“Every work of art which really moves us is in some degree a revelation – it changes us.”
– Lawren Harris

What IMPACT can art have?

The word IMPACT is defined as a physical force, an influence, or a strong effect. Art has a unique ability to effect or influence our daily lives, challenging us and changing our perceptions, through a sensory experience. For the individual, art can affect you visually and emotionally, while collectively, it can have important broad social reach. Exploring the many ways art can impact us, this exhibition draws together works that consider human impact on the land, the effects of war, politically and socially engaged art, emotional storytelling, and visually compelling abstraction.

The RMG’s vision is to flourish through arts, culture, and community connection and resilience. With a mission to work together with our communities to create conversations through the arts, we encourage people to experience the world differently. We believe that art and culture can improve quality of life, act as a vehicle for public discussion, understanding, and connection, creating impact within our community and beyond.
The belief that art can better our community also shapes how we build our collection: the RMG is dedicated to collecting with intention in order to reflect diverse voices and contemporary issues, while continuing to tell the story of Canadian art. Drawn from our Permanent Collection of over 4700 artworks, the work in IMPACT reflects the depth and breadth of our growing holdings, and encourages conversations about the effects of art.