Sarah Anderson, Let There Be Love, 2024, acrylic and photo transfer on wood panel, 51 x 51 cm, courtesy of the artist and Sivarulrasa Gallery
On this page
44.4 Mother/Artist Collective – Don’t Worry, I’ll Only Show You the Good Parts
March 13 to June 1, 2025
Opening: Thursday, April 17, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Joint opening with Sébastien Gaudette at Karsh-Masson Gallery.
Access is limited to the Laurier Avenue after-hours entrance.
Artists’ tour: Sunday, June 1, 2 pm
Presented in English.
Jennifer Cherniack, Every Life is a Universe, 2023, cardstock and ink, variable dimensions, courtesy of the artist
Rebecca Clouâtre, Endless List, 2023, mat board, hand cut paper, ink and found images in glass bell jar, 25 x 14 x 14 cm, courtesy of the artist
Sarah Jane Estabrooks, Ring My Bell I 1 (detail), 2024, thread, cotton, felt and metal, 109 x 17 cm, courtesy of the artist
Greta Grip, That Is My Mommy (Lillian, Vera, Donna, me, Iseult), 2024, yarn and canvas, 102 x 76 cm, courtesy of the artist
Sayward Johnson, Rupture, 2021, handknitted copper wire and bullets, 61 x 203 cm, courtesy of the artist
Alexa Mazzarello, C-Section Self-Portrait, 2024, inkjet print on organza, thread and plywood, 81 x 118 cm, courtesy of the artist
Karen Miller, 187 School Lunches, 2022, wool and acrylic yarns on rug warp, 89 x 70 cm, courtesy of the artist
Andrea Mueller, Knead Nuance (detail), 2024, aluminum and powder coating, 366 x 8 cm, courtesy of the artist
Kristine Nyborg, Perfect Bound, 2021, archival inkjet print, 42 x 60 cm, courtesy of the artist
Lucie Raymond, Through our eyes (detail), 2024, coloured pencil, drafting film and wood, 112 x 168 x 152 cm, courtesy of the artist
Victoria Solan, Souvenir, 2024, hand embroidered cloth and metal, variable dimensions (each button: 2 cm diameter), courtesy of the artist
Exhibition documentation images(link is external)
Exhibition booklet [ PDF – 2.8 MB ] Opens in a new tab or window(link is external)
Don’t Worry, I’ll Only Show You the Good Parts delves into the intricate conversations surrounding the multifaceted realities, ambitions and challenges faced by a local group of Mothers/Artists. In this exhibition, the 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective invites us into an intimate tension within their daily lives: art-making and caregiving. Through their work, Mothers/Artists of the 44.4 Collective are piecing together time, space, resources and cognitive labour to create art, while at the same time fulfilling the repetitive, cyclical and often mundane caregiving tasks that weave through the lives of their children, families and their communities.
- Excerpt by Helin Burkay
The twelve contributors to this exhibition are: Sarah Anderson, Jennifer Cherniack, Rebecca Clouâtre, Sarah Jane Estabrooks, Greta Grip, Sayward Johnson, Alexa Mazzarello, Karen Miller, Andrea Mueller, Kristine Nyborg, Lucie Raymond and Victoria Solan.
Biography
The 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective(link is external), founded in 2019, is a growing group of women artists working on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Positioned at the intersection of motherhood and art, the collective shares knowledge, encourages creative self-actualisation, empowers professional advancement, and advocates for representation and support for mothers and caregivers in the arts. Members are drawn from different types of training, lived experiences, modes of making a living and artistic expressions. Members of the group have come together around the specific challenges of combining artistic practice with the gendered and very real performance of motherhood. 44.4 creates special projects that address the lack of visibility of mothers in the arts.
At the time of this exhibition, they are raising 24 children between the ages of one and twenty-two years.
Sayward Johnson gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts(link is external).
Alexa Mazzarello gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa.
Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman – Memories We Carry, Stories We Heal
June 12 to September 7, 2025
Opening: Thursday, June 12, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Access is limited to the Laurier Avenue after-hours entrance.
Artist tour: Sunday, July 20, 3 pm
Presented in English.
Preceded by Sébastien Gaudette's 2 pm tour at Karsh-Masson Gallery.
Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman, Protection for the Sleeper and the Departed, 2024, oil on blanket, plaster gauze, fleece, latex, paper, digital print on fleece, pillow, found fabrics, Webkinz toy, rhinestones, yarn, brooch, glow in the dark stars, staples and metallic thread, 208 x 196 x 18 cm, courtesy of the artist
Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman, You Got Me Smiling in My Dreams, My Little Pony, 2024, oil on aqua resin with fibreglass, hydrocal, insulation foam, plaster gauze, inflatable horse, rhinestones, synthetic hair and hair, 104 x 97 x 64 cm, courtesy of the artist
In this exhibition, Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman explores the complexities of memory and nostalgia in her everlasting search for a connection to her parent’s homelands, Somalia and India—a longing for home that can bring grief and joy. Delving into these contrasting emotions, Abdourahman’s work moves between themes of haunting and healing, evoking the bittersweet. Her yearning is woven into the fabric of multimedia-painted blankets and installations which allude to both nightmares and childhood innocence. […] By illustrating moments of joy, humour and empathetic care for her younger self, Abdourahman searches for intergenerational healing for herself and for displaced communities.
- Excerpt by Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman
Biography
Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman(link is external) is a graduate of Concordia University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (2020). She has been awarded the Salt Spring National Art Prize Joan McConnel Award (2023–2024) and is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council (2023). She was a finalist for the Emerging IBPOC Artist Award (2023). She has previously exhibited at Wassaic Project (2024), FOFA Gallery (2024), Le Livart (2023), Digital Arts Resource Centre (2022), Gallery 101 (2022) and the Ottawa Art Gallery (2021). She has also led creative workshops with the Ottawa Art Gallery, Somerset West Community Health Centre and the Ottawa Catholic School Board (2021–2023). Her work is held in various private collections, including the City of Ottawa Art Collection and the Art Volt Collection.
Natasha Mazurka – Space Created by Distance
September 18 to November 30, 2025
Closing reception: Thursday, November 13, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Access is limited to the Laurier Avenue after-hours entrance.
Natasha Mazurka, Compression and Release (installation detail), 2024, latex paint, birch panel, oil, acrylic and ink, 91 x 91 cm, courtesy of the artist
This exhibition focuses on pattern systems and the potential of visual design to communicate and order information. Forms and recurring sequences are generated from the manipulation of patterns adapted from various disciplines, including natural science, interior design, psychology, and data visualization. Throughout the exhibition, architecture, artifacts, and paintings are synthesized to suggest a collapsing of material boundaries and disciplinary categories.
City of Ottawa Art Collection – 2025 Additions
December 11, 2025 to March 1, 2026
Rising Tide: 2023 Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection (installation view), photo: David Barbour
The City of Ottawa Art Collection is comprised of more than 3,500 artworks produced by over 950 artists. This exhibition features a selection of artworks added to the City's Art Collection in 2025 through purchase and commission. Artworks from the Collection are on display in over 180 municipal buildings and spaces across the city.
2024-25 Exhibitions Peer assessment committee members
Gabriela Avila-Yiptong, Claudia Gutierrez, Carl Stewart