Radioactive: a selection of nuclear ephemera and records from john o’brian’s atomic collection
2025-03-25 - 2025-08-31 | National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1N 9N4, Canada
Over the course of twenty years, art historian John O’Brian curated a collection of atomic era ephemera that provides deep insight into the cultural landscape of the nuclear age. This exhibition showcases a carefully chosen selection of O’Brian’s atomic artifacts, including photographs, postcards, scientific reports, and children’s games. These objects serve as tangible reminders of humanity’s complex relationship with nuclear power, reflecting both its fascination and its fear.

Nadia Myre: Waves of Want and Skawennati: Welcome to the Dreamhouse
2025-05-30 - 2025-09-01
In Waves of Want, interdisciplinary artist Nadia Myre weaves personal and political narratives around Indigenous identity, both current and historical.
Welcome to the Dreamhouse tells the story of Skawennati’s dynamic artistic trajectory as she envisions Indigenous people in the future.

Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works
2025-06-18 - 2025-10-13
This exhibition surveys the fascinating and multifaceted career of Erica Rutherford (b. Edinburgh, 1923 – d. Charlottetown, 2008), whose work explores themes of persona and gender, home and landscape, and whose life was shaped by the search for identity and community.
The show includes over 100 works, accompanied by memorabilia and photographs that support the stories told by the work itself. Erica Rutherford was the first Prince Edward Island artist to be featured at the prestigious La Biennale di Venezia. The 60th edition of the international art exhibition, on view from April to November 2024, showcased five paintings by Rutherford.
Curated by Pan Wendt. Organized by Confederation Centre Art Gallery in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada.

Focus Series
2025-06-18 - 2026-06-01
The Focus Series is an ongoing partnership between Library and Archives Canada and the National Gallery of Canada, building on the rich collections of both institutions.
Focus on the Métis — A103 Corridor and A103a
A special collaboration that examines how early images of the Métis are often misidentified or not referenced at all. A careful look at details in historical art and photographs reveals that the Métis are often “hiding in plain sight.”
Pictorialism — A104a
The predominant aesthetic in photography throughout the first half of the twentieth century was pictorialism.
Work is art/Art is work — A109a
This installation examines the various ways artists responded to the critical issues of the Depression era.
Points of View: Photography in the North — A111a
Documentary photographer Pamela Harris recorded community life in Taloyoak, Nunavut (then Spence Bay, NWT) for three months in 1972 and 1973 (published as Another Way of Being). Her photographs appear both casual and staged, the resulting photographic sessions respectfully engaging two cultures and important considerations such as the agency and self-representation of Inuit.
