News & Media Releases

Former Barrie Mayor Janice Laking is inviting others to join her in building a brighter and more creative future for our community by donating to the MacLaren Art Centre. In an exceptional act of generosity, she has pledged to match all donations made to the Gallery...

Mary Anne Barkhouse: The Interlopers, installation view, MacLaren Art Centre, 2018. Photo: André BeneteauYou may remember The Interlopers (2018), which featured the work of celebrated regional artist Mary Anne Barkhouse. This exhibition spoke to the connection between...

 Farihah Aliyah Shah. Photo: Antonio Giacchetti (left); John Hartman in his studio. Photo: Joseph Hartman (right)The MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie is pleased to announce that the 2019 recipient of the John Hartman Award is Farihah Aliyah Shah. Farihah Aliyah Shah...

Participants in a MacLaren VanGo Access workshop at the Barrie Native Friendship Centre (left). Artwork by Conrad Fox (top right) and Evelyn Bolton (bottom right). Photos: Tyler DurbanoConnecting people to art and art to people is what the MacLaren Art Centre does as...

Artist talk by Bewabon Shilling at the MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie. Photo: Tyler GraceIn the quiet, grey light of the MacLaren Art Centre's Janice Laking Gallery, an exhibition of paintings by Rama artist Bewabon Shilling suggests a landscape “wilder than our ability...

In this in-depth Q&A, newlyweds Jess and Tristan give a peek into their beautiful, intimate wedding at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie this past summer. From living 2000+ km apart, to saying “I do” in the company of their multinational family and friends, their...

Art-making workshop at the MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie. Photo: Christine GillespieA new series of art events hosted by the MacLaren Art Centre is adding a creative choice to Barrie’s downtown entertainment scene, with sold out attendance for its pilot date. On the...

Reception for Bewabon Shilling: Between the Forest and the Sky, December 6, 2019, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie. Photo: André BeneteauThe MacLaren Art Centre invites community members to bring their family and friends to the art gallery this holiday season. Visitors can...

Off the Hook: Silent Art Auction, MacLaren Art CentreOn November 15, 360 people attended the MacLaren Art Centre’s 29th annual Off the Hook: Silent Art Auction, which raises support for essential Gallery programmes. This year, over one-hundred and fifty artists...

   Students participate in Distant Horizons, a new VanGo programme inspired by the artwork of Canadian artist Tom Thomson.“I loved how this program engaged the kids (you could hear a pin drop when the instructor started to explain the procedure) and...