The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) recently held its Sir Sam’s Society membership art exchange. Sir Sam’s Society membership is an annual membership that is valued at $365, of which members receive a $300 tax receipt as well as invitations to events throughout the year. Also, Sir Sam’s Society members have the option of selecting an original work of art to borrow for a year or allocate their donation to the Sir Sam’s Society Acquisition Fund.
OMAH puts a special emphasis on collecting artwork pertaining to people from or having a clear relationship to Orillia and area, and having made a significant contribution to this area and/or all of Canada.
Sir Sam’s Society members were treated to an unveiling of the work purchased, entitled, Generations Charger by artist, Lindsay Montgomery, who was in attendance for the event. OMAH’s Arts Programming Coordinator, Tanya Cunnignton and Executive Director, Ninette Gyorody have made it a priority to identify gaps in the museum’s permanent collection. After careful consideration, it was noted that contemporary artists who identify as female, working in the field of three-dimensional arts are underrepresented in the collection. Lindsay’s practice of creating historically referenced vessels painted with re-imagined and updated myths, legends and allegories told through a feminist perspective is a very welcome and fresh addition to the collection. This acquisition also relates to both art and history, the two fields that the museum strives to represent equally.
Lindsay Montgomery was raised in Washago and attended Rama Central Public School and Twin Lakes Secondary School before going on to earn a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and her MFA from the University of Minnesota in Interdisciplinary Studies. She works across a variety of media including ceramics, painting and puppetry. Her work is focused on creating mythologies that confront and re-imagine classical narratives to address topics such as death and mysticism, gender dynamics and feminism, and evolving modes of power.
In her field, she has been an Assistant Professor at Concordia University in Montreal and a Professor at the New York State College of Ceramics in Alfred New York. She has completed artist residencies in Versailles, France; Medicine Hat, Alberta; Jingdezhen, China; Sointula, British Columbia; The Banff Centre, Alberta; Harbourfront Centre, Toronto; and Kecskemet, Hungary.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, scholarships and grants and has exhibited in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and further abroad in New York and Minnesota USA and Paris, France. Finally, she exhibits at Patel Brown Gallery in Toronto and is represented by Galerie 3 in Quebec, and Galerie Lefebvre et Fils in Paris, France.
Lindsay is thrilled to have her work included in OMAH’s collection and has said, “as a young person, the elders in the Orillia art community supported and encouraged me to get serious about art-making, and allowed me to believe this was a meaningful and possible way to create a career. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to share this work in a permanent way at OMAH and hopefully inspire the next generation to pursue a creative path of their own.”
The Sir Sam’s Society Acquisition Fund supports OMAH’s concerted effort to focus on collection-building and showcasing the collection through our exhibitions, social media, and education programs. In 2022, OMAH purchased a sketch by Elizabeth Wyn Wood, and in 2023, a sketch by Franklin Carmichael.
If you would like to learn more about OMAH membership, please visit https://www.orilliamuseum.org/membership.
 recently held its Sir Sam’s Society membership art exchange. Sir Sam’s Society membership is an annual membership that is valued at $365, of which members receive a $300 tax receipt as well as invitations to events throughout the year. Also, Sir Sam’s Society members have the option of selecting an original work of art to borrow for a year or allocate their donation to the Sir Sam’s Society Acquisition Fund. ){kind=link}