RMG Fridays: International Women’s Day

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day at the RMG! This is the night to hear leading voices in Durham Region of women owned businesses and see performances of young and dedicated talent. Come to buy locally owned food prepared with passion and perseverance.

Order of Events

7:00pm: Doors open. Art Activity with Farah in the Art Studio and yoga class with Kimmel Alcide in Arthur’s

7:15pm: DRIFF screening in the Lookout

7:30pm: Wise Women with Liz Oke, Mathilda Irawan, and Georgia Fullerton

8:00pm: First session of Chair’ography Workshop with Inferno Pole Studio

8:15pm: DRIFF screening in the Lookout

8:30pm: Tour with Associate Curator, Public Programs, Hannah Keating. Learn more about our exhibitions that feature female and queer artists.

8:45pm: Let’s DANCE! DJ Lynz’s crew will be spinning tunes to raise your hands, sing along and feel the joy!

9:00pm: Second session of Chair’ography Workshop with Inferno Pole Studio

Upstairs in Arthur’s, Inferno Pole Studio will be hosting a Chairography Workshop! In a 45 minute session, learn a flow and have some fun dancing your way around a chair. Friendly for all levels! Bring knee pads if you have any! Wear leggings or something stretchy to move in. Tighter clothing is preferred. Wearing socks or shoes is recommended.

These sessions are free but registration is required. Sign up here.

As the Director of The Everyday Yogi Inc., Kimmel Alcide curates unique wellness experiences with the primary goal of cultivating peace.  She is deeply committed to guiding individuals, teams and communities toward self-discovery through yoga and mindfulness practices. Additionally, she serves as a lead Yoga Trainer for LifePower Yoga, offering 100hr and 200hr trainings in Durham region. With over 10 000 hours in the wellness industry, she has collaborated with notable brands such as lululemon, Team Canada, Hershey’s Chocolate, Canada Goose and Uber Canada integrating yoga and mindfulness into their work and professional environments.

Her core values are centered around personal responsibility, connection, inclusivity and contribution. Beyond her practice and profession, Kimmel enjoys connecting people, hiking in nature, and playing scrabble.

Georgia Fullerton is a Jamaican Canadian visual artist, expressive arts therapist, arts educator,
and public speaker. Educated in visual arts at Red Deer College in Red Deer, Alberta she
earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

Building arts-based relationships with community partners such as The Royal Ontario Museum,
Station Gallery, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Durham District School Board
(DDSB)and others, Georgia has created 4 major public art pieces since 2012. One of her most
recent public artworks, titled: ‘For the Win and the Wonder’ was commissioned by the Toronto
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Corporation and launched in late 2023 as part of the new
Scotiabank Arena permanent Art Collection.

Engaging all sides of her creative prowess, Georgia deepens her understanding and practice of
arts in health as an expressive arts therapist with a small private practice and facilitates healing
arts workshops online. Georgia is the founder of the Durham Black Artists’ Collective (DBAC)
and is a faculty member of the School of Media, Art and Design at Durham College in Oshawa,
Ontario.

Liz Oke designs and implements marketing/sales plans and creative strategy for businesses that want to change direction, optimize their digital presence and brand, and align their marketing efforts with their revenue goals. She has over 20+ years of experience in delivering successful projects for clients in various industries, including e-commerce, financial services, food services, manufacturing, education, retail, music, insurance, law, consulting, banking, real estate, and cultural institutions. She is currently following the ever-changing opportunities with AI.

Mathilda Irawan is an Indonesian born Chinese woman who immigrated to Canada 22 years ago. Her education background is psychology, gerontology, hypnotherapy, finance, and yoga therapy. She is the chef and owner of Mathilda’s Restaurant in downtown Oshawa where we supply meals, desserts, and baking mixes to other retailers across the province. She also owns Mathilda’s Sauces Inc. with all sauces being vegan, gluten free, and oil free.

She is on a mission to get people moving their body, reprogram their subconscious mind, take control of their health and heal themselves, and unite body, mind, and spirit. This is possible by practicing compassion towards ourselves, the animals, and nature. When we align our actions with our beliefs and values, we will heal at a deeper level. 

The Fading | 15 mins

Directed by Rafaël Beauchamp

French, with English subtitles

In the heart of a foggy and rural Quebec winter, Luce, a grieving mother faced with the disappearance of her son, is taken aback when three local hunters track down the alleged killer, a seemingly harmless young man. When it is proposed to her to take revenge on the latter, the spirit of the masses slowly takes possession of her tragedy as the group sinks into the forest. “Les battues” (The Fading) blurs the line between victim and persecutor in a dreamlike and anxiety-inducing thriller.

Tour with Associate Curator, Public Programs, Hannah Keating, through the gallery and learn more about our exhibitions that feature female and queer artists such as World-builders, shapeshifters, Kenatentas, and Commonplace.

We will be making wearable art led by Farah! Make marbled polymer clay beads, strung together to make a necklace or keychain.

Kendra Yee: Exhibition Opening + Artist Talk

Please join us to celebrate the opening of, Commonplace, a new exhibition by RBC Emerging Artist in Residence, Kendra Yee. Let us know you’re coming with an RSVP.

Refreshments will be served. Join us in the exhibition space at 2pm for an artist talk with Kendra Yee.

Kendra Yee’s residency exhibition features an installation of over 100 clay tiles inspired by memories. During her time at the RMG, Kendra Yee put out a call for collaboration, inviting her friends, supporters, and RMG community members of all ages to share a personal story with her in the medium of their choice. Her tiles represent the way she received, and will continue to hold, each memory, while the installation, which takes the form of a large dining table, points to the spaces where we gather and share stories with one another.

Seating will be available. If there is anything else we can do to support your participation, please reach out to Hannah at hkeating@rmg.on.ca.

The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts for this exhibition.

This program is supported by the RBC Foundation’s RBC Emerging Artist Project.

Artist Round Table: World-builders, shapeshifters and Kenatentas

Join curator Erin Szikora and artists Alex Jacobs-Blum, Kat Brown Akootchook, Kay Nadjiwon, Natalie King, Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft, Sheri Osden Nault, and Raechel Wastesicoot for an online round table discussion. This conversation will unfold as we digitally move throughout the exhibition spaces, inviting the artists to reflect on their individual projects and the empowering collaboration that produced World-builders, shapeshifters and Kenatentas. Click here to register!

Closed captioning and live transcription will be available through the built-in Zoom CC and Transcription features. ASL Interpretation can be arranged upon request. Please contact Hannah Keating at hkeating@rmg.on.ca to submit an interpretation request by March 6, 2024. All efforts will be made to fill a request, but if an Interpreter cannot be secured, we will let you know before the event takes place.

Is there anything else we can do to support your participation? Please reach out to Hannah at hkeating@rmg.on.ca.

World-builders, shapeshifters is supported by the Maada’ookii Committee, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and the Downie & Wenjack Foundation and Hudson Bay Foundation through Oshki Wuppowane: The Blanket Fund, and the Government of Ontario through the Tourism Relief Fund.

Curatorial Tour: About Time + Painters Eleven: The Greenberg Effect

Join Senior Curator Sonya Jones for a casual guided tour of the exhibitions About Time and Painters Eleven: The Greenberg Effect, featuring a range of artworks from the RMG’s permanent collection. Everyone is welcome!

If there is anything we can do to support your participation, please reach out to Sonya at sjones@rmg.on.ca.

Curatorial Tour: Raechel Wastesicoot: Kenatentas + World-builders, shapeshifters

Join Associate Curator Erin Szikora for a casual guided tour of Raechel Wastesicoot: Kenatentas and World-builders, shapeshifters, featuring new beadwork by Oshawa-born artist Raechel Wastesicoot and a wide selection of new work by World-builders, shapeshifters artists Alex Jacobs-Blum, Kat Brown Akootchook, Kay Nadjiwon, Natalie King, Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft, and Sheri Osden Nault. Everyone is welcome!

If there is anything we can do to support your participation, please reach out to Erin at eszikora@rmg.on.ca.

World-builders, shapeshifters is supported by the Maada’ookii Committee, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and the Downie & Wenjack Foundation and Hudson Bay Foundation through Oshki Wuppowane: The Blanket Fund, and the Government of Ontario through the Tourism Relief Fund.

Exhibition Walkthrough with Couzyn van Heuvelen

Join Couzyn van Heuvelen at the RMG to learn about how his personal experiences led him to create the monumental new artworks in CAMP. Let us know you’re coming with an RSVP.

Sharing how Inuit hunting camps are sites for shared learning and joyful community-building, this interactive talk will allow participants to explore the critical role of land-based practices in Inuit self-determination, food sovereignty in the North, and the pleasures of celebrating around food. Couzyn welcomes questions and conversation throughout.

You can read more about Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP here.

Seating will be available. If there is anything else we can do to support your participation, please reach out to Hannah at hkeating@rmg.on.ca.

The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts for this exhibition.

Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP is supported by the Ontario Arts Council.

Canada council logo
oac logo

Raechel Wastesicoot: Kenatentas Opening Reception

Please join us to celebrate the opening of Raechel Wastesicoot: KenatentasLet us know you’re coming with an RSVP.

Refreshments will be served. Join us in the exhibition space at 2:15pm for remarks and an exhibition walkthrough with the artist and RMG Associate Curator, Erin Szikora.

Raechel Wastesicoot is a mixed Kanien’kehá:ka beadworker born and raised in Oshawa and currently based in Toronto. In her debut exhibition, Wastesicoot has created twelve beaded artworks in response to paintings and drawings from the RMG’s Permanent Collection. Working with upcycled, vintage, and harvested materials, her pieces are personal reflections on family and community, inspired by the rich colours and abstractions of Ontario’s abstract collective Painters Eleven.

Seating will be available. If there is anything else we can do to support your participation, please reach out to Erin at eszikora@rmg.on.ca.

This exhibition is presented with support from the Government of Ontario through the Tourism Relief Fund.

Seniors Spring Social Event

Let’s celebrate spring together! This free event encourages seniors (age 55+) to spend the afternoon curating their own program. We will offer refreshments, tours and drop in art making sessions. This free event is funded by the Seniors Community Fund.

Event includes;

  • Tours of the RMG current exhibitions at 1pm and 2pm
  • Drop in art making workshops include printmaking on canvas bags and a birch tree drawing workshop with illustrator, Chrissie Wysotski.
  • Coffee, tea and light refreshments by Berry Hill Food Co. will be available in our onsite Arthurs space from 1-3pm

Holiday Tea at the RMG

$62/adult, $28/child 12 and under

Join Berry Hill Co. for Holiday Tea at the RMG! On Saturdays & Sundays from November 18th to December 17th, Berry Hill Co. will be upstairs in Arthur’s hosting high tea. There are separate menus for children and adults.

Reservations and any queries must be made directly through Berry Hill Co.

The Neighbours Project ART HIVE with the LivingRoom

“We can only learn about creativity through our own experience of it.”

Shaun McNiff

The RMG and the LivingRoom Community Art Studio welcome all of our neighbours to help us activate The Neighbours Project ART HIVE. This is a drop in art studio. There are tables and chairs and lots of free art supplies. We have areas for folks to leave their artwork if they want to, or they are welcome to take what they make home with them. As a warm invitation to participate, we have hired Mary from the LivingRoom Community Art Studio to facilitate six sessions on Friday afternoons. With nearly a decade of experience under their belt, the LivingRoom is well equipped to offer fun and accessible art experiences for everyone.

The Neighbours Project ART HIVE is part of The Neighbours Project. To learn more about the project, please visit the exhibition page.

This event will be facilitated at the following times:

  • Friday January 12, 2024, 12-3:30pm
  • Friday January 19, 2024, 12-3:30pm
  • Friday January 26, 2024, 12-3:30pm
  • Friday February 2, 2024, 12-3:30pm
  • Friday February 9, 2024, 12-3:30pm
  • Friday February 16, 2024, 12-3:30pm

What to expect:

  • These drop-in events are free.
  • You’re welcome to come and go as you please.
  • Coffee, tea, and light snacks will be served.
  • Everyone is welcome; no art experience required.

The RMG is located at 72 Queen Street, Civic Centre in Oshawa, across from the McLaughlin Branch of the Oshawa Public Libraries. The Neighbours Project ART HIVE is in Gallery A, which is located on the lower level of the RMG. It is accessible by stairs or elevator. Between the elevator and Gallery A, you’ll pass our public washrooms. We have an accessible single-stall washroom as well as gender-inclusive multi-stall washrooms. Read more about our facilities here.

What is an art hive?

Art Hives are spaces that enable people of all ages to participate in free public relaxation. They are safe, accessible spaces that support creative community development through art-making experiences that foster connection and personal well-being. In an Art Hive, traditional hierarchies, processes, and ways of being can be deconstructed and re-imagined in playful, personal, and compassionate ways.

“At the center of everything we call ‘the arts,’ and children call ‘play,’ is something which seems somehow alive.”

Lynda Barry

The Neighbours Project ART HIVE will be facilitated by The LivingRoom’s Mary Krohnert and the RMG’s Hannah Keating and Erin Szikora.

Mary is an actor, art therapist and social arts practitioner with over 25 years of experience in intersectional community engagement through the arts. Founder of the LivingRoom Community Art Studio, she is a graduate of The Toronto Art Therapy Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, and has studied Art Hives at Concordia University under the founder of the movement, Dr. Janis Timm-Bottos. Her work is driven by a deep appreciation of the human story, and the many ways it can be communicated, acknowledged, and honoured in our efforts to live, learn, work, and engage with greater authenticity, sustainability, and joy. The LivingRoom and its related projects offer practical opportunities for citizen artists of all ages, abilities and walks of life to explore how processes of creative self-expression can be integrated into day-to-day life for the benefit of all.

Hannah is an Associate Curator at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery where she coordinates the RBC Emerging Artist Residency program, curates exhibitions and public programs, and works with community partners. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Art History from Carleton University and has previously worked at Artspace, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the University of Manitoba School of Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Peterborough. Hannah is curious about relationships of all kinds and passionate about supporting artists. She is a writer and deep thinker who believes in the power of art to forge connections, provoke conversation, and hold deep truths about the human condition.

Erin is an Associate Curator at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and Art History from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in Art History from OCAD University. She has previously worked at the University of Toronto, Art Gallery of Guelph, Art Canada Institute, OCAD University, the McMaster Museum of Art, and Brock University. Her work is motivated by a deep interest in how personal storytelling can lead to collective liberation. She believes strongly in the power of art to change the world and is excited to live into the future we dream up together.

Visit The Neighbours Project exhibition page to learn more.

We want to express sincere gratitude to our partners and collaborators for their support: The Back Door Mission, The Gap Committee, The LivingRoom Community Art Studio, April Hind, and Selena Hind.

Do you have any questions? Please get in touch by emailing hkeating@rmg.on.ca and eszikora@rmg.on.ca.