Art Fair Hamilton

04/14/2026

We have a full NIGHT OF ART EXHIBITIONS opening on April 25th, 2026.

Come meet our current Artist In Residence, Najmeh Baghishani, who will be exhibiting her new body of work created during her 6-month residency at the Cotton Factory. Stay for her talk at 7 PM.

Drop in to Smokestack Gallery to see their latest exhibition. Then, head up to the CoWork Gallery to see A Photovoice project created by Urban Indigenous Youth and Seniors. While you're here, check out our new Maquette Vitrine mini-gallery exhibition created by Moments by Monique (more details coming soon!).

The Cotton Factory is located at 270 Sherman Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario. There is free street parking and parking in our parking lot, which can be accessed off of Lansdowne Avenue.

Cotton Factory

01/14/2026

Call for Youth Art Submissions

Winterfest 2026 | Family Day Weekend

We’re inviting young artists to help bring Winterfest 2026 to life!

In collaboration with Cobalt Connects and The Cotton Factory, we are curating a youth art exhibition to be featured during Winterfest and Family Day weekend, February 14–16, 2026.

Here are the details:

The theme: The Magic of Winter—a celebration of everything that makes winter feel special, playful, and full of wonder. Think sparkling snow, cozy moments, winter animals, lights in the dark, imagination, adventure, and the small details that make this season feel magical.

Who can submit:
Youth artists (all ages welcome)

What we’re looking for:
Artwork inspired by winter magic, wonder, imagination, play, warmth, light, and seasonal beauty
(All visual art forms welcome)

Submission deadline:
End of January 28th

Exhibition location:

The Cotton Factory, Hamilton, 270 Sherman Avenue North

As part of Winterfest & Family Day celebrations

Parents, caregivers, teachers, and community members—please help spread the word and encourage young artists to participate. This is an excellent opportunity for youth to see their creativity showcased as part of a festive, city-wide celebration.

👉 Submission details & how to apply: Please fill in the form here: https://forms.gle/cpUTsgVwx9LbtdEq9

Please send us a .jpg or .png of your artwork along with your name and a signed permission letter from a parent, teacher or guardian.

Drop of dates for artwork. Week of February 4th, 10 AM- 4 PM Monday -Thursday

01/03/2026

Happy New Year! 🎉
Ready to make 2026 your most creative year yet? Plan ahead with the OAC’s 2026 program deadlines – your roadmap to funding opportunities: https://ow.ly/Crjk50XQPxJ
Here’s to a year full of inspiration and growth! ✨
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Bonne année! 🎉
Prêt à faire de 2026 votre année la plus créative? Planifiez à l’avance grâce aux dates limites des programmes du CAO pour 2026, votre guide vers les possibilités de financement : https://ow.ly/XlSW50XQPyg
À une année pleine d’inspiration et de croissance! ✨

📸 Art Starts

12/13/2025

Some wintery inspiration.

Acclaimed floral artist Azuma Makoto has constructed the third botanical sculpture in an ongoing series called Frozen Flowers.

11/10/2025

If you missed this exhibition during Art Fair Hamilton, it is on view until December 8th at the Cotton Factory. Open daily from 9 AM - 5 PM 2nd floor, Mill Building.

10/22/2025

Entwined Ecosystems

This exhibition brings together the work of two artists whose practices converge around the relationship between humans and the natural world.

The first, Lesia Mokrycke, presents a research-based installation project that raises awareness about the degradation of the urban forest. Her work illuminates the complex relationships between water and terrestrial ecosystems, connecting living trees to human experience. Through creative urban design and public art, Mokrycke underscores the urgent message that protecting ancient trees and restoring natural habitats within cities can significantly reduce carbon emissions and help safeguard the planet. Her project identifies historic, monumental trees as vital anchors in both the ecological and cultural life of the city. These “Landmark” or “Monument” trees hold deep information about times past and offer insight into how we might foster more resilient urban forests for the future.

Lana Paiement’s series of double-exposure photography explores the intersection of the natural environment and the human body. Created entirely in-camera, these layered images juxtapose portraiture with elements of nature, producing a visceral and poetic fusion of form and landscape. Through this process, Paiement evokes the deep interconnection between human identity and the natural world, reminding us that we are not separate from our environment, but part of its living fabric.

Together, these works invite reflection on the ways we inhabit, shape, and are shaped by the natural world—urging a deeper sense of care, presence, and responsibility toward the ecosystems that sustain us.

Location: Cotton Factory, Main Floor, 270 Sherman Avenue North
Dates: November 15 - January 15, 2025

10/12/2025

Winnipeg 2.0 The Return of the Golden Girl is on view until December 8, 2025 at the Cotton Factory. Drop in Monday to Friday from 9 AM - 5 PM to engage with the work, and while you are visiting visit the 2nd floor Mill Building to visit Tones Textiles and Truths also on view until December 8th, 2025.

10/12/2025

Wonderfully written review by Stephanie Vegh for Akimbo about the current exhibition in Smokestack Gallery which opened for Art Fair Hamilton. Congratulations Abraham, and Smokestack on such an exquisite exhibition!

By Stephanie Vegh Abraham O. Oghobase, Notes to Self, 2025, exhibition view While orderly elegance prevails in Smokestack’s presentation of new work by Abraham O. Oghobase, this delicate balance is easily troubled. The gallery holds a gently swaying spell of white paper spilling in three rows of t...

10/11/2025

Artist Talk with Kadri Toom – Nordic Artist Exchange Recipient
Join us in welcoming Estonian artist Kadri Toom to Canada! 🇨🇦✨

Kadri’s artistic practice is rooted in experimental graphic art and printmaking, where she merges collage, photography, and installation to explore themes of urban space, memory, and material.

This is a wonderful opportunity for artists and art lovers alike to connect, learn, and celebrate international artistic exchange.
📍 CoWork Studio 301, The Cotton Factory
📅 ​O​ctober 21 - 6:30 - 8:30 PM
💫 Free to attend! Free parking

Come meet Kadri, enjoy great conversation, and be inspired by her work and perspective.
Let’s give her a warm Hamilton welcome! ❤️

10/03/2025

The Winnipeg Show 2.0, Revenge of the Golden Girl will be on view at the Cotton Factory until December, 2025. Please drop in to see the works on view weekdays, Monday - Friday from 10 - 5 PM.

10/01/2025

This weekend - Saturday, October 4, 2025 drop by the Cotton Factory for an artist talk with Ravinder Ruprai.

Ravinder is a mid-career artist in Hamilton her works are centred around healing. A Roadmap of Recovery

Ruprai’s practice continues to examine how psychological trauma imprints itself onto the body and is passed, sometimes invisibly, across generations. Her work draws from epigenetics and lived experience, creating an evocative visual language that bridges anatomy, landscape, and cartography—mapping both internal terrains and invisible wounds.

“There’s a fracture that happens when trauma enters the body,” says Ruprai. “It alters our chemistry, our sense of equilibrium. I believe we are all fractured, all wounded. We’re just at different levels of awareness—or denial.”

The afternoon is free to attend.
Email [email protected] to RSVP and for more information.

Parking is available on site.

09/30/2025

To all of our visitors — thank you for showing up, for spending your time with us, and for supporting the artists. Your presence is what gives meaning to this work. When you attend, you are investing in creativity, in dialogue, and in a cultural ecosystem that enriches Hamilton and connects us to the wider world.

To our artists — from right here in Hamilton, across Canada from Winnipeg to the Maritimes, across the border in the United States, and as far as China and Eastern Europe — thank you for sharing your voices and your visions. Your art is what brings us together and reminds us of the power of creativity to cross borders and spark connection.

To our volunteers and staff — your dedication and care behind the scenes were the backbone of this event. Every detail was felt and appreciated.

To our partners and sponsors — the Cotton Factory for championing this initiative in its second year, the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton, Impressive Printing, Rita B Designs, and Kodie Pyle of The Artist Journal — thank you for believing in this project and helping us grow.

Arts and culture are more than events on a calendar — they are the threads that weave community, foster dialogue, and inspire imagination. Together, we are building something that matters.

And we are just getting started. Stay tuned for announcements about next year’s Art Fair and a celebration of this year’s successes.

With heartfelt thanks,

Annette Auteri (Paiement)

Creative Director, Art Fair Hamilton