July 11 to Sept 6 | Exhibition-inspired Drop-in Art Activities
Every weekend, July 11 to September 6, 2026
10 AM to 5 PM
Free | All ages | Registration not required
Drop-in Activities Schedule
July 11 and 12 | Abstract Swirl Painting Inspired by Vicky Talwar
Come create beautiful swirling paintings inspired by the flowing ribbons and shifting colours in Vicky Talwar’s artwork. Decorate your two-toned swirls with flowers and any other designs you can dream up, and experience for yourself the meditative effect of Vicky Talwar’s many-layered process.
July 18 and 19 | The View From My Window: Colourful Landscapes Inspired by Par Nair
Par Nair uses a beautiful shade of pink as the background for her paintings of the views of the outdoor spaces around her childhood home in Kerala, India. The pink peaks through her brush strokes and brings a warm glow to her lush landscapes, capturing her warm feelings about the place. Experiment with creating your own landscapes on unique colours of paper and see how the colour of the background affects the feeling of the scene. When you’re done, decorate a window frame to see your view through!
July 25 and 26 | Comic Strip Collage Inspired by Scott Sawtell
Find inspiration in the chaotic visual storytelling of Scott Sawtell’s intuitive, layered compositions and create your own work of art! Let your subconscious guide your process and create a mixed-media collage in the form of a three-panel comic strip that draws on pop culture, fantasy, and science fiction like Scott Sawtell does in his own practice! Once you’ve finished your creation, add in speech bubbles to let your piece tell the story it’s trying to tell!
August 1 and 2 | Landscape Monotype Printing Inspired by Fredrick Varley
Experiment with printmaking techniques and create unique landscape monotypes inspired by Fred Varley and his fellow Group of Seven members! See the exciting transformation your landscape goes through as it goes from original design to final print.
August 8 and 9 | Flower Garlands Inspired by Vicky Talwar
Vicky Talwar uses an Indian flower garland as an important recurring cultural symbol within her paintings. Come decorate paper flowers and string them together with wooden beads to create your very own flower garland, inspired by this beautiful motif.
August 15 and 16 | Felt Leaf Embroidery Inspired by Par Nair
Par Nair is not just a painter: she is also a textile artist who creates beautiful images with thread. Come learn to embroider and decorate your own felt mango leaf so you can see for yourself the ornate creative possibilities of thread.
August 22 and 23 | Group Every-Sided Mural Inspired by Scott Sawtell
Scott Sawtell is known for turning his canvases as he works and using a set of rules for all his pieces. Step into his world with a fun collaborative mural that follows his unique practices and experience all the creative possibilities that open up when you start looking at your art from every side.
August 29 and 30 | Popsicle Design Inspired by Hayley Chiu
Step into the surrealist landscape of Hayley Chiu’s painting “What Does the Cicada Know of Ice” and celebrate summer with your own unique popsicle design. Decorate your popsicle with symbols of your own identity and symbols of summer, then encase them in “ice” so that they will last forever!
September 5 and 6 | Draw Like Fredrick Varley
Test out the drawing materials that Fred Varley used to create his sketches, from willow charcoal to oil pastels. Follow in Varley’s footsteps and observe and draw historical artefacts like he did, from your own unique perspective. Every artist has their own special way of seeing and documenting the world around them: come show us yours!
This program is designed by our Gallery Animateurs, Sydney Hanson and Armas Voore-Lewis, and funded by the Jackman Foundation, Canada Summer Jobs, and the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of Markham.
