Onsite Gallery

✨ All hands on deck at Onsite Gallery! ✨

This week, exhibition artists Rebecca Baird and Kenny Alvin Baird exhibition curator Lisa Deanne Smith guest curator Alysa Procida, exhibition art handlers, technicians, and the Onsite Gallery team are coming together behind the scenes to bring two new exhibitions to life:

🖼️ ‘Returning to Ourselves: Rebecca Baird and Kenny Alvin Baird – A Retrospective of Art and Design by Cree Métis Siblings’
🖼️ ‘Michael Massie: now and then’

From installation and technical work to exhibition preparation, it truly takes a team to bring these exhibitions together. We can’t wait to welcome you to the gallery and share what we’ve been working on!

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes glimpses and exhibition updates. 👀✨

Photography by Dina Karevan

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

We also acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada, Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario an agency of the Ontario Government and City of Toronto through Toronto Arts Council

Our installation team is back to help get ready for new exhibitions! 🖌 While the gallery is currently closed, we are so excited to welcome you back on Wednesday, September 2 with our upcoming exhibitions! 🎉

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

We also acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council an agency of the Ontario Government and City of Toronto through Toronto Arts Council.

Rosalie Favell's 'Belonging (1982-2024)' is having its Opening Celebration on Friday August 7th at Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery !

Curated by Ryan Rice ()
Organized and circulated by Onsite Gallery ()

'Belonging' is the first retrospective of renowned Red River Métis artist Rosalie Favell (), showcasing a powerful curated selection of her lens-based works from 1982 to 2024. This exhibition celebrates Favell’s groundbreaking photographic practice—from seminal series like Living Evidence and Plain(s) Warrior Artist to her expansive archive Facing the Camera—which invites us to bear witness and explore the complex themes of identity, empowerment, same-sex desire, community and the nuanced search for belonging through a lens that is both deeply personal and subtly subversive.

Favell has deployed photography as a critical practice to navigate complex identities, personal and collective, that focus on strategies of empowerment, the archive and family ties, nationhood and making visible, public and private, issues of sexuality. Amassing her works from across her creative journey from her ground-breaking series Living Evidence (1993) to the ongoing comprehensive archive Facing the Camera, we bear witness to Favell’s photographic explorations that emulate the complex longing desires to locate a sense of autonomy to belong amongst many.

Opening Celebration
Friday, 7 August
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
101 Queen St N, Kitchener, Ontario

This exhibition is presented with the support of KWAG's Women for Women's Art.

'Belonging (1982-2024)' is possible due to the support of the Canada Council for the Arts (.council), the Ontario Arts Council () (an agency of the Government of Ontario), Toronto Arts Council (), Terra Foundation for American Art (), and The Delaney Family.

Image: Rosalie Favell, My first day of assimulation, 1996 (remastered 2024), from the series from an early age. Image courtesy of the artist.

📢 Onsite Gallery will be closed from June 29 to September 2nd. We look forward to welcoming you back on September 2nd, where Onsite Gallery will re-open with two new exhibitions!

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Onsite Gallery for "Jel Suarez | a bouquet of flowers must be held" exhibition tour led by our amazing Programs + Outreach Assistant Kimberly Cortez 🌸✨

Together, we explored and were deeply inspired by the powerful and beautiful works of Jel Suarez, while Kimberly shared thoughtful insights and reflections throughout the exhibition tour 💐🎨💬

Haven’t had a chance to visit yet? There’s still time! ⏳ "Jel Suarez | a bouquet of flowers must be held" is on view until tomorrow. Don’t miss your final opportunity to experience this incredible exhibition! 🌷🌼

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family

Photography by Ingrid Llambi

🌸 TOMORROW! 🌸

Join us for an inspiring public tour of "Jel Suarez | a bouquet of flowers must be held" with our Young Canada Works Programs & Outreach Assistant, Kimblery Cortez! ✨

📅 Tomorrow
🕑 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
📍 Onsite Gallery

Register here: https://bit.ly/4vuvuRx

Come explore the exhibition, learn more about the artworks, and engage in a thoughtful conversation about the exhibition. We look forward to seeing you there! 🌷💐

Onsite Gallery generously supported by The Delaney Family

Photography by Ingrid Llambi

✨ Curator Spotlight: Ursula Handleigh and Meera Margaret Singh ✨

Guest Curated by Ursula Handleigh and Meera Margaret Singh, 'April Hickox | Vantage Point-Unfolding' is a continuation of April’s film Vantage Point - Passing. A document of her life lived on the Toronto Islands observing changes in the overlapping layers of human and natural histories, this film reflects April’s dedication to the climate crisis, environment, land stewardship, and our relationship to natural elements. For this version produced for ONSITE Gallery, April’s daughter, Alexa Hickox, created a video composition that reflects April’s desire for the future of the work.

The video screening complements the exterior mural April Hickox, Vantage Point-Passing on view through August 2026.

🌟 About the Curators

Ursula Handleigh is a Tkaronto Scarborough-born artist, curator, and educator of Filipino mixed-ancestry working within expanded photography, moving image and alternative processes of image making. Handleigh is currently an Assistant Professor at OCAD University.
https://www.ursulahandleigh.com

Meera Margaret Singh is a visual artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto. She has exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions throughout Canada and internationally. She is an Associate Professor and Chair of Photography, Printmaking & Publications at OCAD University.
https://www.meeramargaretsingh.com

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

We also acknowledge the support of an agency of the Government of Ontario and .

Image Credit: April Hickox, Vantage Point-Passing Series, n.d.

✨ This Summer, Onsite Gallery is featuring Pixel Heller as part of an Artist Spotlight! ✨

About the Artist:

Pixel Heller is a multidisciplinary artist and international performer. Her work explores Afro-Caribbean identity through performance and visual art. As the founder of Northern Jumbies, she brings the spirit of Moko Jumbie to life through stilt-dancing workshops, performances, and community engagement rooted in Caribbean and West Africa tradition. Heller is an OCAD University alumnus and is the recipient of the 2026 Che Kothari Artist & Instigator Award.

🌟 Come experience the feature at Onsite Gallery’s Exterior Street-Level (199 Richmond St W) — day or night through August 2026!

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

Image Credit: Onsite Gallery Artist Spotlight: Pixel Heller, Archiving the Evolution of Culture, 2024, digital photography. From the Wedge Collection of Dr Kenneth Montague, Toronto. Photographer: Tsemaye Tite. Onsite Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, 2026. Photo by Polina Teif.

Join us for an exhibition tour of 'Jel Suarez | a bouquet of flowers must be held'! 💐✨

📅 Wednesday, June 24
⏰ 2 PM – 3 PM EST
📍 Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond Street West)

The tour of 'a bouquet of flowers must be held' is led by Kimberly Cortez, Onsite Gallery’s Programs & Community Outreach Assistant!

Register here: https://bit.ly/4vuvuRx

Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.

We also acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council an agency of the Ontario Government and City of Toronto through Toronto Arts Council.