Onsite Gallery presents a captivating new digital mural on Nuit Blanche

Cover image: Fresh Pop (study) (2023) by Tarralik Duffy, alongside a headshot of the artist.

OCAD University’s flagship professional art gallery, Onsite Gallery, will present a new digital mural on its exterior façade from Sept. 23 to Dec. 15.

The public is invited to visit the gallery and see Fresh Pop by Tarralik Duffy starting on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m., aligning with Nuit Blanche.

As the sun sets and the stars light up the night sky, Duffy's unique and critical vision will come to life on the façade of Onsite Gallery's street-level, animating downtown Toronto with a vibrant portrayal of the North meeting the South.

Fresh Pop is part of Duffy’s ongoing examination, which finds her spotlighting the prominence of everyday objects that have become customary to contemporary Inuit culture and iconic in the North.

Fresh Pop is part of the series Up Front: Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery, a partnership between Onsite Gallery and the Inuit Art Foundation.

About Tarralik Duffy

Tarralik Duffy is a multidisciplinary artist and writer who lives and works between Salliq (Coral Harbour), Nunavut, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. From jewelry and apparel to graphic works and soft sculpture, Duffy's work shares distinctly Inuit experiences, which are often infused with a dose of humour and pop culture.

Duffy is the 2021 winner of the Inuit Art Foundation’s Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award and presents solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2023.

Onsite Gallery to remain open for Nuit Blanche

OCAD U invites the public to visit Onsite Gallery from Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. to Sept. 24 at 7 a.m. as part of Nuit Blanche.

As a result, the gallery will be closed during its regular Saturday operating hours from noon to 5 p.m.

Visitors will get to experience Onsite Gallery’s current exhibition On Americanity and Other Experiences of Belonging, guest curated by Analays Álvarez Hernández and Colette Laliberté. This exhibition brings eight artists together to explore the notion of “Americanity” and what it stands for today.

About Onsite Gallery

Onsite Gallery, OCAD U’s flagship professional art gallery, presents contemporary, Indigenous, and public art and design to advance knowledge creation and stimulate local and international conversations on the urgent issues of our time.

About the Inuit Art Foundation

The Inuit Art Foundation is the only national organization supporting Inuit artists in all medias and geographic areas. It empowers and supports Inuit artists’ self-expression and self-determination through its many platforms, including the Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), Canada’s largest art magazine, the IAQ Profiles, artist services, awards, scholarships and mentorship opportunities.

About Up Front: Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery

In partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation (IAF), Onsite Gallery presents Up Front, a series of commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists. Onsite Gallery recognizes the important contributions of the Inuit art sector and is pleased to work with the IAF to support Inuit art and artists in the public realm.

The IAF is the only national organization supporting Inuit artists working in all medias and geographic areas. The IAF empowers and supports Inuit artists’ self-expression and self-determination through its many platforms, including the Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), Canada’s largest art magazine, the IAQ Profiles, artist services, awards, scholarships and mentorship opportunities.

Up Front is made possible with the support from the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund and the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts.