The TRIAS Art Prize intends to infuse public spaces at The Ottawa Hospital with art, enhancing care through its restorative power, and to support artists from the regions served by The Ottawa Hospital – Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and Nunavut – who have a community-based practice or whose artwork explores themes related to healing, renewal and community.
Three prizes, totaling $40,000, will be awarded in recognition of the art and the artist’s role in healing and wellness, featuring:
The Art and Science Residency Award
The Indigenous Art as Healing Award
The Art as Healing Award
The selected artworks will become part of The Ottawa Hospital Collection.
Longtime Ottawa Hospital donor Jennifer Toby and Ottawa Hospital Physician Dr. François Auclair have provided the inaugural funding for the awards. The Indigenous Art as Healing Award Honorable Mention is provided by The Lawson Foundation.
About Creative Wellbeing
In 2019, the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and The Ottawa Hospital launched Creative Wellbeing an inspired partnership focusing on supporting art and creativity initiatives in the hospital environment, celebrating diversity, and enhancing social cohesion in the community. Research has shown that the inclusion of art in the healing environment produces beneficial outcomes that include reduced stress and faster recovery, as well as creating a humanizing space for patients, their families, and healthcare staff.
The Walls and Ceilings Contractors Association has been a longtime supporter of the Ottawa Hospital. Through the years, they have supported many areas such as equipment, Breast Health Centre and Cancer. They are excited to be holding their first in-person golf tournament since 2019 on September 12th, 2022 at Kanata Lakes with proceeds going to support Kidney Cancer Research at The Ottawa Hospital.
Taggart Parkes Foundation helps shape the future of Ottawa with a $10-million donation
Taggart Parkes Foundation helps shape the future of Ottawa with a $10-million donation
It is a universal truth that the quality of a foundation most often determines stability and longevity. This can be said of construction, of a family, of a community. This is certainly true in Ottawa, which has been built on the vision and generosity of families like the Taggarts.
With an almost 75-year history in the city, the Taggart Group of Companies has become an award-winning builder, demonstrating their unique ability to create enduring structures and communities — turning empty fields into welcoming, walkable, liveable communities.
Members of the Taggart Family at the cottage in October 2021.
From their first purchase of property in Ottawa’s west end for our returning war heroes to a collection of companies and a formidable workforce, the Taggarts have paved a path to success. But more than that, through their family-run, non-profit organization, the Taggart Parkes Foundation, they have made it their mission to make Ottawa a better, kinder place to call home. From empowering at-risk youth to fostering healthy communities to supporting cancer research, for three generations our city has benefited in countless ways from the Taggart touch.
Now, with a $10-million donation to the Campaign to Create Tomorrow, the Taggart Parkes Foundation is once again investing in our communities, in our future, and their support will not only revolutionize healthcare but will shape our city for generations to come.
The $500-million Campaign to Create Tomorrow sets in motion a vision to transform how the world delivers healthcare — by building the most technologically advanced hospital in Canada and taking groundbreaking research and innovation to unprecedented heights.
Thank you, Taggart Parkes Foundation, for your deep commitment to our communities and your inspirational generosity.
About the Campaign to Create Tomorrow
The Campaign to Create Tomorrow is the largest fundraising campaign in our region’s history. It will help fulfil the most ambitious vision ever for the future of The Ottawa Hospital, focused on four critical pillars.
See how we’ll become the most technologically advanced hospital in the country, using the latest tools to provide the right care in the right space with the right provider.
Through our unique collaborative model of clinicians and researchers working side-by-side, we will bring groundbreaking discoveries to patients in Ottawa — and around the world.
The Northpine Foundation donates $20 million to the Campaign to Create Tomorrow
As a startup philanthropic organization with big dreams, The Northpine Foundation invests in innovative projects that foster sustainable change and enable Canada’s most marginalized populations to thrive.
With a mission to be an impactful force of good and to serve communities that encounter economic and social limitations, they know a better future must be a healthy future.
With their transformational gift of $20 million to The Ottawa Hospital, The Northpine Foundation is making a significant investment in the future of healthcare – not just in Ottawa, but on a national scale, paving the way for a better future for those they serve.
The Campaign to Create Tomorrow is an ambitious $500-million campaign that sets in motion a vision to transform how the world delivers healthcare — by building the most technologically advanced hospital in Canada and taking groundbreaking research and innovation to unprecedented heights. The Northpine Foundation’s donation is part of more than $216 million raised to date.
“We want to create bold, meaningful, and lasting change. And we believe an investment toward a healthier future is the way to achieve that change.”
— Aatif Baskanderi, CEO of The Northpine Foundation
True to The Northpine Foundation’s core value of kindness, along with their rigorous determination for the betterment of Canada, their transformational gift will have a profound impact on healthcare in this country. Their openness to charting a new course will no doubt inspire others to step out, follow their lead, and make an impact for generations.
The Northpine Foundation is funded by Cathy & John Phillips through Klister Credit Corp., an early investor in Shopify Inc.
Thank you, Northpine Foundation, for serving Canadian communities in bold and innovative ways and for your extraordinary generosity.
About the Campaign to Create Tomorrow
The Campaign to Create Tomorrow is the largest fundraising campaign in our region’s history. It will help fulfil the most ambitious vision ever for the future of The Ottawa Hospital, focused on four critical pillars.
See how we’ll become the most technologically advanced hospital in the country, using the latest tools to provide the right care in the right space with the right provider.
Through our unique collaborative model of clinicians and researchers working side-by-side, we will bring groundbreaking discoveries to patients in Ottawa — and around the world.
Vittorio Petrin has never seen his grandchildren’s faces. The Italian draftsman started to lose his peripheral vision in the early 1980’s after his second son was born, forcing him to leave work and take an early pension. He was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that causes the cells in the retina to break down. There is no cure. His vision steadily got worse until he couldn’t see any light at all.
Before his vision went dark, Vittorio spent six years building a model of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, using over 3,000 copper pieces. “It was the most beautiful place I’d seen, and I wanted to replicate it. Working on it kept my mind away from what was going to happen,” he says.
Vittorio Petrin with a replica of St. Mark’s Basilica he built while losing his vision to retinitis pigmentosa.
“My dad was an artist. He was able to draw phenomenally, he liked taking videos. Sight was important to him,” says Vittorio’s son Dino Petrin. “He never complained about going blind, we never saw it as children. He always had a sense of humour and a strong character. He never asked for any pity, he just took it in stride.”
Millions of people in North America live with retinal diseases like retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, retinal ischemia and age-related macular degeneration. These diseases are poorly understood, progressive, and often untreatable.
But thanks to promising gene and cell therapies in development, Dino hopes that one day people like his father won’t have to lose their vision.
Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis
“Soon we’ll be able to do what our lab has been trying to do all along – bring XIAP gene therapy into the clinic.”
– Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis
A discovery with game-changing potential
Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis can imagine the day when the first patient is treated with the retinal disease gene therapy her lab has worked on for the past 20 years. While it won’t happen tomorrow, that day is not far off.
“XIAP gene therapy is exciting because it keeps cells in the back of the eye from dying,” said Dr. Tsilfidis, a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. “It could slow or stop vision loss caused by many different retinal diseases.”
Dr. Tsilfidis is leading a world-class team of researchers that recently received $2.4 M from the Ontario Research Fund to develop gene and cell therapies for retinal diseases. One of their goals is to do the work needed to bring XIAP gene therapy into clinical trials, which could start in the next few years.
The time is right for gene and cell therapy
The promise of replacing defective genes and cells in the eye with healthy ones is undeniable. While these fields are still in their infancy, they are expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. Gene therapy for the eyes has particularly taken off, with Health Canada approval of the first gene therapy for a rare genetic form of vision loss in 2020.
“This research program could make Ontario a leader in the fields of both gene and stem cell therapy
– Dr. Pierre Mattar
When it comes to cell therapies, Ottawa and Toronto are major hubs in the growing area of stem cell research. As partners in the retinal research program led by Dr. Tsilfidis, UHN scientist Dr. Valerie Wallace will work on increasing the survival of transplanted stem cells in the eye, while The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Pierre Mattar aims to develop stem cell therapies for retinal ganglion cell diseases such as glaucoma. “This research program could make Ontario a leader in the fields of both gene and stem cell therapy,” said Dr. Mattar. “By learning the best way to mass produce and integrate stem cells for retinal disease, we can advance stem cell research in other fields.”
Dr. Pierre Mattar
Collaboration between lab researchers and clinicians key to success
The incredible challenge of bringing a basic science discovery to clinical trials requires an exceptional team. For this research program, Dr. Tsilfidis assembled a “dream team” of long-time collaborators and new partners.
As a basic scientist, Dr. Tsilfidis has always worked closely with clinicians to help ensure her research reflects patient needs.
“Ophthalmologists help us identify the most important questions to ask,” said Dr. Tsilfidis. “Our lab started working on diseases like Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and glaucoma because clinicians told us how much of a problem they were.”
Two of Dr. Tsilfidis’ long-time clinical collaborators, Drs. Stuart Coupland and Brian Leonard, are part of this new retinal research program. They are joined by retina specialists Drs. Bernard Hurley and Michael Dollin, who will assist in developing clinical trial protocols.
“Our researchers have an incredible track record of taking discoveries from the lab to the bedside,”
– Dr. Duncan Stewart
Dr. Tsilfidis’ lab and office are just down the hall from the ophthalmologists’ offices and clinics, which makes collaboration easier. This kind of co-location of scientists and clinicians has been key to The Ottawa Hospital’s success in translating discoveries from the lab bench to the patient bedside.
Leveraging our biomanufacturing expertise at The Ottawa Hospital
In addition to clinical experts, the team knew they needed new resources and partners to be successful.
“We’ve been very much a basic science lab in the past,” said Dr. Tsilfidis. “Now that we’re at the stage that we want to get XIAP to the clinic, we need all the help we can get.”
One missing piece was a special clinical-grade virus used to deliver the XIAP gene into the eye, known as an adeno-associated virus (AAV). Finding cost-effective sources of AAVs has been a major bottleneck for getting gene therapy trials and treatments off the ground.
Thankfully, The Ottawa Hospital is home to the Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC), a world-class facility that has manufactured more than a dozen different virus- and cell-based products for human clinical trials on four continents. Experts at the BMC were already starting to expand into AAV manufacturing when Dr. Tsilfidis approached them about collaborating on the retinal research program.
The BMC has since been working with Dr. Tsilfidis and her team to develop a process to manufacture the AAVs the team will need for Health Canada approval of the XIAP gene therapy for clinical trials.
The BMC is on track to become the first facility in in Canada to make clinical-grade AAV vectors for gene therapy studies. This new expertise will help them support other gene therapy trials with a focus on rare disease.
Learn more about our Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre.
How to plan a world-class clinical trial
In addition to the clinical-grade virus, the retinal research team needed help planning a future clinical trial of XIAP gene therapy. Fortunately, there are no shortage of clinical trial experts at The Ottawa Hospital.
“I’ve never planned a clinical trial before,” said Dr. Tsilfidis “But I knew someone who had – Dr. Dean Fergusson. I’ve always been impressed by the rigorous trails he’s helped develop. When I asked for his advice, he referred me to the Ottawa Methods Centre.”
The Ottawa Methods Centre is The Ottawa Hospital’s one-stop shop for research expertise and support. Their goal is to help all clinicians, staff and researchers at the hospital conduct the highest quality research, using the best methods. They support over 200 research projects a year, led by clinical and basic researchers alike.
“The Ottawa Methods Centre has been amazing to work with,” said Dr. Tsilfidis. “Their research methodology expertise has strengthened this research program and our funding applications.”
Drs. Manoj Lalu and Dean Fergusson along with other experts at the Ottawa Methods Centre are helping to plan a future clinical trial of gene therapy for retinal disease.
At the Ottawa Methods Centre, the team is leveraging the Blueprint Translational Research Group’s Excelerator program, designed to enable efficient translation of basic research discoveries to the clinic through rigorous methods and approaches. Co-led by Dr. Dean Fergusson and Dr. Manoj Lalu, the program will help design the clinical trial protocol, and support the clinical trial application to Health Canada through systematic reviews of available pre-clinical and clinical data.
Research program holds enormous promise
Tackling retinal disease will be a big challenge, but Dr. Tsilfidis has assembled an excellent team of partners both old and new to move this research program forward.
“These therapies could be life-changing. If we could cure or slow down the progression of vision loss, that would be amazing.”
– Dino Petrin
“Our researchers have an incredible track record of taking discoveries from the lab to the bedside, but it can only be done through team efforts like this one,” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa. “Fully leveraging our basic and clinical expertise, as well as our world-class core research resources is the key to getting new treatments to the patients who need them.”
For Dr. Tsilfidis, the excitement is palpable. “Soon we’ll be able to do what our lab has been trying to do all along – bring XIAP gene therapy into the clinic.”
Dino, a former graduate student in Dr. Tsilfidis’ lab, sees the potential of gene therapies to help people like his father. “These therapies could be life-changing,” he said, “If we could cure or slow down the progression of vision loss, that would be amazing.”
Vittorio Petrin with his wife Maria Petrin
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research, and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.
Browse Current Issues
Eleventh Edition – Tree relocation begins at the New Campus Development
Tenth Edition – The New Campus Development gets the green light from Ontario government, the new hospital construction to boost Ottawa’s GDP by $2 billion, and more!
Ninth Edition – Parking structure highlights, getting to the new campus, naturalizing the site, and more.
Eighth Edition– How a new trauma centre will save lives, an update on the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Circle, a feature on artwork by Algonquin artists Simon Brascoupé and Mairi Brascoupé, and a letter on hospital parking by Chiefs of Staff from hospitals across the region.
Seventh Edition – A commitment to the canopy at the New Civic Campus, creating a transit-oriented hospital, and more.
Sixth Edition – New sustainability benchmarks in the New Campus Development, an update on the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Circle, an an interview with Orleans Councillor Matt Luloff, and more.
Fifth Edition – The proposed design of the cutting-edge new campus, “Early works” projects beginning on the New Campus Development, an interview with River Ward Councillor Riley Brockington, and more.
Fourth Edition – How the finance team is planning for a $2.8 billion hospital, an interview with Chair of Ottawa’s Planning Committee Jan Harder, how the New Campus Development will transform the patient experience – and more!
Third Edition – How architects are designing the hospital with Ottawa’s daylight and weather patterns in mind, a look at groundbreaking research, and the team working hard behind the scenes to plan a hospital for the future.
Second Edition – What it means to build a universally accessible hospital, how the environmental cleanup of the site is beginning, and more.
First Edition – How we will partner with the Unionized Building and Construction Trades Council.
“We hope that our gift will help be a catalyst for others to follow our lead.”— Rob Ashe and Sandra Herrick
“We hope that our gift will help be a catalyst for others to follow our lead.”
— Rob Ashe and Sandra Herrick
Leading by example with a $10-million donation to the Campaign to Create Tomorrow
When Rob Ashe first began volunteering with the Civic Foundation back in 1995, he and his wife, Sandra Herrick, never could have imagined they would be part of a vision to transform healthcare for generations to come.
Now, with their donation of $10 million to The Ottawa Hospital, they hope to have an early and direct impact on the success of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Ottawa’s history.
The $500-million Campaign to Create Tomorrow sets in motion a vision to transform how the world delivers healthcare — by building the most technologically advanced hospital in Canada and taking groundbreaking research and innovation to unprecedented heights.
This incredible donation is part of the $216 million raised to date.
Rob and Sandra have been long-time supporters of the Ottawa community, actively supporting the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School of Management, and various mental health initiatives. So it was an easy decision to support the Campaign to Create Tomorrow — both through Rob’s role on the campaign executive and through their donation — knowing it will attract a new cohort of healthcare experts to Ottawa and ultimately strengthen critical services like acute mental health care.
From his time at Cognos and IBM to joining the board at Shopify, Rob knows better than most the importance of investing in people. With their gift, Rob and Sandra are making a significant investment in the people of The Ottawa Hospital – some of the brightest minds from around the world. And in turn, this investment will help benefit countless people in their community.
Thank you, Rob and Sandra, for your extraordinary generosity, your volunteerism, and for joining us as we transform the future of healthcare for generations to come.
About the Campaign to Create Tomorrow
The Campaign to Create Tomorrow is the largest fundraising campaign in our region’s history. It will help fulfil the most ambitious vision ever for the future of The Ottawa Hospital, focused on four critical pillars.
See how we’ll become the most technologically advanced hospital in the country, using the latest tools to provide the right care in the right space with the right provider.
Through our unique collaborative model of clinicians and researchers working side-by-side, we will bring groundbreaking discoveries to patients in Ottawa — and around the world.
At only 20 years old, Junie immigrated to Canada from Malaysia with ambitions to study at the University of Toronto. A new life would begin — one that would entice her family to follow her in the years ahead but would be filled with adversity.
While Junie was initially drawn to Canada for her studies, a particular experience in her early years in Toronto cemented her desire to make Canada her home. She remembers a newspaper stand on a busy street in downtown Toronto. “There was a pile of newspapers and I didn’t see anybody around. I noticed people came by, picked up a paper, and dropped some money in a bowl. It was so orderly. I couldn’t believe that people were so nice.” It was the honour system and that’s what Junie loved. “I remember thinking ‘This is a kind of society I want to live in.’”
Junie in Sydney, Australia
In subsequent years, Junie got married and her parents and three siblings followed her path to Canada. Her brother settled in Ottawa and in 1996, Junie, her sister, and their husbands decided to pay a visit to him at his new home. They had a wonderful time reconnecting.
As the two couples headed home after a week, they were involved in a head-on crash just an hour outside of Ottawa. It was a devastating collision, that left the two men dead, and the two sisters badly injured. Junie remembers waking up at the crash site and asking a police officer what happened. “He told me there was an accident and I remember seeing our two husbands slumped over in the front and then I lost consciousness.” The two sisters were rushed to The Ottawa Hospital Trauma Centre.
Eastern Ontario’s only Level 1 Trauma Centre for adults
The Ottawa Hospital is home to the only Level 1 Trauma Centre for adults in eastern Ontario — which is located at the Civic Campus. We care for the most critically injured patients from across the region, including western Quebec.
The team includes a trauma team leader, as well as an anesthesiologist, a team of emergency nurses, a group of resident physicians, and respiratory therapists — this allows them to be ready for the wide variety of complex cases that they handle, or when a Code One is called.
A Code One means a patient with significant injuries is coming to the hospital and all resources gather at the Emergency Department. This code can be called for a scenario when multiple patients are injured, like the motor vehicle collision Junie and her sister were involved in, or for instances where a single patient is injured. By contrast, a large-scale incident or any other community disaster results in a Code Orange being called.
When Junie woke up again, she was in the hospital with significant internal injuries. She learned her sister had suffered multiple fractures and was then told about the unimaginable loss — Junie’s husband and brother-in-law were gone.
“I told myself if I ever get better, I just have to give back. I was just very grateful for all the excellent care that I had received.”
– Junie
Junie was in the Intensive Care Unit for two weeks and was heavily sedated. She remembers the compassionate care she received, having to rely on others to bathe her and wash her hair. She will never forget their kindness and sensitivity. “I told myself if I ever get better, I just have to give back. I was just very grateful for all the excellent care that I had received,” says Junie.
Clinical trial changes the practice of medicine
During Junie’s early days in the hospital, her brother Lawrence observed this compassionate care firsthand as he visited daily, supporting both of his sisters during their devastating loss. He also stayed by Junie’s side while her condition was critical — she was losing a significant amount of blood.
Junie’s brother Lawrence and his wife, Catherine
Junie had multiple blood transfusions to keep her alive and was asked to participate in a clinical trial to improve when blood transfusions should be given in critical care. Lawrence was impressed by the skilled team he observed, and he signed consent for his sister to participate in the trial, in hopes that it would help her and future patients.
“This research has saved thousands of lives and improved blood transfusions for millions of people.”
– Dr. Dean Fergusson
Not only did Junie get better but her participation in this research also helped to change the practice of transfusions worldwide. Dr. Dean Fergusson, Senior Scientist and Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program at our hospital, explains what this means for patients. “Today, patients all around the world receive blood transfusions based on a more restrictive protocol developed at The Ottawa Hospital,” he says. “Thanks to patients like Junie, we now have a much better idea of when to transfuse, how long the blood should be stored for, and how to prevent bleeding in the first place, so patients can avoid transfusions. This research has saved thousands of lives and improved blood transfusions for millions of people.”
Filled with gratitude to this day
Today, Junie is living in Toronto with her second husband and is deeply grateful to this day for the exceptional care she and her sister received. Not long after she returned home, Junie became a monthly donor to our hospital – holding true to the promise she made while she was in the hospital that she would give back to those who cared for her.
Giving is something that her late mother instilled in her — Junie’s father died when she was very young. It helped mold the person she is today. “We were a working-class family, we weren’t rich, but we persevered. My mother was just an amazing person. She was selfless. So, my siblings and I learned from that — when you receive something good, you try to pay it back in kind, especially with deeds. I think that has a lot of influence on me,” explains Junie.
Junie visiting family
Strength is an attribute Junie also has carried on from her mother. At the age of 55, Junie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Right after her breast cancer operation, she faced an ovarian cancer diagnosis. She has seen firsthand the need for philanthropy in healthcare to provide the most advanced care. Despite everything she’s faced in life, Junie describes herself as lucky. “It’s still been a good life. It’s been 13 years since I was diagnosed with those kinds of cancers and I’m still here. I am very lucky. I’m a very lucky woman.”
“That’s why, when I die, I can leave something behind to help those who cared for me. That’s my motive.”
– Junie
Now retired after a successful career in banking, Junie thinks to the future and how she can continue to pay it forward. That’s why she’s decided to leave a gift in her will to The Ottawa Hospital so patients will have the latest technology and most advanced treatment options to save their lives, just like she experienced. “That’s why, when I die, I can leave something behind to help those who cared for me. That’s my motive.”
Why Planned Giving is important?
By leaving a gift in your will to The Ottawa Hospital, you will be helping to shape the future of healthcare. It’s an extraordinary opportunity that you will give future generations – just imagine your legacy.
We’re here to provide you with the guidance you need to leave a gift in your will to support our hospital. This is an opportunity for you to create stronger healthcare for tomorrow, with a larger gift than perhaps you thought possible – larger than those made during your lifetime. Just imagine the legacy you will leave.
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research, and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.
Daniel Sharp, Red Grid 1
Art for Impact:
Auction for The Ottawa Hospital’s New Campus Development
Presented by Kathryn Tremblay, in Memory of Toni Guimaraes
Meet the Artists
Christine Fitzgerald
Claudia Gutierrez
Daniel Sharp
David Gillanders
Dominique Normand
Drew Klassen
Étienne Gélinas
Florence Yee
Guillermo Trejo
Laurena Finéus
Marwa Talal
Michael Schreier
Michael Harrington
Natalie Bruvels
Nicole Krstin
Norman Takeuchi
Sarah Hatton
Susan Roston
Troy Moth
Whitney Lewis-Smith
Christine Fitzgerald
Christine Fitzgerald is a photo-based artist from Ottawa. Christine has always been captivated by nature. Her fascination began in her childhood, while growing up in the Eastern Townships of Québec, and has never abated. Her work is inspired by hidden histories and often deals with the relationship between humans and the natural environment, and the tension that this relationship inevitably creates.
A graduate of the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, and Acadia and Dalhousie Universities, Christine completed an artist residency at the Ottawa School of Art, was an invited artist in residence in print media at York University, and was one of 15 visual artists selected for the historic Canada C3 Expedition on Canada’s 150th anniversary. The work inspired by her expedition experience was part of the Open Channels national exhibition recently held at the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa and is featured as part of the inaugural exhibition of the Portrait Gallery of Canada website.
Claudia Gutierrez is a Latin-Canadian artist, culture worker and arts advocate whose practice has been deeply informed by residencies in Canada and Mexico. She has been exhibiting her work in Ontario and Quebec since 2010 and has completed numerous public art and cultural outreach projects in Ottawa. She was awarded the SAW Prize for New Works in 2020, is supported by the Ontario Arts Council and was recently awarded a public art project with Canadian Heritage.
Daniel Sharp was born in Lacombe, Alberta and has lived in Ottawa since 1982. Sharp worked at Artspace Gallery in Peterborough Ontario (1980-82) and was Artistic Director at the Ottawa artist-run centre Gallery 101 (1989-91). From 1991 to 2017, he worked as a program officer, then manager and curator with the Canadian government’s art collection for embassies and diplomatic missions abroad. Sharp studied painting and design at York University in Toronto, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1979. He later undertook graduate studies in art and cultural theory at Carleton University in Ottawa (1985-89).
David Gillanders was born in Toronto in 1968 and studied at the University of Western Ontario, London, and McGill University, Montreal. He is currently living and working in Ottawa, Canada. The recipient of grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Ontario Arts Council, David Gillanders has exhibited his work widely in Canada and the United States. His work is held in a number of notable collections, among them the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the MNBAQ Art Bank, the City of Ottawa Fine Art Collection, the Art Gallery of Northumberland, National Bank, Loto-Québec, and BMO Financial Group.
New academic painter Dominique Normand celebrates native culture and the nomadic Nordic spirit. Her paintings speak a vibrant language, revealing simple observations of precious moments in time and the sacred gifts of life. Instinctively, Normand lets a deep ‘knowing of the soul’ lead her way in her artistic practice. Embracing abstraction and figuration alike, she shares with her audience the omnipresent powers that imprint and shape the world of human experience. Underlying Normand’s practice is a strong, visceral bond with her Indigenous culture which has led her to research her paternal roots. In 2012, she discovered she is Métis of Maliseet descent.
Normand’s work has been showcased in many solo and group exhibitions within Canada and internationally, such as 11 Nations Cultural Centre, Murwillumbah Art Trail, Australia, Galerie Richelieu in Montréal, Saint Adolphe’s Manifest’Art in the Laurentians, Montmagny’s Rendez-Vous Ononthio, Broadway Gallery in New York, Westin Hotel in Los Angeles, Soutana Galerie and Jardin d’Hiver in Mont Tremblant, art galleries in Montebello, St-Jovite, Saint Sauveur, Piedmont, and many more. Normand has participated in residencies internationally and nationally. In July of 2017, Normand was selected to attend Leg 5 of the Canada C3 Expedition aboard the icebreaker Polar Prince. Her works have been featured in multiple publications, including Maclean’s Magazine, NYArts Magazine, and Echo du Nord Magazine. Normand currently lives in Baie St. Paul, Québec.
Drew Klassen was born in Toronto, spent his youth in Winnipeg, and in 1986 moved to Halifax, where he attended the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and the Technical University of Nova Scotia, where he received a Master’s degree in Architecture. His landscapes are defined by an attempt to capture not the details but to use distance, in time and place, to try to remember how they felt, without being bound by precision—a kind of collection of moments, at speed. In the spirit of Monet’s haystacks, but from the window of a speeding vehicle, or a familiar perch.
Klassen’s work is held in numerous private, corporate and institutional collections in Canada and abroad, including the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Archives of Ontario, and the Toronto Dominion Bank. In 2010 he received one of five Established Artist Recognition Awards presented annually by the government of Nova Scotia. He currently lives and works in Ottawa.
Originally from Maniwaki (Quebec), Étienne Gélinas completed a bachelor’s degree in arts and design from the Université du Québec en Outaouais in 2006. His work generates an interaction between artistic forms and representations of scientific languages.
His work has appeared at several individual exhibitions in painting and sculpture, notably at the Galerie d’art Époque, at the artist-run centre AXENÉ07, at the Casino du Lac-Leamy, at the Centre d’exposition Art-Image and at the Espace Odyssée of the Maison de la Culture de Gatineau, at the Galerie d’Avignon in Montreal, at the Galerie St-Laurent + Hill in Ottawa, at the Montcalm Gallery in Gatineau, at the Thompson Landry Gallery in Toronto, at the Lalande and Doyle Gallery at the Centre des Arts Shenkman in Ottawa as well as at the Chelsea Arts, Culture and Heritage Centre.
Florence Yee is a 2.5-generation Cantonese visual artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto and Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Their interest in Cantonese-Canadian history has fueled an art practice examining the daily life of their diaspora through the lens of gender, racialization, and language.
Notable solo and duo exhibitions include Sino(n)-Québécoise (2018) at Never Apart, Le Salon (2018) at Articule and Lend Me Your Ears (2017) at Centre Regart. They have completed residencies at the Ottawa School of Art, the Concordia Fine Arts Reading Room, la Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario, as well as the John and Maggie Mitchell Art Gallery. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University, they are now pursuing an MFA at OCAD U in Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design as a Delaney Scholar.
Artist represented by Studio Sixty Six Gallery
Florence Yee, Finding Myself in the Great Museums VI
Guillermo Trejo is a Mexican/Canadian artist based in Ottawa. He completed his BFA at the National School of Painting Sculpture and Engraving in Mexico City, with a specialization in printmaking, and moved to Canada in 2007. The experience of immigration and distance has shaped Trejo’s work. Since moving to Ottawa, where he is currently based, he has earned an MFA from the University of Ottawa and has been an active member of the artistic community. He has exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Galerie Saw Gallery, and other artist-run centres across the country as well as in Europe and Mexico. Trejo has worked as a research consultant for the National Gallery of Canada and also teaches at the Ottawa School of Art (OSA).
Born and raised in Gatineau, Québec, Laurena Finéus is a Haitian-Canadian visual artist, educator and art administrator specializing in painting. Currently based between Ottawa and Toronto, Finéus focuses on representations of Haiti and relationality within its diaspora through an array of figurative and painterly imagined landscapes. These elements are juxtaposed with personal memories of her life in Canada. The teachings of Haitian scholar Michel Rolph-Trouillot in ‘Silencing the past’ inform her understanding of visual narration in her practice.
Finéus’ work is held in a range of private collections internationally and has been exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery (2021), Karsh-Masson Gallery (2021), the Ottawa School of Art (2021), Art Mûr (2019) and Galerie 115 (2019-2020), among others. Finéus graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is a recipient of the Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant (2021), the Edmund and Isobel Ryan Visual Art Scholarship (2020) and the Ineke Harmina Standish Memorial Scholarship (2019) and exhibited as a finalist for the Salt Spring National Art Prize (2021). Passionate about Black Canadian history and empowering her community through art, Finéus has previously facilitated a range of bilingual workshops for the Ottawa Art Gallery, Arts Network Ottawa, la Majeur Haute Spécialisation en Arts and l’Association Canadienne-francaise de l’Ontario.
Marwa Talal is a Sudanese-Canadian artist and interior designer based in Ottawa. Her artwork centres on topics of feminism, empowerment of minorities, and storytelling. With varied stories to tell, she employs a variety of mediums, including water colour painting, digital illustration, and ceramics.
Michael Schreier is a professional artist and photographer who has dedicated his considerable professional career to the celebration of both the public and private hero. Recent work includes Storyteller, Waiting for Words at the Ottawa Art Gallery, curator Emily Falvey, 2009, and the curating of the exhibition Dave Heath, A Heritage of Meaning, 2013 at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Selected works are represented in both public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, the National Archives Photography Collection, the Agnes-Etherington Art Centre, the Canadian Portrait Gallery, Visual Studies Workshop, (Rochester, New York), Light Works Workshop, Syracuse New York, Carleton University Art Gallery, and the University of Ottawa Library Special Collections. Michael Schreier was the 2016 Karsh Award Recipient.
Artist represented by Studio Sixty Six Gallery
Michael Schreier, Untitled 2 from the Atemwende/Breathturn series
Based in Ottawa. Michael Harrington’s abiding preoccupation is the depiction of the human form occupying suggestive and intimate narratives in scenes that are both familiar and enigmatic and are intended to invite reflection and empathy. Harrington applies his representational craft to a broad range of subject matter, including cinema, theatre, literature, music, family folklore, and personal memory.
Michael Harrington is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has exhibited extensively in venues across North America including the Glenbow Museum, the Ottawa Art Gallery, Galerie Saw Gallery and the Carleton University Art Gallery. His work has been presented in Border Crossings Magazine, Canadian Art, Harper’s Magazine and Contemporary Visual Art Magazine. He is represented in numerous public, corporate and private collections, including the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Agnes Etherington Centre in Kingston, as well as the personal collections of filmmakers Atom Egoyan and Jeremy Podeswa.
Natalie Bruvels is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in paint. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Ottawa and is currently pursuing an MFA at the same institution. Her artistic research explores relational identity including representations of maternal figures and single motherhood in art through a matricentric, feminist lens. Her work can be found in the City of Ottawa art collection as well as many private collections. Natalie lives in Ottawa with her son.
Nicole Krstin is a self-taught Filipino-Canadian visual artist whose current body of work imagines the kinetic and complex process of cellular mutations as they metamorphose to create new fragments and figures. With a focus on the internal mechanisms of transformation in the body, Krstin explores and brings forward the inherent and ubiquitous nature of change and evolution.
Nicole Krstin has been featured in numerous exhibitions and art fairs within Canada and abroad, including The Artist Project (2020, 2019, 2018), Timeraiser at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (2018), and Daegu Art Fair in South Korea (2019). Her work can be found in private collections in Canada and the United States. Krstin currently lives in Calgary, Alberta with her husband and children.
Norman Takeuchi was born in Vancouver, and some of his earliest memories are of the interior of BC where his parents were forced to relocate during World War II. Upon graduating from the Vancouver School of Art in 1962, he went to London, England, to focus on painting, and returned there in 1967 with a Canada Council grant. In 1996, he left a design career to once again focus on art and has since participated in many solo and group exhibitions. His work is represented in permanent collections at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa Art Gallery, Canada Council Art Bank, City of Ottawa, Carleton University Art Gallery, and in private collections in Canada and abroad.
Sarah Hatton was born in the UK and raised in Barbados and Canada. She received her BFA from Queen’s University and her MFA from the University of Calgary, and is the recipient of numerous awards for art and academics. Her deep interest in human nature, mortality, patterns, and her insatiable curiosity about the natural world are found throughout her paintings and installation work. Her “Bee Works,” made from thousands of dead honeybees, received international acclaim, balancing artistry with advocacy, and winning the RBC Emerging Artist Award in 2014. Hatton lives and works in Chelsea, Quebec, one of Canada’s most creative and environmentally friendly communities.
A mostly self-taught ceramic artist, Susan Roston lives in Ottawa, where she has her studio practice. A two-week solo residency with the late noted sculptor Jim Thomson solidified her commitment to art as a whole and allows her practice to not remain rooted in just one medium. Roston regularly teaches sculpture and pottery courses and workshops from her Enriched Bread Artists Studio.
Canadian artist, photographer and film director Troy Moth’s award-winning photography has been exhibited worldwide and is showcased as part of the permanent collection at the Art Gallery of Victoria. He has worked for a variety of publications, including Rolling Stone and Vogue. His recent work as a filmmaker has been showcased at festivals around the globe. Troy has received many awards, including Magenta Flash Forward, Applied Arts and Toronto alternative film festival – best director.
From his start as an up-and-coming fashion photographer to his work as a visual artist in a remote town on Vancouver Island, Troy Moth traded in material success in pursuit of his higher purpose, fine arts, and has never looked back.
Whitney Lewis-Smith is a Canadian photo-based artist. She attended the Studio Arts program at Concordia University, focusing on painting and drawing. She completed her photographic education at the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa. In 2014, Lewis-Smith was awarded and attended a one-month production residency at the Arquetopia Foundation for the Arts in Mexico. Since graduating, her work has been acquired by prominent private collections in Canada and abroad, including that of the Canadian Prime Minister, the right honourable Justin Trudeau, as well as in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery of New Brunswick and the public art collection of the city of Ottawa.
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