Arts

Ottawa School of Art offers great summer art classes. Photo: Parker Townes.
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Ottawa School of Art offers wide range of summer classes

Are you stuck in Ottawa for the summer semester and looking for things to do? Why not stop by the Ottawa School of Art (OSA) to brush up on your creative skills?

Partnered with the City of Ottawa, the independent alternative art school and not-for-profit organisation has called the ByWard Market its home since 1983, and also has a campus at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans.

From April to August, the OSA will offer a variety of courses, exhibitions, and events during its Spring (April-June) and Summer (July-August) terms.

In Spring, the school will offer 58 courses at its downtown campus and 48 courses at its Orleans campus, across a range of media and styles including drawing, painting (watercolor, acrylic, etc.), printmaking, photography, letterpress, ceramics, animation, sculpture, lithography, and jewelry making.

“There’s a lot of things going on. We don’t take the summer off,” said OSA director Jeff Stellick. “Probably the spring term, from May to June, is probably our quietest time in terms of the number of students we have, but July and August is very busy, all kinds of things going on.”

Most courses are separated by skill level, with dozens of intro courses offered for beginners, and is a good place to learn specialized skills.

During the summer term, the OSA will also be offering week-long specialized master classes. The master artists, hailing from Canada and Mexico, will be teaching specialized painting, printmaking, and etching classes at both the Orleans and Downtown campuses. The school also maintains an artist-in-residence program.

In May, the school is hosting their annual Miniature Print Biennale, an international show featuring miniature prints in countless styles. On June 28, the OSA is hosting their grad exhibition and ceremony, which showcases the works of students graduating from the school’s diploma and certificate programs.

In July, the Orleans campus will feature an exhibition of installation pieces from an artist from their residency program. The month of August will also feature exhibitions from the OSA’s instructors at both campuses.

To find out more about the events, classes, and exhibitions going on at the Ottawa School or Art, visit their website, follow @artottawa on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit them in person at 35 George Street.

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