By Robin Etherington
I have worked for many a year in the cultural and heritage field. Most recently, for over 10 years I served as Executive Director of the Bytown Museum. The Bytown Museum is Ottawa’s oldest community museum and one of the oldest museums in Canada. It celebrates 106 years of serving Ottawa in 2023. By extension, I attend exhibition and gallery openings, festivals, theatre and cultural events especially in Lowertown, the ByWard Market and Centretown.
I am also a big walker and therefore I thought that I would itemize the cultural resources within my walking range that all residents of Lowertown would have ready access to and enjoy. Here goes:
Art galleries
National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive https://www.gallery.ca/
Ottawa Art Gallery, 50 Mackenzie King Bridge https://oaggao.ca/ Excellent art exhibitions, great gift shop and free admission.
The Saw Gallery, located in Arts Court on Nicholas Street from the Old City Registry office. https://www.gpsmycity.com/attractions/saw-gallery-11548.html
Arts Court Ottawa, 2 Daly Avenue (former courthouse) https://artscourt.ca/
Ottawa School of Art, 35 George Street J.W. Stellick Gallery with excellent exhibitions throughout the year; children & adult art classes. https://artottawa.ca/
The Alpha and Omega Gallery, 101 Murray Street https://www.alphaandomegagallery.com/
Gallery 55, Market Building, 2nd Floor, 55 Byward Market Square https://ottawamarkets.ca/gallery55 Note: organizations, Embassies, artists and heritage workers can mount their own displays/exhibitions
Galerie D’art Jean-Claude-Bergeron, 150 St. Patrick Street https://www.galeriejeanclaudebergeron.ca/expositions/
Galerie St-Laurent + Hill, 293 Dalhousie Street http://www.galeriestlaurentplushill.com/
Art + galerie, 531 Sussex Drive, former Geological Survey of Canada Building https://artplusgalerie.com/
Gordon Harrison Canadian Landscape Gallery, 465 Sussex Drive http://gordonharrisongallery.com/
Musée Bytown Museum, 1 Canal Lane https://bytownmuseum.com/
Theatre/cinema
Ottawa Little Theatre, 400 King Edward Avenue, founded in 1913, this remarkable community theatre provides us with stellar performances https://www.ottawalittletheatre.com/
La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins, 333 King Edward Avenue, French theatre https://www.nouvellescene.com/en/
Théâtre de la Vieille 17, 133 Dalhousie Street https://vieille17.ca/
The National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin Street https://nac-cna.ca/en/
Bytowne Cinema, 325 Rideau Street, a repertoire theatre which is available for private events. https://www.bytowne.ca/
Worth visiting
Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive, residence of the Governor-General, Free admission/tours, https://www.gg.ca/en/visit-us/rideau-hall
The Royal Mint, 320 Sussex Drive, Admission Charge https://www.royalmint.com/
Parliament of Canada Free guided tours at: The Senate of Canada, 2 Rideau Street, former Conference Centre and Union Station https://sencanada.ca/en; The House of Commons, West Block, Parliament Hill https://www.ourcommons.ca/en
What’s Happening February-April 2023
City Hall Galleries, Cat Attack Collective-Walk in the Park, Feb. 23-May 12, 2023; Thresholds- Sam Loewen, Christos Pantieras & Carl Stewart, until April 14, 2023
National Art Gallery, Paul P. – Amor et Mors, Feb. 10 – June 11, 2023; Beautiful & Useful -The Douglas Schoenherr Donation of Books, until June 18, 2023; Winter at the Gallery Programming until March 19th
Ottawa Art Gallery, Dark Ice Exhibition until March 5, 2023; Permanent Exhibition, Firestone Collection of Canadian Art
Ottawa Little Theatre, Sense & Sensibility, March 1-18, 2023; Halfway There, April 5-22, 2023
La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins, Confession Publique (16 ans et plus), 16-18 mars
Winterlude 2023 February 2 -20, 2023. Ice Sculptures are on Sparks Mall, Other events in the ByWard Market
Useful guides to events
Check Ottawa Markets and ByWard Market BIA’s websites for events and cultural activities throughout the year. https://ottawamarkets.ca/byward-market and https://www.byward-market.com/
Check Ottawa Festivals D’Ottawa website for festivals all year around. https://www.ottawafestivals.ca/
Check Department of Canadian Heritage website for activities such as Winterlude https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude.html
Robin Etherington is Principal, Etherington Consulting