Please see exhibit information below for gallery hours.
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Current exhibits
When the Willow Weeps: Victorian Funerary Practices
Request to exhibit
The two Serpa Galleries and the Community Gallery at Old Town Hall are all available to be booked, separately or together.
Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis and are reviewed quarterly by representatives of the curatorial team. Applicants will receive a reply within 3–4 months via email. Exhibitions are generally planned 1–2 years in advance.
To submit an application, please review the art galleries webpage for more information.
Previous exhibits at Old Town Hall
On display from March 5 to 27. An exhibition showcasing the hidden talents of Newmarket Seniors' Meeting Place members and community.
Step into a visual journey of legacy, heritage and hope. This curated gallery exhibition explores this year’s theme, “The Promise We Carry” through the lens of Black artists and storytellers, connecting ancestral memory to contemporary voices.
February 3 to 29, 2024
This year's exhibit interpreting the theme, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now - Telling Our Story, Writing Our History" is a powerful showcase of Black Canadian history and experiences. The talented artists behind the pieces use their unique perspectives and artistic vision to convey the message of reclamation and empowerment. NACCA is proud to provide a platform for this incredible group of individuals and celebrate their exceptional contributions to the community.
The theme of the exhibit centers on the power of storytelling as a mode of resistance against systemic erasure, silencing, and marginalization of Black Canadian history and experiences. The purpose is to highlight how art can serve as a tool for cultural expression and advocacy for Black Canadians.
Exhibit May 7 to 31, 2024
In the art exhibit at Old Town Hall in Newmarket, titled AmbiEssence: The Triplicate Flame, three remarkable artists—Sam McLeish, Ashley Wetmore-Caissie, and Lora Brownson—bring their unique visions to life, exploring profound themes of time, nature, and the human body through diverse artistic mediums.
AmbiEssence: The Triplicate Flame invites art lovers to immerse themselves in a transformative experience where the invisible and the immaterial are made tangible through art. McLeish, Wetmore-Caissie, and Brownson collectively illuminate the intricate connections that define our existence, challenging modern perceptions of separation and highlighting the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.
About the Artists:
Sam McLeish, a Canadian artist and fifth-year BFA student at York University, delves into the immaterial elements of human existence through a variety of mediums, including sculpture, print, drawing, painting, watercolour, collage, and embroidery. McLeish's work is characterized by spiritual symbolism and automatic drawing, a surrealist technique, which allows her to create art that invites both self-discovery and viewer interpretation. Her work challenges the notion of pre-existing identity versus experiential shaping, offering a reflective space where the audience can explore the depths of their own consciousness.
Ashley Wetmore-Caissie, a multimedia artist from Barrie, Ontario, with advanced education in Fine Arts from Georgian College and a BFA from York University, utilizes an experimental, process-based approach to her art. Her creations, inspired by personal history, family origins, and monumental life events, explore themes of mortality and human presence. Wetmore-Caissie’s use of sculpture, print, and painting transforms traditional viewing spaces into immersive, humanistic experiences. Her installations, such as the bronze and plexiglass sculpture "Match Head," highlight the cyclical nature of death and rebirth, inviting viewers to navigate through the gallery space in a deeply personal way.
Lora Brownson, a multimedia artist who studied Fine Arts at York University and is currently enrolled in the Registered Massage Therapy program at Algonquin College, merges her artistic practice with her understanding of the human body. Brownson's work, which includes photography, digital collage, printmaking, painting, and drawing, explores the connections between anatomy, nature, and spirituality. Her "Tarot Series," featuring digital photo collages that combine elements of nature, human anatomy, and witchcraft, reveals the invisible connections between life and death, past and present. Brownson’s art bridges the gap between the seen and unseen, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things.
Exhibit June 18 to 27, 2024
Life is like a musical sentence, gradual, harmonious, dissonant, and colourful, containing joy and sadness, peace, love, and hate. These paintings are part of this life, in colour, and in the art, they express some of these states. so, they are a warmly Colour Maqams.
This exhibition evokes part of the artist's memories in his homeland, during his time in Canada. The difference between the existence of fear, censorship, and deprivation of freedom of expression, even in colours. Today in Canada, he has complete freedom to think, draw, and colour. He evokes images of countries destroyed by war and presents us with the story of Cain and Abel, to say: Enough violence and hatred, let's move towards beauty, towards peace and freedom, it is the only way for a better humanity.
Mwafaq Katt
Mwafaq Katt, a prominent Syrian Canadian artist, is recognized for his remarkable contributions to political cartooning, animation filmmaking, and painting. Born in Damascus, Katt made history by creating the first Syrian animated short film in 1990, marking the beginning of his illustrious career into filmmaking. Throughout his journey, his works have garnered numerous awards at esteemed international film festivals, including the Carthage and Cairo Film Festivals. His contributions to political satire, animation filmmaking, and painting have earned him widespread acclaim and recognition, solidifying his status as a trailblazer as an artist, educator, filmmaker in the broader artistic community.
Exhibit September 8 to 30, 2024
Exhibit November 4 to 17, 2024
The vendors at the Newmarket Farmers' Market have torn down their tents for the last time in 2024; it was a sensational six-month celebration of its 25th anniversary! The market, which originally started at Old Town Hall, did not disappoint and continues to be a beloved staple of our town and voted the best in the province by Farmers' Market Ontario.
As promised the gallery space is dedicated to honouring the market's history, and their hard work, maybe even a look at the past, with an exhibition in the Serpa Gallery. The selected photos offer some of the best moments caught on camera from the market, in a unique exhibit at Old Town Hall.
November 26 to December 12, 2024
Monday to Friday | 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A Legacy of Social Responsibility in York Region.
Portraits of giving is about:
- Giving Back
- Building Community
- Leadership
- Inspiration
- Collaboration
- Celebration
Portraits of Giving is committed to celebrating York Region Leaders and individuals who demonstrate Social Responsibility. The annual initiative celebrates and inspires our community across York Region municipalities to "keep on giving."
As the name suggests, Portraits of Giving is about giving, through leadership and inspiration. POG celebrates awarded honourees through a community tour in each respective town with a reception and photographic exhibit to capture the individual with a personalized portrait and story of the recipient's philanthropic giving. 2022 will mark its thirteenth year of giving, celebrating individuals and raising awareness and resources for several charitable causes.
As of this year, we will have celebrated over 145 honourees and many charitable organizations through their Portraits of Giving stories over the past eleven years.
Our goal has always been and continues to be: To inspire our community about the importance and impact of social and corporate responsibility in our York Region community.
About the photographer:
Karen Merk, LPPOC, PMP is the founder of Portraits of Giving, created in 2009 and inspired by her community. The goal of this initiative has always been to inspire our community to start or to keep giving back to help others. She has won the Canada 150 and Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Awards for her work over the years.
Karen is a Certified Professional Photographer of Canada, Award winning National Competition Photographer, and experienced Portrait photographer, working in the York Region area since 2008. She is a past Director and current member of the Richmond Hill Board of Trade and enjoys helping her community whenever possible.
Projects and Portraits that celebrate and inspire people are what she enjoys the most. And paddling in her kayak or watching a beautiful sunset while sipping a really good glass of red wine.
January 10 to 28, 2025 | Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Reception Monday, January 27, 2025 | 5 to 7 p.m.
Learn more about Community Living Central York
Black History Month, "I and I, I Wanna Rule My Destiny"
Presented by the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and the Town of Newmarket.
Join us throughout the month of February for an inspiring gallery exhibition celebrating Black History Month 2025.
For more information about Black History Month, please see NACCA's Black History Month webpage.
Presented by the Town of Newmarket in coordination with Guest Curator, Carmel Brennan
Letters to the Earth: Between Despair and Hope is a conversation about the environmental crisis taking place around the world, affecting Canadians directly. Each participant wrote a letter to the earth as their commitment to this project. These letters assert that the opportunity to sit back and blame corporations, governments or the mistakes of the past has ended. To preserve the future for our children and future generations, the time to act is now.
Participating Artists:
Kim Atkins, Diana Bennett, Lynn Bishop, Michael Black, Lillian Yano Blakey, Carmel Brennan, Nancy R. Chalut, Sharron Corrigan Forrest, Sharon Dembo, D. Ahsén:Nase Douglas, Jean Eng, Carlos Ferguson, Cesar Forero, Heather Grindley, Janet Hendershot, Sabrina Leeder, Bert Liverance, William Lottering, Brandon Lutterman, Ian Mackenzie, Francis Muscat, Mary Ng, Christl Niemuller, Aileen Ogilvie, Gordana Olujic Dosic, Katharine Palmer, Victor J Paluck, Frances Patella, Janet Read, Susan Ruptash, Susan E. Scherbak, Carol Grant Stevens, Charles Stevens, Roger Sutcliffe, Judith Tinkl, Grazyna Tonkiel and Noriko Yamamoto.
Exhibit Gallery Hours:
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Wednesday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Thursday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday: closed
Exclusion Dates: Friday, March 28, 2025
Opening artist reception will take place on Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 12 to 4 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
Additional information about Letters to the Earth: Beyond Despair and Hope.
As Co-Directors of the NJAS, David Kempton and Peggy Stevens believe that the Arts are integral to strong, resilient communities, and that such resilience is increasingly important in the face of a changing climate and other global challenges. They believe that the Arts are as critical to our infrastructure as roads, parks, arenas etc. It is the arts that build the culture of a community.
They have worked since 2018 to showcase Newmarket as an arts hub – both to the Province and to itself. Since 2019, hundreds of artists have sent work for showing at The Old Town Hall galleries, from dozens of Ontario communities. Learn more about Newmarket Juried Art Show here.
Exhibit Gallery Hours:
- Tuesday to Friday | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed:
Good Friday, April 18, 2025
Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025
Opening Reception: April 16, 2025 | 7 to 9:30 p.m. Free admission to the public, with refreshments and snacks provided
Discover Newmarket like never before through the written, stitched and crafted memories of our textile and paper collection.
Explore how local residents reflected on the passing of time through letters, lace and fashion in the first exhibition celebrating memories through hand craft in Newmarket.
Clarence Chong, maternal grandfather to Erika MacNeil, arrived in Canada with an unknown birthdate and lineage. His grade school teacher, known to MacNeil as Granny Abel, recognized his talent and sent him to art school through a tunnel from Windsor to an art school in Detroit across the border when he came of age.
The works are a collection of portraits from Chong’s studies as an art student recently uncovered in a tube portfolio in Erika MacNeil’s basement. Erika, local Newmarket resident, teacher-librarian and dancer, writer and performer, pays tribute to her grandfather, Clarence; this exhibit celebrates the life and works of Clarence in recognition of MacNeil’s rich family history.
Erika’s sister, Keira Loughran, has written and directed a documentary called the Exclusion: Beyond the Silence. Loughran went on a pilgrimage to their paternal grandfather’s village in China, searching for the family left behind when Doyle Jenning Lumb immigrated to Canada as a paper son after paying the $500 Head Tax, just prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. The trailer for this exclusive screening will be made available for viewing for the duration of this exhibit.
Images of previous exhibits at Old Town Hall
