Come hang out at the art gallery! These sessions offer a welcoming space for teens to express their individuality, share new ideas, and try out a variety of art materials in a low-pressure environment. With a new theme each month, they’ll discover new ways to unleash their creativity, whether it be through painting, sculpting, mixed media or something else.
Free
Ages 13-17
Registration required
Class dates and details below
January 29, 2026
6-7:30PM
Taking inspiration from The Neighbour’s Art Hive, we are creating graffiti fences.
Using acrylic paint, our sculptures will tap into our unique individual creativity, and the ideas of community development and social connection through art-making together.
About The Neighbour’s Art Hive
As a place to make, rest, and connect, the installation, The Neighbour’s Art Hive, supports creative community development, social connection, and personal wellbeing through art-making experiences.
Click here to learn more about this exhibition.
February 26, 2026
6-7:30PM
We will explore Scott Rogers: Mutualism (Fixed Assets), considering the use of repurposed automotive junk and scrap materials. Teens will then use found materials to create an assemblage tile artwork.
About Scott Rogers: Mutualism (Fixed Assets)
Mutualism (Fixed Assets) is a new temporary public artwork for the backyard at Robert McLaughlin Gallery. This ambitious new installation builds on Rogers’ interest in human- built infrastructures for the care and support of non-human beings. Taking the form of a site-responsive bird feeding station, the work is assembled from broken automobile parts scavenged from roads and highways. This reuse of discarded materials connects with the industrial history of Oshawa, while proposing possibilities of ecological renewal out of the wreckage.
Click here to learn more about this exhibition.
March 26, 2026
6-7:30PM
We will take a tour of our permanent collection exhibition Homage, which features a variety of artists and works. After taking note of the impasto textured pieces, we will create our own!
Impasto is a technique that artists use while painting, laying thick paint on the canvas and to keep the brush strokes and palette knife impressions visible even after drying.
About Homage
Drawing from The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s Permanent Collection, this exhibition explores how artists pay homage—to individuals, pivotal events, and shared experiences. Within these gestures of tribute lie acts of resistance, care, and the reclaiming of stories. Whether evoking ancestral knowledge, responding to collective grief, or reimagining iconic images, the artists in this exhibition use memory as a tool for both reflection and transformation.
Click here to learn more about this exhibition.
FAQ
What is the space like?
You are encouraged to either come alone or with friends! Plug into your own music or listen to the chatter. Materials and refreshments are provided.
We tend to keep the lights dimmed but they are still on. We play music on a medium volume, however this can be turned off upon request. The noise level in the room is about medium.
For more details on accessibility, visit this link: https://rmg.on.ca/visit/accessibility-and-accommodations/
Where is it happening?
The studio on the lower level. The gallery is free to visit. Walk in through the front doors, turn right and go down the stairs, turn right again once you see the door to the studio. Or, take the elevator near our gift shop to level 1.
Do I need to know how to do art ahead of time? Do I need to be an artist?
No! The art activities are beginner friendly. We offer all the necessary materials and instruction to complete a project. We also value abstract art, ugly art, and silly art. Feel free to try new things.
How do I contact the organizer?
Email [email protected] or call (905) 576-3000 ext.108
