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Current and Upcoming Exhibitions
Symbols of Canada: The Paintings and Quilts of Ada Bruce Torrance
March 5 to May 3, 2008
Opening reception: Saturday, March 8, 1 to 3p.m.
Curator's Talk: Saturday, April 12, 1p.m. Free for members, regular museum
admission for non-members
 Born on August 28, 1903, Ada Mildred Bruce was raised on a farm in Dufferin County, in central Ontario. Determined to pursue a career as an artist, she attended Toronto’s Ontario College of Art from 1922 to 1926, where she received instruction from Frederick Varley, Arthur Lismer and JEH MacDonald - three Group of Seven members who all had a background in commercial design.
In the 1930s, the Northern Vocational School opened in Toronto and Torrance joined its art department. This allowed her to spend her summer holidays travelling and painting in Labrador, Gaspé, Cape Breton and Europe.
 Torrance took an active interest in the Canadian art scene and showed her cross-Canada landscapes in provincial exhibitions, meeting other artists and keeping abreast of current trends. In 1945, she moved to Orillia where she became an active member of Orillia’s art scene. A charter member of the Simcoe County Arts and Crafts Association, she adapted iconography from her painting background, and designed many quilts symbolic of Canadian environment and life. Quilts based on award-winning designs were used for exhibition at quilt fairs across the country.
Torrance died in 1982. This exhibition is a retrospective of her work in paint and design, and a celebration of the voice she gave to rural women through her designs in a period of realization of Canadian identity.
| Generously sponsored by |
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ArtsVest is a program run by Business for the Arts with funding provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Ministry of Culture and the Department of Canadian Heritage. |
For more on Ada Torrance, please click here:
http://theartofadatorrance.com |
Fourteenth Annual High School Student Exhibition
May 6 to 25, 2007
Opening reception: Thursday, May 8, 6:30 to 8:30p.m.
 Wherever there is a medium (be it pencil, paint, wire or clay), there will be creative people making art. The Orillia Student Show is always interesting, sometimes wacky and well worth a visit. As in the past, the student show deals with issues relevant to young artists. The works on display combine thought, youthful imagination, creativity and skill in an exuberant exhibition of various styles and media. |
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