A New Light: Canadian Women Artists opened to the public in the Embassy of Canada in Washington DC’s art gallery on February 6th, 2020 and was scheduled to run through April 2020. In an effort to ensure public safety due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the gallery was closed in mid-March. Since guests are unable to view this beautiful collection of artworks in person, the Embassy is instead hosting a virtual exhibition until the end of August.
The intent of the exhibition is to offer visitors a sneak preview of pieces by 27 renowned Canadian women artists which will shortly be given a home in various prominent locations within the building. The Embassy is proud to display over 180 art pieces by Canadian artists throughout its chancery; this year its art plan is being revised to incorporate works which illuminate Canada’s diversity, both with regards to types of visual artworks and their artists’ backgrounds.
A New Light: Canadian Women Artists has been featured in articles by: The Globe & Mail, The Washington Diplomat, Artsfile, and Galleries West.
The Embassy would like to thank its three partners, The Global Affairs Visual Art Collection, The Canada Council for the Arts, and Scotiabank, for their work in assembling this exhibition, and their efforts towards adapting it to an online experience.
A Special thank you to our partners
The Global Affairs Visual Art Collection is a dedicated program for the acquisition and circulation of fine art in Canada’s embassies and official residences. The collection consists of over 7,000 works, in a broad range of media including photography, painting, prints and drawings, fabric art, and sculpture. The objective of the Visual Art Collection Program is to showcase original art works from living, emerging-to-mid-career Canadian artists to reflect Canada’s rich and diverse cultural and linguistic heritage. The Visual Art Collection is a key tool in Canada’s cultural diplomacy efforts, using Canadian artworks to stimulate exchanges, create constructive dialogues between societies, improve international cultural understanding, and promote the fundamental values and priorities of Canada’s foreign policy in the world.
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder. The Council contributes to the vibrancy of a creative, open, diverse, and Indigenous-inclusive arts and literary scene that reaches audiences in Canada and around the world. The Council’s international initiatives foster dialogue and reciprocity, and they contribute to the vitality of cultural diplomacy. The Canada Council Art Bank plays an important role: with a collection of over 17,000 paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures, it reaches international audiences through its programs, corporate art rentals, exhibitions, loans to museums, and digital channels. The Canada Council for the Arts partners with Global Affairs Canada on several initiatives to amplify opportunities for artists in Canada to engage audiences around the world.
Scotiabank is a leading bank in Canada and a leading financial services provider in the Americas. With more than 1500 works of art displayed across the bank’s footprint, the Scotiabank Fine Art Collection is not only an investment in arts and culture in the communities we serve, but also an investment in the well-being and enrichment of our employees and customers who encounter the work in their daily lives. Scotiabank has a long-standing partnership with Global Affairs Canada, which supports broader, international exposure for this important collection, and Scotiabank’s ongoing support for arts and culture, through projects such as: the Scotiabank Photography Award, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, the New Generation Photography Award, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada, Scotiabank Giller Prize and involvement in the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.