To showcase and support visual arts organizations in Ottawa.

The Ottawa Art Society encourages a sense of curiosity in the visual arts and, from 2017-2023, we organized a series featuring tours of public and private art collections, public and private architectural spaces, and tours of artists’ studios. The revenue generated from these tours, from private donations, and from our fundraising activities allowed us to provide an educational program for our Members, build our Endowment Fund, and award an annual grant to a visual organization in Ottawa.

Each year, the Ottawa Art Society awards a grant of $2,500 to a visual arts organization in Ottawa. Grants have been awarded to the Ottawa Art Gallery Expansion Fund (2016); the Carleton University Art Gallery (2017); the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO) (2018); the Ottawa Arts Council in support of the Project X: Photography Award (2019); SAW Nordic Lab (2020); the Ottawa School of Art Bursary Program (2021); PAL Ottawa’s PAL Place (2022); Studio Space Ottawa (2023); Art School Confidential, Celebrating 50 years of the Department of Visual Arts, University of Ottawa curated by Penny Cousineau-Levine (2024); and the Portrait Gallery of Canada (2024). For more information, click here.