create. Most events and activities are free with admission, and many are completely free. Join enriching conversations with Canadian artists like Chih-Chien Wang and Suzy Lake; drop in to the Studio to express your creativity—all supplies provided; or settle in for quiet gallery-based sketching. The fall season of Free Thursdays presented by BMO brings music, art-making and light-hearted short tours in a vibrant and social atmosphere. Visit gallery.ca under the tab "Learn" for more details.

Engaging Canadians from coast to coast to coast

Thanks to the National Gallery of Canada's National Engagement initiative, supported by Michael Nesbitt and the NGC Foundation, Canadians in various parts of the country can enjoy world-class artwork. This includes:

• We come from the sea by Joan Jonas, presented simultaneously at the Eltuek Arts Centre in Sydney and the Inverness County Centre for the Arts in Inverness, Nova Scotia, until October 12, 2025;
• WINDWARD, a new film installation by artist Sharon Lockhart, on display at the Fogo Island Gallery until October 31, 2025, then at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Center for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta from October 22, 2025, to January 7, 2026;
• The Ship of Tolerance, spearheaded by artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, on display until September 20, 2026, at Oakville Galleries; and
• Forever Bicyles, by Ai Weiwei, at The Forks, Winnipeg, on view until 2034.

About the National Gallery of Canada 

Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all—now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14^th to the 21^st century and extensive library and archival holdings.   

Ankosé  –  Everything is connected – Tout est relié 

SOURCE National Gallery of Canada

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