Winter 2026 Exhibitions at the MacLaren Art Centre

On Thursday, December 4, 6:30 – 9:00pm, the MacLaren Art Centre unveils its winter season of exhibitions. All are welcome. Remarks begin at 7:00pm. Admission is free, registration encouraged.

Image, far left: R.O.I Olou, All right, handmade paper pulp painting with abaca, flax, and hemp fibres, luster pigments, 12″ x 15″. Courtesy of the artist; Central images, clockwise from left: Judy Anderson, As she walked down the hallway, she unintentionally…Indigenized, 2023, traditionally tanned moose hide, copper jingles, steel hoops, sound, 5′ x 7′. Courtesy of the artist; Christina Battle, still from seeds are meant to disperse, 2015–ongoing, video, sound, photographs on paper. Courtesy of the artist; Naomi Okabe and Emily Pelstring, still from PSYCHOTERRA, 2025, short film, 6 minutes. Courtesy of the artists; Image, far right: Robert Game, Sky Screen #14, 1985, etching, screenprint, and lithography, 24/25, 20″ x 14.75″. Collection of the MacLaren Art Centre.

R.O.I Olou
every connected fibre, a theory of everything

Until March 1, 2026
Janice Laking Gallery
Curated by Tyler Durbano

R.O.I Olou’s practice spans drawing, painting, animation, and pulp painting, with each medium influencing and supporting the others within a broader, interdependent system. Guided by a personally adapted understanding of Systems Theory, Olou draws connections between daily life in Toronto, pop culture, teaching, and studio work, allowing material behavior to shape outcomes. In every connected fibre, a theory of everything, the artist presents recent works that reflect this circulation of influence, showing a practice defined by accumulation, exchange, and continual overlap.

Toward Emergent Futures
Judy Anderson, Christina Battle, Naomi Okabe and Emily Pelstring

Until March 1, 2026
Gallery 3
Curated by Tyler Durbano

Toward Emergent Futures brings together work by four artists who consider the future from distinct vantage points, approaching it as a space shaped by the patterns of the present. Their practices respond to a moment marked by global instability, climate disruption, and widening social inequities, conditions that often obscure a clear sense of promise for tomorrow.

Judy Anderson uses copper jingles and moose hide to reflect on how tradition can be carried forward even as it evolves, and centres on the transformative potential of Indigenous presence within institutional spaces. Christina Battle’s projects are rooted in the present and recent past, looking toward the not-so-distant future. She considers how saving seeds can reshape systems of exchange and ecological wellbeing, and creates animated GIFs to reflect on how news cycles frame and reframe our understanding of what lies ahead. Collaborators Naomi Okabe and Emily Pelstring project into the distant future, casting themselves as “Technomystics” in a post-collapse era research lab, where ecological grief is translated into data and preserved for later processing. Across the exhibition, their works acknowledge the gravity of current realities while also proposing that the future remains open to revision, shaped by practices that support communities and invite speculation about what could be.

Robert Game
Sky Screen

Until February 15, 2026
Carnegie Room
Curated by Yasmeen Kazak

Sky Screen includes lithographs and etchings by Toronto artist Robert Game, selected from the MacLaren’s collection. Created in the 1970s and ’80s, his prints project a vision of the future where nature and technology have co-evolved. Part reality, part invention, these works envision the boundary between the organic and mechanical is constantly shifting.

Janet Jones
Dazzle Days

Until February 22, 2026
Joan Lehman Gallery
Curated by Alex McIntyre

Janet Jones (1952-2025) explored the urban world through abstractions shaped by surveillance, glowing technologies, and the flow of invisible information. The five paintings in Dazzle Days, from the MacLaren’s Permanent Collection, are installed like stacked skyscraper windows, reflecting a world reshaped by technology.

The Seed Project

Until February 15, 2026
Molson Community Gallery

Gardens are made in winter, a time to reflect, plan, and envision the growth of spring. This exhibition presents photographs from Growing Art: SEEDS, a community workshop where participants learned about regional native plants. Engaging with the aesthetic and botanical qualities of these seeds, they prepared them for spring and created ephemeral artworks captured through photography. Special thanks to Ashley Hammel / Pollinate Barrie.

About the MacLaren Art Centre

The MacLaren Art Centre is the major public art gallery in Central Ontario serving the residents of Barrie, the County of Simcoe, and surrounding area. The Gallery has a significant permanent collection of contemporary Canadian art and presents a year-round programme of exhibitions, education activities, and special events.

The MacLaren is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabek, which include the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Pottawatomi Nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. The local bands consist of the Chippewa Tri-Council, who are made up of Beausoleil First Nation, Georgina Island First Nation, and Rama First Nation. We would also like to acknowledge the Wendat Nation (Huron) who occupied these lands prior to the middle of the 17th century.

As a registered charity, the MacLaren relies on public and private support for its operations and programs. The MacLaren gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of its Members, Patrons, Donors, Sponsors, Partners, the City of Barrie, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Canadian Heritage.

MacLaren Art Centre
37 Mulcaster Street
Barrie, ON, L4M 3M2
T: 705-721-9696
www.maclarenart.com

Gallery Hours
Mon: Closed
Tue, Wed, Fri–Sun: 10am – 4pm
Thu: 10am – 8pm
Wheelchair accessible