Doris McCarthy Gallery (DMG) at University of Toronto Scarborough

Doris McCarthy Gallery (DMG) at University of Toronto Scarborough The Doris McCarthy Gallery is a visionary professional art gallery dedicated to the collection, presentation and dissemination of contemporary art.

We're taking a closer look at Ruth Cuthand's 'COVID-19 Mask No. 11,' 2024, as part of our series highlighting works in t...
06/19/2026

We're taking a closer look at Ruth Cuthand's 'COVID-19 Mask No. 11,' 2024, as part of our series highlighting works in the exhibition 'Back to the Land', currently on view in the Instructional Centre atrium at U of T Scarborough.

'Back to the Land' brings works from the Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery into conversation with works produced by the students in the Environmental Studies course ESTB03: Back to the Land, designed by Dr. Nicole Klenk. Built into the course were a series of artist-led workshops that promoted experiential learning through the creation of collective student artworks. 'Back to the Land' asks us to consider sustainability not merely as a set of practices, but as a way of being in the world, and to envision futures shaped by reciprocity, humility, and an ethic of care.

Ruth Cuthand, a Plains Cree and Scottish/Irish artist, uses beading as both a cultural practice and a critical lens. She embraces a medium traditionally dismissed by the Western art canon, transforming it into a powerful vehicle for political critique and Indigenous storytelling.

Cuthand’s work examines the ways disease, displacement, and systemic inequities continue to shape Indigenous experiences. Through the series 'Surviving: COVID-19,' she renders viruses and bacteria in beadwork. For Cuthand, each bead is alive, carrying meaning through repetition, rhythm, and the act of making. Her work highlights the ways materials hold histories. She invites us to consider the ways making can become a form of connection, resilience, and reclamation, binding together people, place, and narrative.

'Back to the Land' is on view to July 31, 2026. For more info: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/back-to-the-land

Image: Ruth Cuthand, 'COVID-19 Mask No. 11,' 2024. Glass beads, thread, mask, backing. Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough. Funded by the Office of the Vice-President and Principal, 2023, through VPSC51 Curatorial Perspectives II and with the support of the Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program, a program of the Gordon Foundation and administrated by the Ontario Arts Foundation, 2023.

As part of our series highlighting works in the exhibition ‘Back to the Land’, today we are looking at ‘Campus Tote Bag:...
06/08/2026

As part of our series highlighting works in the exhibition ‘Back to the Land’, today we are looking at ‘Campus Tote Bag: Colours, Community, and Sustainable Making,’ created by U of T Scarborough students Kelechi Nwokeocha, Deepa Ahilan, Ayman Merali, and Klara Wirenhed.

Currently on view in the Instructional Centre atrium at U of T Scarborough, 'Back to the Land' brings works from the Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery into conversation with works produced by the students in the Environmental Studies course ESTB03: Back to the Land, designed by Dr. Nicole Klenk. Built into the course were a series of artist-led workshops that promoted experiential learning through the creation of collective student artworks. 'Back to the Land' asks us to consider sustainability not merely as a set of practices, but as a way of being in the world, and to envision futures shaped by reciprocity, humility, and an ethic of care.

This tote bag reflects the ways sustainability and storytelling can emerge through local, hands-on making. The patchwork tote bag began as a conversation between peers, student groups, and members of the university community to learn what students carry, value, and need. Students recycled textiles, incorporating donated and foraged fabrics, while employing techniques that foreground sustainability in making. The bags surfaced as an everyday campus staple, offering a meaningful way to address textile waste, the environmental costs of fashion, and the importance of reuse.

Built entirely from repurposed materials—including recycled plastic lining—the bag brings together culturally varied fabrics, embroidered motifs, and a braided handle that gestures to U of T Scarborough’s diverse communities and its location on Indigenous lands. It stands as a powerful example of how creative textile work can nurture sustainability, community connection, and a sense of belonging.

‘Back to the Land’ runs to July 31, 2026 in the Instructional Centre atrium at U of T Scarborough. For more information: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/back-to-the-land

The Doris McCarthy Gallery recently participated in U of T Scarbrough’s Bring Our Children to Work Day, leading a hands-...
06/05/2026

The Doris McCarthy Gallery recently participated in U of T Scarbrough’s Bring Our Children to Work Day, leading a hands-on artmaking program focused on the work of Scarborough artist—and gallery namesake—Doris McCarthy (1910-2010).

After learning more about McCarthy’s remarkable life and groundbreaking artistic practice, and seeing some of her paintings from the gallery’s Collection, the children created paper collage landscapes inspired by her hard-edge works. McCarthy began experimenting with this abstract technique in the 1960s, primarily as a way of interpreting the rocky shores and water of Georgian Bay, reducing her landscape paintings to flat blocks of colour and simple geometric forms.

Translating this approach to paper collage, the children created works inspired by their favourite places, their imagination, or McCarthy’s paintings. They were also invited to engage with the gallery’s Doris McCarthy colouring pages.

Through programs like this, the gallery introduces and connects new generations to Doris McCarthy, contextualizing her artwork in the present moment and amplifying her legacy.

We are excited to share a selection of recent acquisitions in ‘New Neighbours’, now open in the Doris McCarthy Gallery v...
06/02/2026

We are excited to share a selection of recent acquisitions in ‘New Neighbours’, now open in the Doris McCarthy Gallery vitrines! This exhibition brings together works by Shary Boyle, Erika DeFreitas, Kikki Guerard, Muriel Ahmarani Jaouich, and Marigold Santos that have been welcomed into the Collection over the last year.

Living as an evolving, expansive neighbourhood of public art throughout our campus, the Collection offers unexpected discoveries and connections between artworks and their environments. 'New Neighbours' showcases five artists who are connected to Scarborough, or whose work reflects its vibrant communities. This ever-growing network of artists invites us to consider the importance of kinship, optimism, and sense of place through relational accountability within our local suburban context. 'New Neighbours’ celebrates the artists whose works and unique voices broaden our self-awareness and reflect the spirit of our campus as a place of belonging.

‘New Neighbours’ is curated by Julia Abraham and is on view all summer in the Doris McCarthy Gallery vitrines. The vitrines are located in the hallway outside of the gallery, on the ground level of the Bladen Wing. The Bladen Wing is open Monday to Sunday, 8 am - 11 pm; closed on statutory and university holidays.

🔗For more information: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/new-neighbours

Image: Marigold Santos, 'waling waling walang hiya' (detail), 2025. Acrylic, pigment, gesso on canvas, 111.8 x 71.1 cm. Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough, 2026. Image description in alt text.

As part of a new series highlighting works in the exhibition ‘Back to the Land’, we are looking at ‘Belonging to Place’,...
06/01/2026

As part of a new series highlighting works in the exhibition ‘Back to the Land’, we are looking at ‘Belonging to Place’, a zine project created by U of T Scarborough students in collaboration with artist Shannon Gerard.

Currently on view in the Instructional Centre atrium at U of T Scarborough, 'Back to the Land' brings works from the Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery into conversation with works produced by the students in the Environmental Studies course ESTB03: Back to the Land, designed by Dr. Nicole Klenk. Built into the course were a series of artist-led workshops that promoted experiential learning through the creation of collective student artworks.

For this zine project, students selected a place on campus where they felt a sense of belonging—through memory, routine, comfort, or connection—and created a print of that place using techniques introduced by artist Shannon Gerard. Each student produced enough copies for the class, creating a zine that became a collection of overlapping experiences of campus life and reflection on how sharing these perspectives can foster more inclusive, relational understandings of place.

The zines were hand-bound with linen yarn spun by student Kateline To from flax grown at the U of T Scarborough campus farm, grounding the project in land-based materials and practices.

Artist Shannon Gerard led the print/zine-making workshop, as one of the programs for the 2024 Doris McCarthy Gallery exhibition ‘Art Farm’. Shannon crochets (a lot), makes books, quilts political protest banners and produces site-specific textile installations. As a professional mischief maker, her public/pedagogical projects emphasize the materials and ethos of independent publishing as social-political engagements. Shannon is an Associate Professor in Publications and Print Media at OCAD University.

'Back to the Land' asks us to consider sustainability not merely as a set of practices, but as a way of being in the world, and to envision futures shaped by reciprocity, humility, and an ethic of care. The exhibition runs to July 31, 2026.

https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/back-to-the-land

On June 11 or July 22—or both!—drop by the Doris McCarthy Gallery to visit Summer Artist-in-Residence Kwame Delfish at w...
05/25/2026

On June 11 or July 22—or both!—drop by the Doris McCarthy Gallery to visit Summer Artist-in-Residence Kwame Delfish at work in the studio! Kwame is opening the door to the community, offering an informal opportunity to meet him, see his work in-progress, and learn more about his artistic approach. Everyone is welcome, no registration required.

🗓️ Thursday, June 11 & Wednesday July 22 | 12 – 4 pm
📍Doris McCarthy Gallery
☕️ Light refreshments offered

Scarborough-based multidisciplinary artist Kwame Delfish’s practice centres on amplifying overlooked and untold narratives. Working independently and through his creative agency, The Blak Brush, he engages a range of mediums, including artistic direction, storytelling, painting, hairstyling, and graphic design. His work explores the intersections of culture, identity, and community, fostering dialogue and transformative engagement.

During his residency at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, from May to July 2026, he is activating the gallery as his studio space—with a focus on his painting practice—and creating opportunities to connect with student and public audiences.

🔗 For more information: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/programming/events-programs/open-studio-with-kwame-delfish

Photo by Christina Leslie.

👀 A look behind the scenes as U of T Scarborough student curator Maryam Ahmed Sheerani installs the exhibition 'Growing ...
04/24/2026

👀 A look behind the scenes as U of T Scarborough student curator Maryam Ahmed Sheerani installs the exhibition 'Growing Pains', with the support of technician Chris Heller and Doris McCarthy Gallery curator Sandy Saad-Smith. Join us for the opening reception this Saturday (April 25) from 1 - 3 pm! All are welcome! 🎉

'Growing Pains' is the culmination of Maryam's curatorial internship at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, and brings together works by U of T Scarborough Studio Art students Minah Cap, Moonjung Amy Kim, Fulin Liu, and the Thread Friends Collective (Hanyu Hu, Qinyi Lou, Yifan Wang, and Peggy Zu).

The exhibition examines the challenges of navigating life between varying cultures. Through approaches of self-reflection and acts of self-authorship, the artists explore ways to process and reclaim their narratives. Across the exhibition, the works reveal growth as a continual process of estrangement, adaptation, and transformation.

Presented in partnership with Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, 'Growing Pains' runs to May 6, 2026.

🔗 For more info on the exhibition and opening: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/growing-pains

📣 Join our team! The Doris McCarthy Gallery is now hiring a Curatorial Assistant through the Young Canada Works at Build...
04/17/2026

📣 Join our team! The Doris McCarthy Gallery is now hiring a Curatorial Assistant through the Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage program, for a contract September 2026 - March 2027.

The role has a strong curatorial support function, with the candidate responsible for exhibition coordination, collection management, education, outreach, and research around the themes, topics, and artists related to exhibitions and permanent collection. In addition, the Curatorial Assistant has front-line responsibilities monitoring the gallery during public hours and engaging with audiences. Candidates must be available to work Tuesday to Saturday; this position will involve both in-person and remote work.

Candidates must be registered in the YCW candidate pool and meet the current YCW-BCH eligibility criteria.

🗓️Application deadline is July 7, 2026.

🔗 To learn more, for full eligibility requirements, and for application information: https://young-canada-works.canada.ca/Opportunity/ProjectDetails?projectId=25357

🔨📷🎧🖼️ U of T Scarborough Studio Art students have been hard at work all week installing their graduating exhibition 'Sig...
04/09/2026

🔨📷🎧🖼️ U of T Scarborough Studio Art students have been hard at work all week installing their graduating exhibition 'Sight Lines and Fault Lines' at the Doris McCarthy Gallery!

Join us this Saturday (April 11) from 2 - 5 pm for the opening reception, including 10-minute moderated artist conversations at 2:45 pm, 3:30 pm, and 4:15 pm. All are welcome!

'Sight Lines and Fault Lines' is presented by the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at UTSC in partnership with the DMG. Spanning painting, collage, photography, video, digital art, sculpture, and installation, the forty works in the exhibition explore contradiction and competing realities, addressing ideas around labour, technology, the natural world, and the lived experience of diasporic communities.

The DMG annually presents the Studio Art Graduating Exhibition as part of the gallery’s commitment to offering curricular and experiential learning opportunities to students. Gallery staff offer support and professional guidance throughout the development of the exhibition. This experience provides what is often a first opportunity for students to engage with a professional gallery and to present their work in a public venue.

🔗 For more info on the exhibition and opening reception: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/sight-lines-and-fault-lines

🥬 Last month, we partnered with the Culinaria Research Centre at U of T Scarborough to present our Fermentation Workshop...
04/07/2026

🥬 Last month, we partnered with the Culinaria Research Centre at U of T Scarborough to present our Fermentation Workshop, part of the programming for current exhibition 'Back to the Land.' Participants got to learn about fermentation, sample a variety of fermented foods, and make their own jar of kimchi to take home with them! Thank you to all the participants and facilitators for making this workshop such a great and delicious experience. 🧑‍🍳

'Back to the Land' is currently on view in the Instructional Centre atrium, bringing works from the collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery by Ruth Cuthand, Lisa Myers, and Outdoor School into conversation with works created by students during the 2023-2025 cohort of the U of T Scarborough course ESTB03: Back to the Land. Designed by Dr. Nicole Klenk, the course invites students to explore the meaning and practice of sustainability, not only as a policy goal or scientific concept, but as a lived, felt, and relational way of engaging with the world. The exhibition invites us to consider how we come to know place: through the body, narrative, imagination, and through the relationships we cultivate with land.

For more info on the exhibition: https://dorismccarthygallery.utoronto.ca/exhibitions/back-to-the-land

Images by Peppercorn Imagine.

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1265 Military Trail
Toronto, ON
M1C1A4

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Tuesday 11am - 4pm
Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

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+14162877007

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