The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) is launching three new exhibitions this month. A special reception will be held on Saturday, January 20, from 1 to 3pm, with remarks at 1:30pm.
Seeing Beyond: Robyn Rennie
January 20 – April 13, 2024
In this groundbreaking exhibition, Robyn Rennie, a low vision artist, has created her own fully accessible experience for visitors including large point font/braille labels and descriptive audio for each artwork. Using texture in her paintings, she has also created a companion piece for each artwork that she encourages viewers to experience through touch.
Robyn has said that, “making art is like writing a story because it makes order out of chaos. It also underscores the importance that recording impressions and events have to our collective experience. We operate within stories in order to understand our world and our place in it. Creative expression allows me to articulate what I experience, as well as provide opportunities to unite with others.”
Robyn Rennie recently relocated to New Brunswick will be returning to Orillia for the reception, but to also work with AMI-tv, a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted, to create a documentary on the process of her exhibition.
Sybil: Connections Fibre Artists
On view until May 11, 2024
This is an exhibition of contemporary fibre art focussing on Sybil Rampen’s life. Sybil created the Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, an art gallery and 1827 house and studio, situated on a 12-acre, 20,000-year old valley in Oakville. Participating artists have chosen some aspect of Sybil they admire, are grateful for, and are inspired by.
Connections Fibre Artists (CFA) are a nationally recognized group of accomplished Canadian fibre artists. The group, formed in 1999, includes members who are published authors and artists, who show both nationally and internationally, facilitate courses and workshops, have won major awards and are regarded as pioneers in the fibre art field. CFA members are juried into the group by invitation. This exhibition includes work by all twenty-four members:
Al Cote
Ann Sanders
Bethany Garner
Bev White
Chris Kummer
Dianne Gibson
Dwayne Wanner
Elizabeth Litch
Gail Rhynard
Gunnel Hag
Helen Hughes
Jacqueline Venus
Linda Janzen
Maggie Vanderweit
Micaela Fitzsimmons
Mita Giacomini
Nancy Yule Peace
Pat Hertzberg
Penny Berens
Ralph Beney
Sharron Deacon Begg
Sheila Thompson
Wen Anderson Breedveld
Wendy O Brien
Grant’s Legacy: Capturing Orillia’s History on Film
January 20 – April 20, 2024
OMAH is screening a series of 16mm film footage, mainly of Orillia, from 1928 through to 1964. Known as Grant’s Films, there are 34 reels of black and white documentary footage showcasing everyday life in Orillia. The reels include scenes of Lake Couchiching and Couchiching Beach Park, a hockey game played on the ice of the lake during Christmas week 1931 and footage of infrastructure enhancements in the downtown area.
This film footage was shot entirely by Jack Grant, a local amateur filmmaker. Jack and his three siblings grew up in Orillia; the parents, Louis and Daisy had emigrated from England. Louis was able to provide his family a home in Orillia on Laclie Street and a retreat property on Division Road, Township of Severn. This retreat property was eventually gifted to the Couchiching Conservancy.
ALSO ON VIEW….
There is also an exhibition on view in The Stack Gallery, located in the lobby of the Orillia Recreation Centre. Twice a year, the Art in Public Places Committee, managed by OMAH in partnership with the City of Orillia issues calls for art. For its first exhibition in 2024, the committee invited high-school aged youth from Orillia and area to create work that explores the current mindset and beliefs of youth today. They were encouraged to utilize the term “zeitgeist”, which means the feel or mood of modern times.
A jury of arts professionals reviewed the submissions and made their final selection, inspired by how the students from Orillia Secondary School and Twin Lakes Secondary School have boldly expressed and interpreted their beliefs and feelings through an artistic lens.
To fully appreciate the depth of each piece, OMAH encourages viewers to take a moment to engage with the artists’ statements and read the accompanying labels. These insights provide a valuable context, allowing you to connect with the artist’s intention and the broader narrative behind the artwork.
Featured artists are:
Katie Robinson
Gracie Van Vlaenderen
Olivia Zeng
Selena Hajric
Leons Jones
Madeline Thornton
Paige Hodges
Skylan Deleary
Haeven Hepinstall
OMAH is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 4pm and until 7pm on Thursdays.