Glenhyrst’s Biennial Juried Exhibition showcases the creativity and innovation of talented artists from across Ontario. This highly anticipated exhibition provides an important platform for emerging and established artists alike, offering the opportunity to present their original artwork to new audiences. For many participants, it marks their first experience exhibiting in a public art gallery, while for others, the Biennial has served as a stepping stone toward fulfilling careers as professional artists, curators, and arts educators.

This year, the gallery received nearly 250 submissions from almost 200 artists, reflecting the depth and diversity of artistic practice across the province. Jurors Bill Clarke and Megan Ellen

MacDonald carefully reviewed the submissions and selected 60 artworks for display. The result is an exhibition that is at once thoughtful, dynamic, and deeply engaging, reflecting a wide range of perspectives, media, and approaches.

Visitors are invited to experience the breadth of contemporary art being made in Ontario today, celebrate the artists whose work has been selected, and join in one of Glenhyrst’s most beloved traditions of supporting and amplifying the voices of artists in our communities.

Prizes

Juror’s Choice: $1000 to Michael Dawson for The Confrontation, gouache on melamine, 2025.

Award of Merit: $500 to Paul Smith for The Way We Are, acrylic on canvas, 2025.

People’s Choice: $250.00 (awarded after exhibition closes)

Artists

Jurors

Bill Clarke was born in London, Ontario and is a curator, editor, writer, and collector. Since 2005, his writing has appeared in numerous national and international publications, including Canadian Art, C Magazine, Border Crossings, ARTnews, Modern Painters, and ArtReview. From 2009 to 2017, he served as Editor-in-Chief of Magenta Magazine Online, and in 2016, he co-founded the Edition Art Book Fair. Clarke was Associate Director of Angell Gallery in Toronto from 2017 to 2019. He is currently pursuing a certificate in American Sign Language (ASL) at Seneca College.

Megan Ellen Macdonald was born in Belleville, Ontario, and earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from OCAD University in 2013. Her work challenges traditional aesthetic hierarchies by developing a visual language from elements often regarded as diminutive or feminine. Using 3D software to construct still-life arrangements, which she then translates into paintings, Macdonald explores the intimate and sometimes destructive relationships between objects. Her practice examines the complexities of embracing both femininity and power. Macdonald has exhibited her work in Canada, Europe, and the United States. In 2021, her debut U.S. solo exhibition, Modern Love, was showcased at Hashimoto Gallery in Los Angeles. The following year, her exhibition Unnatural Order was featured at Glenhyrst Art Gallery.

Biennial Juried Exhibition (2025)

Glenhyrst Art Gallery

Hours