Current Exhibitions

Curator: Danielle Hoevenaars

Great Small Things: 60 Years of Collecting explores the history of WAG’s Permanent Collection through curator- and community-selected works.

The Woodstock Art Gallery (WAG) was conceived of by the Oxford County Art Association as a centennial project in 1966. The Gallery began collecting artwork that same year, and over the decades has built a Collection that aims tell our shared story: one of local art, culture, history and creativity. Today, the WAG cares for Oxford County’s largest municipal public art collection of more than 1900 artworks. On their own, each artwork just one piece and one moment in time, but together the Collection forms a treasure trove of small but mighty things that chronical the history of art and visual culture in our region. The Permanent Collection connects us to the past, invites us to explore the contemporary and builds intergenerational connections. It reflects the people and stories that shape who we are – yesterday, today and tomorrow.

As part of this exhibition visitors can explore WAG’s past exhibition catalogues and publications in the Reading Nook, sponsored by Commonplace Books.

Curator: Danielle Hoevenaars

Canadian artist Florence Carlyle (1864-1923) moved to Woodstock, Ontario at the age of seven with her family. Carlyle lived in the city until 1890, when she travelled to Paris, France to study art. Carlyle returned periodically to Woodstock throughout her adult life, while also living in France, England and the United States. In 1913, she moved permanently to Crowborough, England, where she lived until her death in 1923.

This exhibition explores what Florence’s everyday life in Woodstock would have been like, in the late 19th and early 20th century. The works in this exhibition explore topics including Carlyle’s home and family, popular hobbies, and Woodstock’s Tuesday and Saturday Reading Clubs.

In November 2025, BIRD SET FREE, by Duane and Urszula Kumala-Thomas, was installed in the Bruce Flowers Sculpture Garden. This new public art project was the result of a Legacy Grant from the Government of Canada, a jury selection process through the Public Art Committee and community consultation. This work holds significance for the Woodstock community as it commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Woodstock artist Florence Carlyle. The title, BIRD SET FREE, is derived from Carlyle’s nickname, “Bird.” This exhibition displays photographs of the process of constructing BIRD SET FREE.

The Woodstock Art Gallery’s new Public Art Brochure provides the community with the means to successfully connect with the City’s public art. The brochure offers quick insights into each public artwork in Woodstock and includes a map of the locations. Copies are available at the Gallery.

Curator: Taqralik Partridge

Focusing primarily on Pitsiulak’s vivid large-scale drawings on black paper, this exhibition is accompanied by introductory text in English, French, and Inuktitut syllabics.

The exhibition draws from private collections as well as that of the Art Gallery of Guelph, providing a comprehensive view of Pitsiulak's distinctive artistic practice and imagination. The exhibition highlights the distinct way of seeing that underpins Pitsiulak's work – perception honed on the land as both a hunter and an artist. For Pitsiulak, these pursuits were intricately intertwined, both stemming from his practice of "long looking." In Inuktitut, tautuppaa means to see or to look for a long time. Integral to Pitsiulak's practice, ideas of perception, attention, and duration are reflected in the precise balance of detail and distance in his work.

Curated by Taqralik Partridge and organized by the Art Gallery of Guelph with the generous support of lenders and the Department of Canadian Heritage. 

Curator: Braden Gruber

For countless generations Inuit artists have been creating artworks inspired by the land around them. The unique material culture that developed in the far north led Inuit artists to create with what was available to them; antler, bone, ivory, soapstone, and hide. Arctic Abundance: How Environment Shapes Creativity explores the connection between materials and artistic production by exhibiting raw materials with the finished artworks made from them.

The artwork and raw materials in this exhibition were graciously donated by Woodstock, ON, collectors, Ross and Fran McElroy. Visitors are encouraged to engage with the interactive sensory display of raw materials and tools which are drawn from the Woodstock Art Gallery’s Education Collection.