$1.5 Million Donation Bolsters Ottawa Art Gallery Expansion

The Ottawa Art Gallery is celebrating its largest private donation to its Art Now-L’art ici Capital Campaign. On Tuesday night, John and Jennifer Ruddy announced they are donating $1.5 million from their Trinity Development Foundation. The money will go towards the OAG’s new gallery, which will be located at 50 Mackenzie King Bridge and is scheduled to open in Fall 2017.

“We are happy to support the Ottawa Art Gallery Expansion, for what will be a game changing building for our community,” said John Ruddy, Executive Chairman of Trinity Development Group. “We believe that the arts are an important aspect of any thriving community and we are proud to have a hand in helping to keep the Ottawa Art Gallery active and vibrant for years to come.”

The exterior of the OAG Expansion will be named the John Ruddy Cube. The new OAG is currently under construction just next door to its present location. With the new addition, the gallery will expand to more than 80 000 square feet. It will house a 250 seat multipurpose and multidisciplinary screening space that will be home to the Canadian Film Institute. In addition, there will be a changing exhibition gallery, a permanent collection gallery, a studio for workshops, a café, a gallery shop for visitors, and a new dedicated gallery space for the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art.

The expansion will also include a private sector mixed use residential complex and a boutique hotel.

To date, $5.1 million has been raised by the Capital Campaign committee for the OAG expansion. The donations will fund both the expansion construction costs as well as future OAG programming and exhibitions.