The gallery, which began with pop-up exhibitions in Vancouver in 2008, maintains an exhibition programme with a partially Canadian focus, with representing Canadian artists such Andy Dixon, Thrush Holmes, and Andrew Salgado. Led by Director Kurt Beers, who is himself Canadian, this historic milestone for the Canadian nation provides the first opportunity for the gallery to host an exhibition with exclusively Canadian artists.
The exhibition includes 12 artists (emerging, mid-career, and established), hailing from across the country, working across a breadth of styles, technical approaches, and mediums. Intentionally circumventing any overriding theme, Oh Canada! finds commonalities between these artists based solely on their heritage, raising questions as to whether there truly is some sort of collective, cultural consciousness or aesthetic tradition.
This is a celebration of Canadian contemporary art internationally: asking us to consider their varied approaches and styles while offering insight into larger concepts such as land, identity, culture, and politics.