Over the last couple of years, Oshawa’s popular community events, such as live music performances, Fiesta Festival, Pride, and the Peony Festival, shifted to digital formats. With plans for a return to in-person events, this exhibition reflects on ways Oshawa residents gathered in the past and celebrates the importance of community coming together in celebration or common interest.
Events and gatherings mark important community moments and offer a reprieve from everyday life. The photographs in this exhibition feature many of these moments including friends playing a round of billiards, crowds enjoying a day at the beach, and the community coming out to support troops being deployed or returning home. Other events depict groups gathering for a shared interest, whether marching for labour rights or rallying together through difficult times.
After a long two years with few in-person events, the photographs in this exhibition depict the sense of community gained when people come together and the virtues of creating genuine connections with those around us.