Sharing the Passion: 70 Years of Building the Collection

70th Anniversary at Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

KWAG is thrilled to announce its compelling line-up of artists for its monumental 70th anniversary celebration. The Gallery presents Sharing the Passion: 70 Years of Building the Collection, a historical survey examining significant works from KWAG’s Permanent Collection.

Kent Monkman, Kiss the Sky (2010). Acrylic on canvas, 151.1 x 120.6 cm. Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Permanent Collection: Gift of the Artist in honour of Shirley Madill, 2012. Photo by Robert McNair.

Sharing the Passion: 70 Years of Building the Collection

March 14 – July 19, 2026

Adad Hannah | Alex Colville | Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson | Billy Gauthier | Claude Tousignant | Cornelius Krieghoff | David Hockney | Deanna Bowen | Dondi White | Doug Kirton | Edward Burtynsky | Elizabeth Eastman | Frederick Horsman Varley | Gabriel Cohen | Imogen Cunningham | Isabelle Hayeur | Jack Bush | Jamelie Hassan | James Edward Hervey (J.E.H.) MacDonald | Jane Buyers | Jean McEwen | Jean-Paul Riopelle | Joseph Albers | Joseph Tisiga | Joyce Wieland | Ken Danby | Kenojuak Ashevak | Kent Monkman | Lawren Harris | Lois Andison | Louis Marius Amorim Ferreira de Moraes | Lynne Cohen | Marc Chagall | Marcel Barbeau | Maurice Cullen | Meryl McMaster | Michael Snow | Michael Thompson | Monica Tap | Norval Morriseau | Pablo Picasso | Pardiss Amerian | Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Rita Letendre | Salvador Dali | Scott Conarroe | Shary Boyle | Sophia Mazaraki Kalogeropoulou | Tom Thomson | Tony Urquhart | Tristram Lansdowne | Victor Vasarely | Yvarel

Organized by KWAG Curatorial Department

Since 1956, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery has grown from a small volunteer organization in a bicycle shed beside KW Collegiate to Waterloo Region’s largest public art gallery and a major force in Canadian art. Walk through the decades of KWAG history in this anniversary exhibition, as we shine a light on the significant stories and relationships that have made the Gallery what it is today, as told through the Permanent Collection and the people who made it all possible.

Lois Andison, threading water, 2014. Digital video, 11:52 mins. Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Permanent Collection: gift of the artist, 2019.

Related Programs:

Opening Celebration
Friday, March 13
VIP and Member’s Preview, 6:00 – 7:00pm
Open to the public, 7:00 – 10:00pm
Free | Live music

Sharing the Passion
Panel Discussion with Aaron Milrad, Carolyn Veseley, Ihor Holubizky, and Jamelie Hassan
Saturday, March 28, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Free

Collecting art is vital to art museums. As a foundation for the mission, collections are more than objects. Comprised of four leaders in the art world and moderated by Darryn Doull, Curator: Exhibitions and Programs at KWAG, this panel comes together to share their passion for art collecting, both personally and institutionally, and to discuss why donating artworks to art museums in perpetuity is critically important.

Through the Registrar’s Eyes
A special tour with Jennifer Bullock, KWAG Registrar + Assistant Curator
Thursday, April 23, 7:00pm | RSVP here
Sunday, May 31, 2:00pm | RSVP here
Free, RSVP Required (note: both tours are the same)

KWAG is excited to announce a one-of-a-kind tour looking at Sharing the Passion: 70 Years of Building the Collection with Jennifer Bullock, Registrar and Assistant Curator. Drawing on her extensive background safeguarding the Permanent Collection for over 13 years, Bullock brings intimate knowledge of the artworks that define this anniversary exhibition.

Edward Burtynsky, Nickel Tailings #39, Sudbury, Ontario (1996). Chromogenic print on Kodak Professional paper, 101.7 x 152.4 cm. Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Permanent Collection: Gift of the Artist, 2000. Photo: © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto.

Land Acknowledgment

The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Block 2 on the Haldimand Tract: land promised to Six Nations, which includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River. This is the traditional home of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee Peoples, whose resilience we honor by offering this Gallery as a space to reflect and learn from one another. We are committed to reconciliation and ensuring that our Gallery’s programs and Permanent Collection demonstrate more diverse, culturally relevant Canadian art and artists.

About Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

As Waterloo Region’s leading public art gallery, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (KWAG) connects people and ideas through art. Its nationally acclaimed exhibitions and programs welcome all to be inspired and challenged through a deepened understanding of ourselves, our cultures, and our communities. It offers dynamic public programs that inspire creativity and an appreciation of the visual arts in the Region and beyond. Admission is free.

Accessibility: KWAG is fully accessible

Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery
101 Queen Street North
Kitchener, ON N2H 6P7
www.kwag.ca

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