Temporary exhibits
Tulip Legacy Exhibit
In May, learn more about the Tulip Story by visiting the Tulip Legacy Exhibit at Commissioners Park. You’ll find out about:
- Princess Juliana of the Netherlands’s stay in Ottawa,
- The birth of Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital,
- The role of Canadian soldiers in helping to liberate the Netherlands during the Second World War, and
- The Capital’s tulip tradition.
"he(art)work” – Pedestrian Tunnel Exhibit
In the fall of 2024, Canadian Heritage and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) partnered to present an exhibition featuring eight large-scale reproduction artworks, curated by Franchesca Hebert-Spence. The exhibition, “he(art)work”, showcases selected works from CIRNAC’s Indigenous Art Collection. You can admire these works in the West Pedestrian Tunnel near the Portage Bridge until September 2026.
We Are Seeds
We Are Seeds is an outdoor mural created in August 2021 by Claudia Gutierrez and presented by Canadian Heritage in collaboration with Zibi. Gutierrez, a Latin-Canadian artist, draws inspiration from the Mexican proverb: “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.” The mural responds to this time of crisis by celebrating the restorative power of perseverance and resilience. Two nurturing hands grasp a vase with foliage abundantly growing from its top and roots breaking free from its bottom. As we cautiously look forward to a time of reactivation and regeneration, the single falling leaf reminds us of the fragility that will always persist.
Claudia Gutierrez is an Ottawa-based artist who has specialized in painting and printmaking. More recently, she has pivoted to textile-based work to challenge the boundaries between art and craft. We Are Seeds was created with the assistance of Kiana Meness and Jose Palacios.
The mural is located at the intersection of Eddy Street and Alexandre-Taché Boulevard in Gatineau and will be on display for the next several years.