The Arts in Ottawa
Living and going to school in Ottawa has many advantages when you’re studying art history. For example, the National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives and the Ottawa Art Gallery to name a few of the amazing resources we have here in the capital. People often think of Ottawa as a boring government city with not much to offer in terms of the arts. But those people would be wrong. As the social media coordinator for the art history department at Carleton it is my job to post about all the events going on in the city and at Carleton. Let me tell you it is a lot of work because there is always so much going on. My own Facebook page is always flooded with new events and I wish I could attend them all but there is just not enough time with school.
Ottawa has a lively arts community with big national institutions like the National Galley of Canada that offers fantastic exhibitions year round as well has special lectures, artist talks, curator tours and many other special events and activities through the year. Then there is our own Carleton University Art Gallery that also hosts amazing exhibitions through the year as well as artist and curator talks and community outreach programs. There are too many galleries to name in Ottawa including commercial galleries that all offer something in the city for people to enjoy. There are so many gallery exhibition openings, artist talks and events that it is impossible to attend every single one of them. There are also annual festivals in Ottawa such as Nuit Blanche, Winterlude, Glow Fest, Fringe Festival, The New Art Festival, Jazz Festival, the Chamber Music Festival, Westfest, etc that celebrate arts, music and culture. It would seem that we are actually spoiled here in Canada’s capital with arts and culture throughout the year. I would encourage everyone to get out there and experience art in this great city. Stop into a local gallery, go to an artist talk or a special lecture at Carleton.