Slumber Party installation detail. Photo: Rob Little

Slumber Party

On view until March 8, 2026
SPAO Centre, Ottawa

Slumber Party brings together photo-based works by nine Canadian female and gender-nonconforming artists. Leaning into whimsy, fantasy, and camp, the exhibition revels in the subversive power of girlhood aesthetics, often dismissed as trivial or unserious. These artists embrace performativity and play in their work, showing how gender identities are shaped, challenged, and continually remade.

This exhibition is presented as part of a larger collaboration between SPAO and Giant Tiger in celebration of International Women’s Day.

Featured artists:
Jessica Berger
Barbara Cole
Fausta Facciponte
Allison Morris
Bridget Moser
Linh VH Nguyen
Laurence Philomène
Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart
Katherine Takpannie

Learn more about Slumber Party.

Linh VH Nguyen, image courtesy of Giant Tiger

Buy a shirt and support the Canadian Women’s Foundation

The exhibition is accompanied by a limited-edition T-shirt featuring work by Linh VH Nguyen, available in select Giant Tiger stores and online. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, supporting critical programs for women and gender-diverse people across Canada.

Learn more about the partnership between Giant Tiger and the Canadian Women’s Foundation + purchase a shirt.

Submit a Gallery Proposal

The SPAO Photographic Arts Centre is home to the SPAO Centre Gallery, the Ottawa region’s only independent and critical gallery space dedicated to photographic and video art.

SPAO welcomes proposals for solo and group exhibitions, performances, and curatorial projects from emerging, mid-career, and established artists and curators. Applications from artists and curators of all backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized persons, and persons across a spectrum of sexual orientation and gender identity are welcome and encouraged to apply. Complete the submission form.

Applications are open for 2027-2028 programming
Deadline: May 1, 2026, 11:59pm ET

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For more information, please contact us:
SPAO.ca
613 562 3824
info@spao.ca

SPAO Photographic Arts Centre
77 Pamilla Street
Ottawa, ON K1S 3K7
Canada

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