The Orillia Museum of Art and History’s (OMAH) 25th anniversary was celebrated Friday.
The event was hosted by artist Charles Pachter, who has maintained a lengthy relationship with OMAH. His first exhibit there was in 2006. It was called Regarding the Lake. In 2018, he raised more than $200,000 for the museum through a charity auction.
Pachter also donated any sales of his works from Friday evening to OMAH. He later mentioned how happy he was to do so and how grateful he was to be able host the event.
Doug Frost, treasurer of OMAH’s board of directors, referred to an article he read about museums and their collections, citing the author’s statement that “an art gallery’s role was to preserve the art of the past and collect the arts of the present.” He went on to announce the establishment of an OMAH Acquisitions Fund.
“Donations to the fund will be earmarked for significant additions to OMAH’s collections and, with funds in hand, OMAH will be able to pursue artworks or artifacts that define the museum and help us draw visitors,” he said.
Generosity was the mainstay of the evening as Frost made the first donation to the fund with $25,000 and launched a goal to double it with donations.
OMAH executive director Ninette Gyorody looked to howthe museum is adapting to society’s ever-changing landscape and cost of living in her speech to the attendees. As a way to connect with everyone in the community, recognizing homelessness and food insecurity, a project was established where OMAH brought its presence outside the museum. A $10,000 grant helped it to achieve this.
“With the funds from the County of Simcoe, we created 60 art-making kits. Each kit comes with all the materials to make one work of art, an online and a written lesson, free passes to the museum, a little information about the museum, and $100 grocery store gift card,” Gyorody described.
These kits were distributed to The Lighthouse, the Green Haven Shelter for Women, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and others.
With the Acquisition Fund and OMAH’s 25th anniversary, there was more looking to the future and its possibilities. Gyorody acknowledged that with new pieces to add will come the need to make difficult choices as well, but “we’re making history right now,” she said as her favourite quote.
Along with visions of the future was honouring the past. Frost fondly told the story of acquiring the Franklin Carmichael painting titled Miner’s Bay, and compared the work for OMAH to the way the Mona Lisa is the main attraction for the Louvre.
The evening also included acknowledgement of local businesses among the arts and culture community; Pachter’s home in Orillia was designed by Parklane Landscapes, which focuses on a model of environmental sustainability.
Anna van Maris and Joanne Mohan designed the garden of the artist’s Orillia residence and have been working with OMAH to teach youth about sustainable landscapes through art.
“We use art to teach about the environment … The curriculum has been engaging enough to expand outward,” van Maris said of the program.
Gyorody, who has been with OMAH for 11 years, was honest about fundraising and generating revenue as being a challenge over the years, including grants, donations, and earned revenue from programs.
"There’s a lot of competition out there and there’s a lot of needs, too,” she said. “We just have to be creative about how we do it.”
One of her favourite memories with OMAH goes back to 2015. Gyorody described how a group of Lakehead University media studies students who were involved at OMAH entered a video about the museum into an international competition and won.
“They called it Sir Sam Funk … and I think it was the first sort of taste of what social media could do in such a big way, and it really demonstrated how accessible we can make the museum just by this video,” said Gyorody.
Among the attendees present at Friday’s event were current Lakehead University media studies students, demonstrating OMAH’s continued efforts to support collaboration throughout the years.
“It’s always been part of our strategic plan to have partnerships,” said Gyorody.
Most recently, OMAH organized a fundraiser with the Ontario SPCA alongside an exhibition that featured Orillians with their pets.
“We did a little photo shoot with them. People brought their pets in, and then we gave them little treats … So, there’s always that out-of-the-box thinking that we can do at the museum,” said Gyorody.
