history of la gno

The GNO originated as a vision put forward by a Northern Ontario artists' collective whose first accomplishment was a gallery inside a cultural centre, where artistic programming was offered on a regular basis until 1995. In March 1995, la Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario became fully autonomous and incorporated as artist-run artists' centre with a provincial scope. One year later, in March 1996, came the official opening in a storefront location in downtown Sudbury. Non-profit organization status was obtained in 1999.

Since its beginnings as an artists' centre, the GNO has had to evolve in response to a reality, namely the providing of services to its members wherever they reside in the province. During its first three years, the GNO laid down a firm foundation in its community through off-site projects (billboard project, Événement Roc 1 and 2, monumental installations on Sudbury rock outcrops, street level events and demonstrations…) Then the focus shifted to creative and promotional initiatives on a provincial and national scale: the project with curators entitled Où est le centre? (Where is the centre?) and the travelling exhibitions with invited curators entitled Regards and Quelques variations. After that, the Gallery coordinated a residency exchange in collaboration with other artists' centres across the country. L'Échangeur 1 and 2 took place in Sudbury, Moncton, Hull, Rouyn-Noranda, St-Boniface and Paris. The conference entitled 10 ans d'actualisation (Ten Years of Actualization) allowed four speakers to share their thoughts about the GNO's role in regional, provincial and national contexts. Territoires de la langue (The Territories of Language), a residency project in collaboration with Fado Performance, followed as a direct extension of the themes discussed in this conference. Four francophone artists created performances inspired by the geography of language, presented in public spaces in Toronto and Sudbury.