Opening Reception: Ekow Nimako: Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships

Join us in celebrating the opening of Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships, a solo exhibition by Toronto-based artist Ekow Nimako curated by Alyssa Fearon. We’re pleased to align this exciting event with Convergence 2025 in downtown Oshawa, featuring a performance by our very own artist in residence, Pixel Heller.

Please RSVP using this form.

Event details:

  • Remarks at 2pm
  • Artist Talk + Tour at 2:15pm
  • Hands-on LEGO activities for all ages
  • Light refreshments provided


Coming from Toronto? We’ll pick you up! Save your seat on the art bus
shuttle using the RSVP link. The bus will collect guests from the
ROM (100 Queens Park, Toronto) at 11:30am and return around 5pm.

RSVP

Ekow Nimako, Wawa Aba, The Sunrise Dancer (circa 1358), 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

About the exhibition:
Continuing his afrofuturistic reimagining of ancient African kingdoms in the medium of LEGO bricks, Ekow Nimako explores the mysterious fourteenth century sea voyage of Mansa Abu Bakr II in Journey of 2,000 Ships. Combining architecture, historical accounts, and fantastical possibilities, Nimako transcends the geometric form of LEGO to recreate the epic voyage, presenting an uninterrupted and unco-opted narrative of Black civilizations and liberated futures. Visit the exhibition page for more information.

This event is free and open to everyone. If there are ways we can support
your participation, please contact Hannah at [email protected].

Organized and circulated by Dunlop Art Gallery.

RMG Friday: Bingo in the Backyard

Please note: Due to poor air quality, we’re moving this evening’s event indoors.

Join us in for a pride-themed bingo night! Hosted by Kali Kontour, guests will enjoy six bingo games throughout the evening, with the chance to win prizes. Our beautiful gallery space will set the stage for exciting drag performances, while guests sip on fruity beverages and participate in an art activity. The night is sure to be filled with laughter, music, art, and long-lasting memories.

Kali Kontour
Educator by day and drag powerhouse by night, Kali Kontour is a dazzling blend of glamour, grit, and grace. A proud MAC Creator and community advocate, she fuses her love of teaching with fierce artistry and unapologetic self-expression. Whether she’s lighting up the stage or leading in the classroom, Kali is here to uplift, inspire, and slay this Pride season.

Orlandra Bloom
Durham’s finest and one of the reigning Queens of Dim Sum, Orlandra Bloom is beauty, talent, and charisma all rolled into one. With a background in dance and a dynamic drag persona, she’s serving stunts, tricks, and a whole lot of Pride realness!

Deena Dazeem
Originally from Toronto, Deena Dazeem brings you the best of Broadway and the powerhouse vocals of your favourite 90s divas. With a love for theatricality and high notes, she’s ready to belt her heart out and make this Pride celebration one to remember!

Enjoy refreshing beverages, fruity coolers, and non-alcoholic options will be available for purchase.

In the studio, enjoy our rock painting station. Take your creation home, or leave it to decorate our garden.

Join us for a tour of RESISTANCE.

Learn more about RMG Fridays.

Backyard Story Time at the RMG

Experience the magic of outdoor story time at the art gallery! Through books, songs, games, and creative activities, storytellers from Oshawa Public Libraries will spark your imagination in The Backyard at the RMG! This event is free and no registration is required.

This event is free and open to everyone. If you have questions about accessing our facilities, please visit this page or contact Hannah at [email protected].

Backyard Story Time at the RMG is hosted by, and offered in partnership with, Oshawa Public Libraries.

Backyard Story Time at the RMG

Experience the magic of outdoor story time at the art gallery! Through books, songs, games, and creative activities, storytellers from Oshawa Public Libraries will spark your imagination in The Backyard at the RMG! This event is free and no registration is required.

This event is free and open to everyone. If you have questions about accessing our facilities, please visit this page or contact Hannah at [email protected].

Backyard Story Time at the RMG is hosted by, and offered in partnership with, Oshawa Public Libraries.

Doors Open at the RMG

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is celebrating Doors Open in Oshawa on May 3rd. Join us for guided architecture and art tours, explore our various exhibitions, and drop by the shop.

Admission and tours are all FREE!

Join a guided architecture + art tour

11:30 am, 1 pm and 3 pm

Our welcoming Visitor Engagement Assistants will deliver tours of this stunning modern building. Discover the original vision for Oshawa’s public gallery, brought to life in 1969, and how architect Arthur Erickson designed a massive 36,000-square-foot extension that made the gallery what it is today.

Spend time with our exhibitions

Visit our gift shop

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery has a history of supporting and promoting local artists, artisans, and makers. The RMG shop features products from across Ontario, including jewelry, ceramics, books, home goods, and Indigenous designed and manufactured products. Each sale helps support local artisans and our free community programs.

The RMG Shop is located in the lobby of The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.

About Doors Open

Doors Open Oshawa is a free annual event held on the first Saturday in May. This event provides an opportunity to explore Oshawa’s diverse heritage and cultural sites. Attendees are encouraged to spend the day discovering local history, unique Oshawa buildings and spaces while celebrating the communities heritage.

RMG Friday: Spring Launch

Welcome back! We launch our 2025 RMG Friday series in partnership with Oshawa Music Week, this evening will feature live music performances, art activities and food from local vendors.

About RMG Fridays
An anchor of the cultural calendar in Durham Region, RMG Fridays are community events that bring together various art forms.  Designed for all ages they feature a variety of live music, performances, exhibition tours, artist talks, and highlight community partners and local businesses.

About Oshawa Music Week (OMW)
Oshawa Music Week is organized by students of the Music Business Program at Durham College. This annual event takes place in April and includes live music showcases, entertainment for music lovers, and music-industry education for aspiring and established music-business practitioners.

About our studio activity
Join local guest artist Chelsea Frattura in the art studio to get your geek on! Dive into the nostalgic world of 8-bit artwork as you design and create your own custom magnet. Using the grid method, you’ll bring your favourite pop culture icons to life—or invent your own design! Perfect for beginners.

Chelsea Frattura is a local artist and arts facilitator specializing in oil painting. Her work focuses on surrealist landscapes, drawing inspiration from the connection between memory and environment.  Passionate about inspiring creativity, Chelsea loves to merge her artistic practice with her role as a facilitator, teaching a wide range of art projects to all ages—from fun, simple crafts to more advanced painting techniques.


About our guest food vendor
Bistro ‘67 offers guests a memorable field-to-fork dining experience, where community, local agriculture and learning come together. Meals are prepared and served by our skilled staff and students who create flavourful dishes inspired by fresh ingredients from the award-winning W. Galen Weston Centre for Food’s own gardens and other local suppliers across Durham Region. 

About the bands

Siobhan Bodrug
Siobhan Bodrug is a singer-songwriter/recording artist from Toronto ON. Her music being a seamless blend of Indie Pop, R&B that her soulful vocals defy her 20 years on the planet. Siobhan has wowed audiences in many venues including opening for indie mainstays Stars and Juno award-winners Dizzy at The Golden Hour Festival, the iconic Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, the legendary El Mocambo, County Pop, and Summerfolk. She was also selected as a Honey Jam artist for 2022. She recently toured across Ontario/Quebec for her debut “Strangers Tour 2024.” She just graduated from Seneca’s Independent Songwriting and Performance program. She has appeared on SiriusXM, MIX97 and performed a live-to-air Christmas special. Her single, “The End Lies Ahead” has over 130k streams on Spotify. The future is bright for Siobhan Bodrug because as “PeopleOfPEC” said in a recent review “Can we just talk for a minute? About how FABULOUS Siobhan Bodrug is? If you have never heard of this powerhouse singer, you soon will! She is FIRE …Her voice is strong and sure, and she has a very strong command of her craft. She is a brilliant young artist”. (source: https://soundcloud.com/siobhanbodrugmusic)

Erica Knox
From upbeat excitement to mellow nostalgia, Erica Knox is reinventing her sound with self-portrayed intimate lyrics about love, life, and identity, alongside catchy hooks, reminiscent of modern day hitmakers Taylor Swift and Julia Michaels.

The 2019 ‘Best Emerging Artist in Canada’ nominee is currently recording her first full-length record with Toronto based producer and musician, Tal Vaisman. Her newest singles ‘Paradise Forever’ and ‘Make Me Happy’ are the first of many to come.

priyana
priyana is a South-Asian queer singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada. She knew from the age of eight that music was her passion. She has attracted a community online and is known for posting videos combining her ethereal voice with love for crochet! priyana’s indie/folk-pop music draws inspiration from Lizzy McAlpine, Billie Eilish, Noah Kahan, Phoebe Bridgers, and many more. priyana’s debut album little thoughts and latest singles pinky swear, they know it too, and days i’ve cried this year are available on all streaming platforms with more to come soon.

Stefan Palicki
Stef started taking RCM piano instruction at the age of 6. Over the years, he obtained his RCM theory and Grade 7 piano with first class honours. At the age of 12, Stef began taking guitar lessons and that set him on the path toward wanting to be a performing musician. 

During grades 7 and 8, Stef played keyboard, trombone and bass guitar in the school’s Jazz Band. At the end of grade 8 he audition for and was accepted into the Performing Arts Program at O’Neill CVI, where Stef has enjoyed performing in multiple bands and ensembles on a variety of instruments including percussion.

In 2019, Stef began taking part in an Open Jam at The Edge, in Ajax. This cemented his joy for performance in a band dynamic, playing classic rock and blues, live.

Stefan continues to further his music education with private instruction for guitar with Matt O’Rourke at Mattomusic in Courtice Ontario and with online instruction with accomplished guitarist, Chris Bray.

Jack Walker
Jack Walker is a Canadian indie-folk singer/songwriter from Pickering, ON. On June 11, 2021, he released his debut full-length album.  

Jack writes songs with a focus on catchy melodies and poetic lyrics. He has played shows across Canada as well as the US and the UK. Jack’s main focus over the years has been playing live and since COVID-19 has put that on pause, he has shifted to recording and releasing music.  Jack has taken a DIY approach to his recent album, playing every instrument and handling production and mixing duties. 

RMG Friday: Emerging Visions

Join us in celebrating the works of the third-year graduating students of the Fine Arts Advanced program at Durham College. This evening will feature a curated experience designed by Tanika iNsight Circles, and an art activity with artist Bria Elizabeth.

Schedule
7pm – Doors Open
7pm – Art Studio Activity with Bria Elizabeth Starts
7:30pm – Welcome Remarks
8pm-9:15pm – Voices & Vibes: A Journey Through Story, Soul & Connection by Tanika iNsight Circles

Voices & Vibes: A Journey Through Story, Soul & Connection
“Voices & Vibes: A Journey Through Story, Soul & Connection” is a powerful one-hour (1:10 to be exact) curated experience designed by Tanika iNsight Circles to uplift, heal, and unite through the arts. This event blends spoken word poetry, personal storytelling, interactive community-building activities, and a soul-stirring performance by powerhouse R&B singer. Centering on themes of resilience, self-expression through arts, and collective healing through community, this gathering will create a vibrant space for inter-generational authentic connections.

Where: The Isabel McLaughlin Gallery (Main Floor)

Emerging Visions
EMERGING VISIONS is an exhibition that presents thesis projects by the third-year graduating students of the Fine Arts Advanced program at Durham College.

Where: Gallery A (Ground floor)

Art Activity
Join local guest artist Bria Elizabeth to explore simple science into the unknown void. Participants will select a shape that resonates with them and use metallic markers to create lines and dots of particle movements that highlight different states of matter. Simple techniques will create a high contrast in colour and finish between the metallic markers and Black paper.

Where: Art Studio (Ground floor)

About

Tanika iNsight Circles is an award winning Creative Intellect, Speaker, Trainer, Host, Artist, Event Curator, and HIP HOP EDU Creator at HIP HOP TIL INFINITY.

Bria Elizabeth is a local artist who has led community projects with non-for profit organizations in the Oshawa area. She has her degree as a specialist in Media/Studio from UTSC where she was first introduced into facilitating community arts projects. Her current practice involves exploring negative space and mark making using multimedia art supplies. She currently has been involved with local arts collective Ruckus for the past few years and is passionate about art accessibility for marginalized communities and people groups. She believes that art is for everyone or anyone whether the art is created and stays in your home, in community spaces or galleries.

RMG Fridays
An anchor of the cultural calendar in Durham Region, RMG Fridays are community events that bring together various art forms.  Designed for all ages they feature a variety of live music, performances, exhibition tours, artist talks, and highlight community partners and local businesses.

Curatorial Tour: Resistance

Join Curator, Sonya Jones, for a tour of the exhibition “Resistance”. This permanent collection exhibition explores how artists throughout history have used art to resist and disrupt social and political structures– including within the art world.

Thursday Curatorial Tours are free and open to everyone. They provide deeper insight into the themes, context, and content of our exhibitions. Seating options are available. For more information about access and our facilities, please visit this page or contact Sonya Jones at [email protected] with any specific requests.

No advance registration required.

OPG Sunday: Pretty Peonies

This time of year brings beautiful flowers! Create peonies, daisies, roses, sunflowers and happy pollinator bugs with clay in your very own plasticine garden.

Suitable for ages 3+

Free admission, no registration required.

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a proud participant in Ontario Power Generation’s Power for Change Project, supporting the areas and people where OPG operates.

OPG Sunday: Clay Creations

This month we’ll be getting our hands muddy with clay! In the studio, we are using clay to form coil pots, a popular method to create bowls and cups.

In the lobby, etch intricate patterns into scratch art paper, revealing metallic designs underneath. Patterning techniques and inspiration will be provided.

Suitable for ages 3+
Free admission, no registration required.

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a proud participant in Ontario Power Generation’s Power for Change Project, supporting the areas and people where OPG operates.