Orillia Museum of Art & History

Orillia Museum of Art & History OUR VISION

Explore. Inspire. Celebrate.

OUR MISSION

Provide inclusive space to engage community, inspire creativity and celebrate culture, by
exploring art and history. The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) is located in the heart of Orillia's downtown shopping and restaurant district and is wheelchair accessible.

We are honoured to celebrate the acquisition of Walking This World Together by Indigenous artist Paul Shilling Dazaungge...
06/02/2026

We are honoured to celebrate the acquisition of Walking This World Together by Indigenous artist Paul Shilling Dazaunggee – Sky Buffalo into OMAH’s permanent collection through the support of our Director’s Circle members. ✨

Through expressive and emotionally charged works, Paul Shilling explores themes of healing, self-discovery, spirituality, and liberation. Walking This World Together reflects OMAH’s commitment to supporting and preserving important contemporary Indigenous artistic voices connected to our region and beyond.

You can experience this remarkable work in The Many Faces of Paul Shilling Dazaunggee – Sky Buffalo: A Retrospective, on view at OMAH through September 19, 2026.

06/02/2026

Day 2 of Museum Week — AI and the Future ✨

What will museums look like in ten, twenty, thirty years? What stories will we tell, and how might AI help us preserve, interpret, and imagine them in new ways?

Here are a few glimpses of what could be… exhibition concepts that don’t exist yet, but might one day. Spaces that shift, respond, and evolve with the stories we bring into them. Installations that blend memory, imagination, and technology to invite new ways of seeing.

The future museum is not fixed. It is something we build together, in real time, through curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.

We are thrilled to celebrate the acquisition of Remembering Our Ancestors by Anishinaabe artist Drake Williams into OMAH...
06/02/2026

We are thrilled to celebrate the acquisition of Remembering Our Ancestors by Anishinaabe artist Drake Williams into OMAH’s permanent collection through the support of our Director’s Circle members. ✨

This powerful work reflects connections between land, spirit, storytelling, and ancestry while continuing the visual traditions of the Woodlands movement through a contemporary lens. As part of our commitment to supporting and preserving contemporary Indigenous art, we are honoured to help ensure these important cultural voices and stories remain accessible for future generations.

You can experience Remembering Our Ancestors in Awaken The Spirits, on view at OMAH through September 19, 2026.

And don’t miss our additional acquisition announcement featuring a work by Paul Shilling Dazaunggee – Sky Buffalo, acquired in with The Many Faces of Paul Shilling Dazaunggee – Sky Buffalo: A Retrospective.

06/01/2026

Day 1 of Museum Week — AI in the Museum ✨

Before direct messaging, people had to plug cables into large switchboards to connect you with who you wanted to speak to. These switchboard operators, often women, are directing calls at Bell Telephone at 39 Colborne Street E., Orillia, circa 1950. The building still stands, but the job no longer exists. (2007.77.2l)

Through AI, we can revisit and reimagine moments like this, seeing photographs and objects come to life in new ways. In museums, AI is part of ongoing work behind the scenes: helping with documentation, research, and how we engage with collections. It is not about replacing history, but about opening new ways to explore it.

Today we share not a finished product, but a glimpse into process—how technology is being tested, questioned, and shaped within museum spaces as we think about the future of access and storytelling.

Join us for an inspiring evening of music and community 💛The Orillia Vocal Ensemble’s Spring Concert is dedicated to rai...
06/01/2026

Join us for an inspiring evening of music and community 💛

The Orillia Vocal Ensemble’s Spring Concert is dedicated to raising funds for local charities and celebrating the arts through song. This special performance will support the Orillia Museum of Art & History’s Young Creative Kits project—helping bring creativity to youth in our community.

📍 St. Paul’s Centre, 62 Peter St. N., Orillia
🗓 Wednesday, June 3, 2026
🕢 Doors open at 7:00 PM | Concert at 7:30 PM
🎟 Free admission | Donations welcomed

Led by Director Blair Bailey, Orillia’s “Pay It Forward” choir will present a beautiful program celebrating art and creativity. Come out, enjoy the music, and support

Orillia Vocal Ensemble

🎉 If you haven’t heard… MAY IS MUSEUM MONTH! 🎉So how is the Orillia Museum of Art & History celebrating?✨ By offering a ...
05/30/2026

🎉 If you haven’t heard… MAY IS MUSEUM MONTH! 🎉

So how is the Orillia Museum of Art & History celebrating?

✨ By offering a FREE Drop-In Day TODAY May 30! ✨

As a thank you to our amazing community for supporting local art, history, exhibitions, programs, workshops, and creativity all year long, we’re inviting everyone to come explore OMAH — free of charge!

Never visited before? Heard about the museum but haven’t stopped in yet? This is the perfect opportunity to discover everything happening inside your local museum.

Bring your friends, family, coworkers — everyone is welcome!

🗓 FREE Drop-In Day
• Saturday, May 30



Behind the scenes at Orillia Museum of Art & History as we get ready to open the doors to something truly special ✨Are y...
05/29/2026

Behind the scenes at Orillia Museum of Art & History as we get ready to open the doors to something truly special ✨

Are you ready for two incredible exhibitions?

On May 30th from 1–3 PM, we’re celebrating creativity, storytelling, and community with an afternoon of exhibition openings all under one roof.

Step inside The Many Faces of Paul Shilling (Dazaunggee - Sky Buffalo): A Retrospective and explore the powerful, reflective works of Drake Williams: Awaken the Spirits. From installation to final touches, the galleries are coming to life behind the scenes.

Meet the artists, experience the work up close, and be part of conversations that connect culture, identity, and place in meaningful ways.

Free to attend | All are welcome 💛

A heartfelt thank you to Gateway Gives for generously sponsoring these exhibitions and helping bring art, creativity, and community together at OMAH!✨



🎉 If you haven’t heard… MAY IS MUSEUM MONTH! 🎉So how is the Orillia Museum of Art & History celebrating?✨ By offering a ...
05/29/2026

🎉 If you haven’t heard… MAY IS MUSEUM MONTH! 🎉

So how is the Orillia Museum of Art & History celebrating?

✨ By offering a FREE Drop-In Day TOMORROW May 30! ✨

As a thank you to our amazing community for supporting local art, history, exhibitions, programs, workshops, and creativity all year long, we’re inviting everyone to come explore OMAH — free of charge!

Never visited before? Heard about the museum but haven’t stopped in yet? This is the perfect opportunity to discover everything happening inside your local museum.

Bring your friends, family, coworkers — everyone is welcome!

🗓 FREE Drop-In Day
• Saturday, May 30



🌊✨ Mariposa Mornings: Under the Sea ✨🐠Dive into an ocean of creativity at this week’s Mariposa Mornings 💛Little ones and...
05/29/2026

🌊✨ Mariposa Mornings: Under the Sea ✨🐠

Dive into an ocean of creativity at this week’s Mariposa Mornings 💛

Little ones and their caregivers will create their very own paper plate aquariums filled with colourful fish, sea creatures, bubbles, and underwater imagination 🐙🎨

Enjoy a morning of ocean-inspired art, sensory fun, and imaginative play as we explore life beneath the waves together 🐚🐟

It’s $10 per family, and registration is encouraged. A magical way to splash into creativity together 💫

📅 May 28 & 30
⏰ 9–11 AM

We can’t wait to sea your creations 🐠💙

👀 “Can You Find Me?”Sir Sam Steele’s characters are hiding throughout the Museum… do you think you can spot them all? 🔍✨...
05/28/2026

👀 “Can You Find Me?”
Sir Sam Steele’s characters are hiding throughout the Museum… do you think you can spot them all? 🔍✨

Explore the galleries, search high and low, and see if you can find every hidden character during your next visit to the Museum!

Tag us in your discoveries and let the hunt begin. 👣

Downtown Orillia BIA

Address

30 Peter Street South
Orillia, ON
L3V5A9

Opening Hours

Tuesday 11am - 4pm
Wednesday 11am - 4pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+17053262159

Website

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