Explore ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey at Royal Botanical Gardens

Image courtesy of Royal Botanical Gardens

ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey

On view until September 20, 2026 | 10am – 5pm (final admission: 4pm)
Hendrie Park, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington
Get Tickets | All Ages

Internationally recognized contemporary sculptor Ken Kelleher presents the Canadian premiere of ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey, an immersive outdoor exhibition that transforms Royal Botanical Gardens into a sculptural landscape where contemporary art and nature intersect.

Working under the creative moniker Anchorball, Kelleher’s practice explores fictional world-building through monumental public art. His latest exhibition features eighteen large-scale sculptures, reaching up to twelve feet tall, installed throughout Hendrie Park. Together, the sculptures form Low Orbit City, an evolving fictional universe inhabited by surreal, vividly coloured characters that blur the boundaries between botanical forms, architecture, mythology, and contemporary sculpture.

Image courtesy of Royal Botanical Gardens

Kelleher’s practice explores the intersection of monumental public sculpture, fictional world-building, and site-responsive installation. His works invite viewers to move beyond passive observation, encouraging curiosity, exploration, and personal interpretation as they encounter each sculpture within the landscape. Installed within one of Canada’s most celebrated botanical gardens, the exhibition creates an ongoing dialogue between sculpture and nature, where seasonal blooms, mature trees, and carefully composed vistas become integral to the experience. Rather than simply occupying the garden, the sculptures respond to and amplify their surroundings, inviting visitors to experience both art and landscape through a new imaginative lens.

Throughout the exhibition, recurring figures from the Anchorball universe appear alongside botanical-inspired forms, each contributing to a larger narrative while standing as a distinct sculptural work. The result is an exhibition that functions simultaneously as a contemporary sculpture trail and an immersive fictional landscape.

Image courtesy of Royal Botanical Gardens

Extending beyond the physical installations, ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey also incorporates an augmented reality layer that reveals hidden digital characters known as the Cloudwalkers. Accessible through visitors’ mobile devices, these site-specific interventions expand the exhibition beyond the visible landscape, merging contemporary sculpture, digital technology, and environmental storytelling through moments of unexpected discovery.

“This is my first exhibition in Canada and one of the largest I’ve presented to date,” says Kelleher. “To install it at Royal Botanical Gardens is a unique opportunity, the characters feel like they belong here. They’ve arrived for the summer, and it’s something you need to experience in person.”

On now through September 20, 2026, ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey offers a rare opportunity to experience Kelleher’s largest Canadian exhibition to date, bringing together monumental contemporary sculpture, imaginative world-building, and one of Ontario’s most significant cultural landscapes.

Ticket Prices: General Tickets: Non-Members $19.50 – $24.50 (Prices subject to HST and online service fee). Members: Free access.

Canada Strong Pass: With Canada Strong Pass, children 17 and under receive free daytime Garden Admission, and young adults ages 18–24 enjoy 50% off until September 7.

Related Programming

RBG After Dark Events: ANCHORBALL (19+)
August 8, August 22 & September 5, 2026 | 6:30 – 10:30pm (final entry: 9pm)
Hendrie Park Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, ON
Get After Dark Tickets

RBG After Dark transforms ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey into a vibrant evening experience for adults. Explore the gardens after hours surrounded by 18 large-scale pop art sculptures, illuminated pathways, live entertainment, food, drinks, and interactive experiences throughout the night.

Gather with friends, enjoy a summer night in the gardens, and experience a unique fusion of art, music, nightlife, and exploration.

This is a 19+ event; for an all-ages experience purchase daytime admission tickets during standard opening hours.

About Ken Kelleher

Anchorball is the creative practice of contemporary sculptor Ken Kelleher, whose work explores the intersection of monumental sculpture, character design, and narrative world-building. Known for bold colour, exaggerated form, and emotionally expressive characters, Kelleher creates sculptural environments that merge imagination with contemporary visual culture. His work spans monumental public installations, studio editions, paintings, and collectible art objects. Across these mediums, his practice forms part of an expanding mythological landscape populated by characters from evolving worlds such as ANCHORBALL: A Curious Art Journey, a narrative universe where humor, curiosity, memory, and imagination converge through sculpture. Learn more at kenkelleher.com

About Royal Botanical Gardens

Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG), proudly celebrating its 85th anniversary in 2026, is the not-for-profit caretaker of 2193 acres of land and ecosystems surrounded by Canada’s largest urban environment. RBG is an educator and experience creator delivering cultural, artistic, and culinary experiences throughout its diverse network of gardens and natural spaces.

For more information about Royal Botanical Gardens, please visit rbg.ca