About Tom Thomson Art Gallery

Staff Directory

Aidan has seventeen years of experience in arts management, spanning four important provincial public art galleries. She is a passionate advocate for artistic engagement in the belief that creativity forms the foundations of thriving, strong, and dynamic communities. Aidan joined the Tom Thomson Art Gallery as Director and Chief Curator in April 2020. Prior to this, Aidan held positions as the Director of Cambridge Art Galleries (2015 – 2020), Director & Curator of Gallery Stratford (2013 – 2015), and Coordinator of Education and Development at the Art Gallery of Guelph (2003 – 2013). A graduate in Art History and English from the University of Guelph, Aidan also attended Queen’s University Bader International Study Centre and completed a year-long travel-based arts intensive study program in 2000. In 2014, Aidan Ware was presented with the Stratford Woman of the Year Award for Arts and Culture and in 2011 she was a recipient of the 2011 Guelph Mercury Top 40 Under 40 Award. She is a member of the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization and serves on many local committees and juries.

As the Gallery’s Curator of Collections, David Huff is responsible for the care of and public engagement with the Gallery’s Art Collection. He has a background in Fine Arts, Arts Administration and Education from the University of Waterloo and Sir Sandford Fleming College. David has been with the Gallery since 1989, and spent many of those years educating tens of thousands of children and adults about Canadian Art. He has given lectures on Tom Thomson and his art across Ontario and continues his research into the life and times of this mythic Canadian Artist.

Heather McLeese is an emerging curator and artist from Owen Sound, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours Fine Arts and Business degree, double majoring in both Fine Arts and Art History in 2011. Her curatorial interests lie in Canadian contemporary art. Her mission as a young curator is to break down the boundaries of the gallery setting by intertwining narratives to create successful, innovative and engaging exhibitions for all audiences. She currently works a Curator at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound, Ontario.

Shannon Bingeman is a curator based in southern Ontario. She received her Honours BA from the University of Waterloo (2011) and her MA in art history from Carleton University (2013). She wrote her masters thesis on the Canadian landscape painter, Homer Watson, and was the founding editor of Render: the Carleton Graduate Journal of Art & Culture. She has worked as an arts professional throughout Ontario and Alberta at organizations such as the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery (Waterloo), the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinberg), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre (Medicine Hat). In 2015, she was awarded an Emerging Curator Fellowship from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and worked as a curator for their Travelling Exhibition Program. 

As Operations Coordinator Kim now looks after the day-to-day workings of the gallery, and spent 15 years in programming and education, before moving into administration. Holding an Honours BA in English Language and Literature, Kim joined the gallery in 2004 following 15 years in sales, management and consulting.

Hillary is an emerging museums and galleries professional. While completing her undergraduate studies in Archaeology and Classical Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University she ventured to Jordan to conduct archaeological collections work with professors and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. After completing her undergraduate studies Hillary completed her graduate studies at Humber College earning a post graduate certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management completing internships with the Museums of Mississauga. Growing up in the area, Hillary got her start in the museums and galleries world through placements at Grey Roots Museum and Archives where she developed her skills in heritage interpretation, exhibit design, collections management, education, and planning before joining the team at TOM.  

Hillary believes that arts and heritage play a vital role in our communities. Through her work at the gallery, she loves being able help others make connections, and find pride and ownership in their local cultural spaces. 

Advisory Committee

As representatives from the arts community and the community at large, the Advisory Committee acts as public oversight of the Gallery operations. The Committee provides feedback from the community to Council about the Gallery’s exhibitions, collection, educational activities and outreach. As Gallery ambassadors, the Committee informs the community about the Gallery’s activities and events.

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee consists of: 

Gallery History

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery was established as a memorial to the iconic Canadian landscape artist Tom Thomson who grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay, just a few kilometres north of Owen Sound in Leith. The Gallery houses a nationally significant collection of Thomson works and artifacts, paying homage to this maverick who fused a passion for the wilderness with a new and experimental style of painting. 

Today’s Gallery stands, literally, on its humble beginnings.  Formerly a church, the basement structure at the present site was purchased by the Grey County Historical and Art Society in 1959.  The Society operated the Museum in the front, and the Gallery, comprised of just four pegboard walls, in the back. By 1964, and still in its basement existence, with strong community support and donations by the Thomson family and A.Y. Jackson, the Gallery had collected several works by Thomson and members of the Group of Seven.

The City of Owen Sound ratified the construction of the Gallery, as a Centennial project, atop the existing basement structure.  The foundation of a unique public collection of Canadian art was solidly laid when the new Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery opened in 1967.

The Gallery’s collection continued to grow over the years, to include many more works by Thomson and the Group of Seven, along with works by regional and nationally recognized artists. With inadequate art storage and limited exhibition space, the city supported a second expansion. The Gallery was completely renovated to include several exhibition halls, collection storage, and an educational studio. To commemorate the opening of the “new” Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery in 1988, a laser-cut steel sculpture by Micah Lexier was installed on the roof of the Gallery: “I feel this thing is of too great an importance to miss.” - words uttered by A.Y. Jackson upon first hearing of plans to establish an art gallery in tribute to Tom Thomson.

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is a regional public gallery and national cultural attraction with a top-notch and revolving program of contemporary and historical exhibitions, lectures, forums, films, concerts and workshops.

As a dynamic place where artists and audiences can meet and flourish, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery provides enriching experiences through art for a range of visitors, showing the art of today and influencing the art of the future. Exhibitions are accompanied by informative materials and scheduled tours are conducted by trained guides – all designed to bring a new dimension to visitors’ enjoyment and appreciation of art and its creation.

An ambitious program of exhibitions by local and Canadian artists makes the Tom Thomson Art Gallery a focal point for opportunities to experience the ever-changing world of contemporary art. Enjoy new artistic media such as video, sound, performance and installation, alongside traditional fine arts such as painting, sculpture and craft, in exhibitions that showcase current tendencies in visual art.

The Gallery frequently collaborates with other Canadian and international institutions to produce touring exhibitions and artists’ publications, and has established itself as a vital link in a national dialogue on contemporary art.

Works by Tom Thomson – who inspired the formation of the Group of Seven through his transformative portrayal of the natural world – and his contemporaries are on permanent display in the Gallery’s Canadian Spirit Exhibition. Exhibitions of Thomson’s oil sketches, graphics, memorabilia and archival materials offer unique insight into one of Canada’s most influential artists of the 20th century

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery has its own collection of over 2,600 works of art created over the last 150 years, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures and craft. In addition to a rich base of works by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, the collection offers significant contemporary art by regional and national artists. The focus is on works relating to the landscape, and the many contemporary interpretations of that tradition.

Adults, teens and children can participate in an array of learning opportunities including art classes, school programs, workshops and other art activities. Lively and stimulating programs for all ages foster hands-on appreciation of contemporary art and culture. In addition to exhibitions, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery offers lectures by artists and critics, film screenings, readings by writers and poets, and fundraising events.

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