OV-CAOS Ottawa Valley Community Arts

Past Projects

2023

New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded Ottawa Valley Community Arts to bring seniors and youth together to participate in inter-generational dialogue and art-making about age discrimination.

This group will met weekly from September to November, 2022, to share experiences of ageism and develop an interview packet in preparation for field interviews in the community. The participants learned how to use recording devices to conduct these interviews.

Project facilitators edited the content into themes and shared with the group for feedback. The final work will be presented to the public in an event to raise awareness about ageism.

Click here to read the Ageism Zine which synopsizes key concepts in word and/or image.

Click below to listen to interviews with participants in It’s About Time. Sound files compiled by Kathy Blomquist and Tristan Whiston.


Ottawa Valley Community Arts (OV-CAOS), in partnership with the Community Resource Centre, Killaloe, has received a three-year Grow Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand on the Pop Up Art programming, originally established in 2019. Over the next three years, Ottawa Valley residents will have the opportunity to experience Pop Up Art in a number of ways.

The Ottawa Valley will be home to three semi-permanent public art exhibition venues, located in the communities of Eganville, Garrison Petawawa and Arnprior. Each of these galleries will host up to 10 curated exhibitions between March 2021 and June 2023. The exhibition lineup will feature themed, juried, multi-artist exhibitions and open community exhibits.

Click here for more information about Pop Up Art.

2022

Honouring Seniors

What is captured in the moment when a photograph is taken? Starting in the spring of 2020 and moving with the waves of the pandemic, photographic artist Maureen MacMillan created 50 portraits each capturing a moment in the diverse experiences of seniors living in the western Ottawa Valley.

Honouring Seniors Photographic Portraits is accompanied by a sound art compilation by Kathy Blomquist and Tristan Whiston .

 

The Story Behind The Portraits


A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words


Split Second

 

 

Place Names

Place Names is an ongoing art inquiry with local schools, exploring the history, meaning and imaginative possibilities of local place names. What are the names of the places we live in and near? Who named these places and what do these names mean? What other names have these places been called and what other names might we call them today?

Baskets for Connection

January 25, 2022: Baskets for Connection is a project that was created to connect with seniors in the Ottawa Valley.

Place Names

January 25, 2022: Information to come soon.

Pop Up Art

September 29, 2020: Ottawa Valley Community Arts (OV-CAOS), in partnership with the Community Resource Centre, Killaloe, has received a three-year Grow Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand on the Pop Up Art programming, originally established in 2019. Over the next three years, Ottawa Valley residents will have the opportunity to experience Pop Up Art in a number of ways.

The Ottawa Valley will be home to three semi-permanent public art exhibition venues, located in the communities of Eganville, Garrison Petawawa and Arnprior. Each of these galleries will host up to 10 curated exhibitions between March 2021 and June 2023. The exhibition lineup will feature themed, juried, multi-artist exhibitions and open community exhibits.

Click here for more information about Pop Up Art.

The Creative Photography Project

What is this project about?

OV-CAOS and our community partners are working with seniors to honour their lives and contributions to our community. We are doing this by collecting stories and taking photographic portraits of up to fifty seniors. The portraits are taken in a location chosen by the participants.

The stories and portraits will be exhibited publicly at the end of the project and will also be turned into a printed book.

Click here to read more about The Creative Photography Project

2020

The Handmade Feast

Click here to download The Handmade Feast catalogue (370 kb).

The Handmade Feast is an OV-CAOS project that was comprised of a community meal, workshops and art installation. It ran between October 2019 and April 2020, in Combermere, Barry’s Bay, Palmer Rapids, Wilno and Killaloe.

Project Collaborators
Lead: Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio
Funding: New Horizons for Seniors
Barry’s Bay and Area Home Support
CRC, Senior Active Living Centre
Killaloe Friendship Club

Click here to read more about The Handmade Feast

2020

OV-CAOS Annual General Meeting

Saturday January 25 • 1 to 3 pm • 12 North St Community Centre, Killaloe
Learn about OV-CAOS. View some of the costumes from Eat Your Art Out up close. View the EYAO video!

Movie Screening
Studio Dreamshare presents: ”Stel and the Violin”
Saturday January 25 • 3 to 5 pm • 12 North St Community Centre, Killaloe
$10 per person, $20 per family. In support of OV-CAOS and Studio Dreamshare.

2019

A fashion show exploring the transition from fall to winter
OV-CAOS Annual Fundraiser

Saturday November 9, 2019
Lion’s Hall • Killaloe • Doors open at 7 pm • Show starts at 7:30
Tickets available below through Eventbrite secure checkout or at Grandma’s Pantry in Killaloe.

Tickets available below through Eventbrite secure checkout or at Grandma’s Pantry in Killaloe.

This multi-sensory art experience includes:
6 wearable art pieces
6 light culinary delights
Gluten-free and vegetarian options available upon request. Please note that we can not guaranty an allergy-free kitchen.
6 designer drinks with a suggested alcohol paring (alcohol sold separately)
6 sound art pieces
6 poems
The annual silent auction

MURAL MOSAIC
Unveiling: September 28, 2019

Over 40 youth were engaged in the design and creation of a mural mosaic in Pembroke. It’s an expression of how we are feeling inside, seeding ideas out into the world, connecting to the natural world and the places we live in.

Funded by the Ontario Arts Council, this mural project will contribute to the artistic legacy of Pembroke by creating a mosaic mural from the perspective of youth in Pembroke.

Megan Spencer lead a community engaged-process with three distinct phases: research/information gathering, design and feedback, and production.

Youth co-created the mural based on their own interests, themes, and aesthetics with the guidance and vision of the lead artist.

Lead artist: Megan Spencer
Youth intern: Kat Belaire
Project mentor: Anna Camilleri

Contact: megan.spencer.artist@gmail.com

 

Pop Up Art

Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio (OV-CAOS), in partnership with the Community Resource Centre—Killaloe,  received a one-year seed grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to create Pop Up Art, a travelling art exhibition and community art workshops for Renfrew County.

Pop Up Art featured a curated exhibition called Extra-Ordinary Renfrew County. The exhibition was a multi-artist and multimedia exhibit exploring how the extraordinary can be found in our everyday lives in Renfrew County.

Pop Up Art Locations 2019:

Fifth Chute Café
Dundonald Hall Fitness Sports and Aquatic Centre
Arnprior Public Library
Deep River and District Hospital
Madawaska Coffee
Renfrew Visitor Information Centre

Pop Up Artists

Why Build a Mobile Art Space?

Currently, Renfrew County does not have a public art gallery, but we do have many of artists and other cultural workers. Renfrew County is very large geographically and we don’t have public transportation.

We explore the impact and viability of bringing mobile art experiences to people living in rural communities. OV-CAOS, the CRC and the Ontario Trillium Foundation believe that by creating a mobile art space and curating an exhibition about Renfrew County by its artists, residents will have increased access to meaningful artistic experiences.

Pop Up Art Renfrew County is here to address the need for Renfrew County residents to have more opportunities to interact with art in public spaces.

Between April and September 2019, the general public has the opportunity to experience the Extra-Ordinary Renfrew County exhibition at various locations throughout Renfrew County, as well as opportunities to participate in community art workshops.



Planting Seeds Mental Health in Killaloe

Planting Seeds Art Unveiling and Walk-about

This past winter, community members gathered to have conversations and create art about how we can support mental health in Killaloe.

Click here for the Planting Seeds Summary Document.

Event collaborators:

Anya Gansterer, project coordinator
Tanya Lyons, artist-facilitator
Roberta Della Picca, community artist
Andy Trull, community poet
Emilyn Stam, musician
John Stam, musician
Sigrid Geddes, musician
Garth’s Kitchen, catering
Students at Killaloe Public School, woven banner
Jen Bennett Pond, community artist
Scott Pond, community artist

What is the Planting Seeds project all about?

A new art project funded by the Ontario Arts Council is coming to Killaloe this spring to encourage conversations about mental health in our community.

The Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio (OV-CAOS), Rainbow Valley Community Health Centre, and the Community Resource Centre (Killaloe) will host three community art workshops leading to a public exhibition and parade. The workshops will provide a place for people to express their thoughts, concerns, hopes and questions about mental health in our community. The mode of expression includes art-making and focused conversation. The workshops are free and open to all. They will take place March 2, March 30 and April 27, from 1 to 4 pm, at 12 North St. Community Centre in Killaloe.

At these workshops, OV-CAOS artist-facilitators will guide participants in making miniature worlds that will become part of five public art installations housed in venues around the village of Killaloe. The unveiling of the art installations will take the form of a parade in May. The parade will visit each installation, where a surprise performance will take place, and conclude at Rainbow Valley Community Health Centre.

Why make art and talk about mental health?

The project grew out of questions about how we, as a community, can better care for those with mental health challenges, caregivers, and one another. Our hope is to reduce stigma by bringing people together to further the conversation about mental health. Art-making is well known for its healing and community-building benefits. As a community arts organization, OV-CAOS understands the power of people making art together by nurturing personal and collective imaginations. We look forward to this new project and invite everyone to join us in imagining a world where all are welcome.

Who is this for?

Everyone—we all experience shifts in our mental health
Professionals—people who work directly with, or frequently encounter people struggling with mental health
Caregivers—those who are caring for people struggling with mental health
People who struggle with mental health

A mental health councilor will be present at all workshops should any participants need support.

Why the garden analogy?

Planting Seeds for Mental Health is an art-making project exploring people’s imagination. However, it also has a literal meaning, based on discussions with Rainbow Valley CHC about the possibility of creating a mental health garden on their grounds at 49 Mill Street in Killaloe. The future could include the actual planting of seeds and shrubs along pathways in a green space dedicated to peace, healing and contemplation. This project will inform the next steps for a mental health garden, as well as document the concerns, questions and recommended actions needed to support the mental health of everyone in our community.

Pop Up Art Renfrew County

Pembroke Youth Mural Project

Unveiling: September 21, 2019

The Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio created a mural mosaic.

Funded by the Ontario Arts Council, this mural project will contribute to the artistic legacy of Pembroke by creating a mosaic mural from the perspective of youth in Pembroke.

Megan Spencer lead a community engaged-process with three distinct phases: research/information gathering, design and feedback, and production.

Youth co-created the mural based on their own interests, themes, and aesthetics with the guidance and vision of the lead artist.

Contact: megan.spencer.artist@gmail.com


Countdown Public Art Project

pebblehandsOver 250 Renfrew County community members contributed to the creation of The Countdown Public Art Project: the first Canadian monument honouring survivors of sexual violence. This community-wide initiative aims to create public spaces for survivors to reconnect to community, and invites vital, but often private, conversations to more public platforms so that communities can heal from collective trauma, gain insight, and move towards a world free from sexual violence.

Workshops and gatherings were held in Eganville, Killaloe, Pembroke, and Pikwàkanagàn First Nation where community members, municipal bodies, local partners, and a team of artists had robust conversation, and generated more than 100 sketches. Lead Artist Anna Camilleri stewarded the progression of this raft of ideas into design, and community members came together to build the pebble mosaics.

Inspired by the long-time vision of the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County. The community-engaged arts initiative was developed and led by Red Dress Productions with collaborating partner Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio (OV-CAOS).

2018

Full Circle glassblowing withTanya Lyons and Ed Roman.

Art-full Making with Seniors, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Senior’s Affairs.

2017

Open Studio with Tanya

2016–17

Who’s Home? Collaboration with the Community Resource Centre (CRC) and OV-CAOS artists. Funded by The Ontario Arts Council.

2016

The Countdown to End Sexual Violence Monument Honouring Survivors of Sexual Violence, The Countdown to End Sexual Violence public art project led by Red Dress Productions in partnership with OV-CAOS.

My Flesh and Bones – Youth Theatre, written and performed by youth and OV-CAOS artist-facilitators, funded by Theatre Ontario.

The Dreamer, Mural project with the Yakka Youth Centre at the Salvation Army in Pembroke.

4 Lands of the Ottawa Valley, collaboration with Jumblies Theatre

2015

Salmagundi and The Train of Thought, community arts training for 15 local artists, multi-arts workshops run by ten local artists, and the welcoming of a group of travelling artists in the cross-Canada Train of Thought project via OV-CAOS, funded by the Ontario Arts Council.