Ottawa & Gatineau Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Ottawa Gatineau museums supplies classes your area

Art in Ottawa and Gatineau will be covered in full detail for you today and our opening section will discuss the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like local art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

If you are after any specific section you can jump straight to it using the table of contents on the left and we are also including an Ottawa and Gatineau art map with all of the various places we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

You can find our other posts about cities in Canada right here if interested.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Ottawa & Gatineau

When you are ready to visit the best art galleries and museums in Ottawa and Gatineau try these:

The National Gallery of Canada’s collection comprised of a single 19th-century landscape when it was founded in 1880. More than 75,000 works of art, as well as a vast library and archival resources, are housed in the Gallery some 140 years later and you can check them all out from 10am to 5pm most days but they are closed on Monday and stay open until 8pm on Thursday.

With 30 years of expertise curating exhibitions and hosting events in venues around Canada Don Monet’s Cube Gallery offers fine art appraisal and consultancy, home and workplace installation and curation, exhibition curation and planning, and basic art restoration education.

Gallery 101 is open from 1pm to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday as a philanthropic non-profit artist-run center committed to the professional exhibition and dissemination of visual and media arts. Creators, curators, writers, and critics can all benefit from services and professional development possibilities.

After opening in 2010 Orange Art Gallery has become a family-run enterprise that represents 25 local contemporary artists and it is located in the historic CN Railroad Bank on City Centre Avenue near Art Is In Bakery.

For more than 20 years L. A. Pai Gallery has played a significant role in promoting modern Canadian art and jewelry in your area and globally. For the past two decades they have also supported modern emerging and established artists and jewelers in Canada and around the world but don’t go on Monday because they will be closed.

Patrick Mikhail Gallery is open from noon to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday and was founded in 2006 with a curated a program of solo and group exhibitions, special projects, curatorial and academic collaborations, off-site projects, participation in international art fairs and festivals, and the promotion and nurturing of careers of a new generation of artists through vital relationships with museums, institutions, corporate collections, and private collectors.

Saw Gallery is open from 11am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday and supports contemporary Canadian and international artists from varied cultural origins while presenting a contemporary art program with a particular focus on Canadian performance and media art. It also produces bilingual interpretive material for each exhibition and with over 30,000 visits per year Saw is a popular contemporary art attraction in your region.

With a dedication to presenting thought-provoking and interesting exhibitions Wall Space Gallery also offers art consultancy and custom framing design to assist you in curating a collection that matches your aesthetic for your home or business.

A group of local artists and community leaders formed the Gallery at Arts Court in 1988 and it was renamed the Ottawa Art Gallery in 1992. The Firestone Collection of Canadian Art at the OAG is a nationally significant collection of 1,600 works from the twentieth century. Over time the OAG has amassed a sizable permanent collection which today includes over 1,020 works including paintings, sculpture, graphics, photos, and new media that you can check out from 10am to 6pm Wednesday through Sunday and until 9pm on Thursday.

The Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau is open from 9am to 5pm most days but they are closed on Monday and stay open until 7pm on Thursday and it has a great children’s museum that we highly recommend for anyone reading with kids.

Exhibits of local and worldwide artists are available at Galerie Montcalm starting at 9am on weekdays and at noon on weekends plus they also also host informational programs on related objects and artifacts.

The L’Imagier Art Centre is a non-profit organization that opens at noon Friday through Sunday and that is committed to fostering an appreciation for modern art and promoting artistic endeavours. It is a public cultural place that stimulates creative encounters between art genres and is free of charge.

Materials & Supplies Near You

When you need to buy new materials go to one of these local art supply stores:

Wallack’s is one of Canada’s oldest art supply stores while also being the owner of one of the country’s oldest commercial fine art galleries Wallack Galleries. They provide a vast range of materials and supplies for creators as well as services and education.

Select Fine Art Materials takes a different approach as it is a local art store run by creators for creators.

For a workshop and store near you that is a good place to study and be inspired about painted furniture consider Malenka Originals. Along with selling chosen pieces of refinished furniture they also sell several of the most sought-after refinishing supplies on the market today.

Stained Glass Stuff provides installation, repair, restoration, sawing, framing, coldwork, adhesive, drilling, and fire glass.

As a top destination for creative minds of all backgrounds DeSerres sets the standard for originality.

An assortments of arts, crafts, decorations, and other items are all available at Michaels.

Rusart sells high quality art supplies in your area and has a painting studio.

Shows & Events

The best art shows, festivals, and events near you would be:

The New Art Festival (TNAF) is the city’s largest non-profit outdoor art festival and this annual event features over 200 artists and entertainers from a wide range of disciplines that attract thousands of visitors and participants from across Canada and around the world.

Armchair Art Show provides members with an opportunity to take a guided tour or “walk” through the 3D gallery at their leisure from the comfort of their own home.

Don’t forget about the 1st Thursday events that we are mentioning in the local art walks section either, and many of the venues from our best museums in Ottawa and Gatineau list will also have events going on throughout the year.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

When you want to buy something new or learn the current value of something in your collection you can go to art dealers and appraisers near you:

The Snow Goose has been dedicated to Inuit and First Nations art since opening in the early 1960’s and they take pleasure in their knowledgeable display of First Nations art from around Canada.

The Art Bank contains one of the greatest collections of modern Canadian art in the country with over 17,000 works by over 3,000 creators. Through their corporate art rental, museum loans, and outreach programs the Canada Council Art Bank makes contemporary work available to a broad public across the country.

Specialists in buying and selling artwork by deceased creators and representing both figurative and abstract painters is what Wallack Galleries is all about as their artists work in a variety of mediums such as paintings, sculptures, and graphics.

Koyman Galleries was founded in 1965 and now represents over 175 recognized and young Canadian artists and currently more than 5,000 works by some of the country’s top painters and photographers are included in the collection.

Centre d’exposition Art-image promotes and strengthens relations between the visual arts and the general population.

Walking Tours

Some of the best areas to walk around outside and see some unique art can be found at:

1st Thursdays is a monthly neighborhood festival of amazing art held on the first Thursday of each month from 5pm to 9pm when you can stroll around 5 distinct galleries that are all within walking distance of one another and experience world-class art, good vibes, and good conversation.

Saturdays at 2pm and select Wednesdays at 1pm you can find a guided walking tour of the National Arts Centre including architectural highlights and the visual arts collection. The NAC is a Canadian national historic site that houses large-scale works by some of the country’s top mid-century painters.

The ByWard Market was founded in 1826 by Lt-Col. John By and is one of the country’s oldest and largest public markets. Colonel By who was the famed builder of the Rideau Canal designed the Market’s street plan designating George Street and York Street as particularly wide to facilitate the construction of a public market and gathering space.

Lovely contemporary art exhibits are displayed at L’Imagier.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Ottawa Gatineau lessons near you studios

Another good way to enjoy nice weather would be to check out some of these statues and sculptures in your area:

  • Joy at 63 Sparks St
  • Terry Fox Statue at 90 Wellington St
  • The Maman Statue at Sussex Dr
  • The Listening Tree at 186 Gladstone Ave
  • Oscar Peterson Statue at Elgin & Albert St
  • Archive at 100 Tallwood Dr
  • Atelier Sculpture at 225 Rue Berri, Gatineau
  • The Odyssey – Cooke-Sasseville at Île de, Gatineau
  • Denis Charette at 325 Chem. Taché, Cantley

The Joy Sculpture was created from welded copper and depicts a happy family celebrating a moment of extreme joy. Bruce Garner was the artist and he campaigned for the right to place his work here claiming he intended to liven up Sparks Street and surprise people.

John Hooper sculpted the Terry Fox statue in 1983 which stands across from Parliament Hill and depicts the bravery of this great national hero.

The Maman Statue by Louise Bourgeois is a nurturing and protective symbol of fertility and motherhood, shelter, and the home.

The Listening Tree is a piece of music by Jesse Stewart & Matthew Edwards of Mixed Metaphors.

Ruth Abernethy designed the statue of Oscar Peterson seated at his piano at the corner of Elgin and Albert streets in 2010.

Archive is a stainless steel house that floats twenty feet off the plaza and was made in 2011 by Don Maynard.

Ottawa & Gatineau Art Classes

Whether you are trying to find lessons for kids, teens, or adults some of the best Ottawa and Gatineau art schools and classes can be found at:

Lifedrawing, landscape painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, lithography, watercolour, etching, printmaking, and a wide range of specialized short courses and seminars are all available at the Ottawa School of Art. Classes for children and teenagers include multi-media, animation and cartooning, sculpting and construction, pottery, drawing, and painting.

The Ottawa Art Academy (OAA) is known for its academic representational realism and will assist students in learning the foundations and essentials of realistic drawing and painting in your area. The program adheres to the 4Cats pedagogy which is based on the creation of a world that stimulates a love of art, beauty, and learning, an environment of compassion and happiness, and a studio where they all work together in a beautiful, professional, and artistic setting.

For a children’s art studio and bubble tea café where you can create long-lasting memories via enjoyable and easy-to-learn ceramic and canvas painting check out Art Haven.

Gallery D’art Auger specializes in teaching students the greatest oil and acrylic painting methods.

Studios For Rent Near You

You can try to rent local studio space at:

Studio Space Ottawa (SSO) is a non-profit organization that provides working spaces for artists that are stable, inexpensive, open, healthy, and safe. SSO is a community for visual artists and makers at all stages of their careers which comprises established artists, artists in their mid-career, and young artists.

Hello Art Studios is an artist collective made up of eight Ottawa-based artists, some of whom also teach workshops and courses at the studio.

A conducive working environment for creative work and office solutions can be found at Spaces in Gatineau.

Framing

Some of the most highly recommended places to go for art framing in Ottawa and Gatineau are:

Since 1989 Modern Painting and Framing has been helping consumers, art collectors, interior designers, charities, government organizations, and local companies get high-quality framing.

Patrick Gordon Framing Studio frames anything, advises, consults, and enjoys educating. Creators, galleries, organizations, and even ordinary individuals can deliver and install their display, or come to your home to fix and install your own works.

Full framing services for almost anything you want to exhibit from a small pressed flower found while walking along the river to a major picture from your travels can be done at Framed!

Malen Framing specializes in custom framing, printing, laminating, and more.

Germotte Printing and Framing Studio is a good place to find custom fine art printing, photo printing, and framing.

Picture Plus is one of the oldest visual media enterprises in your area. Custom printing and framing for your images, documents, art, and memorable moments, as well as professional photography for yourself, your business, and your events are available.

Custom and standard frames have been provided at Encadrement Art for nearly 30 years.

Just so you know we have also written about:

Have Fun Enjoying The Ottawa & Gatineau Art Scene

Hopefully this post covered the local art scene near you well enough. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.

If you made it all the way to the end then you probably love art more than most. You can let us know about any of your own tips and tricks in the comments at the end of the post, or please also let us know if we got anything wrong or if anything we posted has become dated.

Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies, or doing anything that has to do with art in Ottawa and Gatineau!

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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