National Engagement
Providing Canadians with access to art in their own communities
By exploring community-identified needs and how the NGC can be of greater service, this initiative strives to increase the visibility and accessibility of art throughout the country’s provinces and territories.
In addition to established means of sharing the collection of the National Gallery of Canada — whether it be through multiple travelling exhibitions, digital programs, or the successful Loans Program — National Engagement is aimed at developing unparalleled new collaborations, including commissions, long-term loans, and co-stewardships. Following extensive dialogue between community members and Gallery staff, opportunities are being developed to connect people with art that reflects and amplifies their own stories, voices and experiences.
National Engagement is designed to build meaningful new regional relationships, while also expanding cultural engagement from coast to coast to coast. The multi-year initiative focuses on highlighting both Canadian and international artists, and will include one large-scale commission per year.
The National Gallery of Canada’s National Engagement initiative is generously supported by Michael Nesbitt, with additional funding from the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.
Photo: Maximilan Geuter, 2022
Joan Jonas: We Come from the Sea
Step into the world of internationally acclaimed artist Joan Jonas in We come from the sea, a powerful and immersive multisensory exhibition featuring her installation Moving Off the Land II.
In the exhibition, Jonas — a central figure in video and performance art — pays homage to the beauty, biodiversity, and vulnerability of oceans.
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, The Ship of Tolerance in Kunsthaus Zug, 2016. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Daniel Hegglin © Ilya & Emilia Kabakov Foundation
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and The Ship of Tolerance
The Ship of Tolerance, spearheaded by artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, is a nomadic art project that seeks to connect different communities through an act of collaborative creation.
For each presentation, a large wooden ship is built locally, using plans drawn up by Ilya Kabakov that are adapted to the specific context. The ship is then launched with a series of performances by local youth, creating a celebration for participants including children, supporters, friends, local community leaders and the general public.
Sharon Lockhart, still from WINDWARD (detail), 2025. 4K video (color/sound), installation: 65 min., continuous loop, cinema: 70 min, edition of 4 + 2 ap. © Sharon Lockhart, 2025. Co-commissioned and co-produced by Shorefast/Fogo Island Arts, The Vega Foundation, and the National Gallery of Canada, with the support of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Sharon Lockhart and WINDWARD
First presented by Fogo Island Arts and now on view at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff until January 7, 2026, WINDWARD (2025) is a new film installation by Sharon Lockhart.
WINDWARD builds upon core themes that have defined Lockhart’s career: an exploration of place and how people engage with landscapes, a durational approach to attention and focus through extended static takes, and a deep, long-term commitment to those who appear before her lens.
Ai Weiwei, Forever Bicycles, 2014. 1254 Bicycles. Stainless steel, 728.6 × 1603.8 × 397.9 cm. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo: David Lipnowski, 2021. © Ai Weiwei. Courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio
Ai Weiwei and Forever Bicycles
Ai’s artworks are often ambitious in both scale and scope and engage directly with contemporary geopolitics: from global issues of human rights violations to the realities of exile and dislocation, to government corruption and the abuses of power.
Forever Bicycles, a monumental archway, is reminiscent of the traditional Chinese paifang or commemorative gate found in Chinatowns around the world.
© Liam Gillick
Liam Gillick and A Variability Quantifier
Launched on October 3, 2022 on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, A Variability Quantifier is an art installation incorporating an operational weather station.
Nicknamed “The Fogo Island Red Weather Station,” the work is part of the World Weather Network, an array of weather stations conceived by artists and writers around the world.
Lacey Prize
Established in 2019, the Lacey Prize recognizes the activities and impact of small organizations and artist-run spaces in Canada – in particular their contributions to emerging and experimental practices, and the role they play within their local communities.