About Ottawa Public Art

One of the goals of the City of Ottawa’s Public Art Policy is to “Provide opportunities for emerging, mid-career and established professional artists across Ottawa’s full diversity and encourages participation by First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Francophone and new Canadian artists. In addition, the policy provides for the inclusion of Indigenous people in jury selection and encourages participation of Indigenous artists.


For the City of Ottawa, public art is defined as: A visual artwork in any media created by an artist(s) that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in public space, and is acquired in compliance with the City of Ottawa’s Public Art Policy. Based on the City’s policy, pubic art includes: integrated, stand-alone, temporary and site-specific.


Interest in Indigenous public art is growing and can be found across Canada and internationally. Public art can be considered unique in that it is collaborative, and involves various artists, architects, engineers, fabricators and communities.


For more information:
https://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-heritage-and-culture/art-collection-old/public-art#