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The Doris McCarthy Gallery celebrates 20 years at U of T Scarborough

Collage of historical exhibits at the Doris McCarthy Gallery
The Doris McCarthy Gallery photo archive showcases art at U of T Scarborough over the past two decades

Antonella Lombardi

Doris McCarthy painted what she knew best: the natural landscapes of Canada, and her home on the Scarborough Bluffs was one of her greatest artistic inspirations. 

Since 2004, when the Doris McCarthy Gallery (DMG) was named in her honour, her art has served as an inspiration for students, community members and art lovers at U of T Scarborough. 

It’s only fitting that the DMG is celebrating its 20th anniversary by shining a light on the revered painter herself. The new exhibition, Doris McCarthy: New Light, features rarely seen works generously donated by her long-time friend, Wendy Wacko. The exhibition is on display until July 7. 

We take a look back at 10 moments from the past 20 years in the DMG’s history.

Doris McCarthy at gallery opening in 2004
Doris McCarthy (middle in a blue dress) at the opening of the Doris McCarthy Gallery in March 2004. The gallery opened with the exhibition Doris McCarthy: Everything Which is Yes curated by Ann MacDonald. Photo by Ken Jones.
Lions Share exhibit
For The Lion’s Share in 2012, Calgary-based artist Rita McKeough created a simulated restaurant in the gallery with found and constructed objects, kinetics and sound. The installation used a humorous and dream-like scenario to raise questions about the complexities of our relationship to eating animals, highlighting the contradictions and anxieties around choosing what is acceptable as food and what is not. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Photo of Everything I want to tell you exhibition
The gallery was a partner on Hiba Abdallah’s project EVERYTHING I WANTED TO TELL YOU, presented as part of the inaugural Nuit Blanche Scarborough. Through workshops with an intergenerational groups of Scarborough residents, Abdallah collected deeply personal stories about the suburb, then displayed as a large-scale text installation projected onto the Scarborough Civic Centre. Photo by Anthony Gebrehiwot.
Artists Jabari “Elicser” Elliott (left) and Anthony Gebrehiwot meet in front of painting
Scarborough artists Jabari “Elicser” Elliott (left) and Anthony Gebrehiwot (right) met for a conversation about how their practices intersect with the notion of home and community building, and how art can transform spaces into ones of comfort and belonging. The program was a celebration of the installation of Elicser’s commissioned paintings in the student lounge at the U of T Scarborough Library. Photo by Peppercorn Imagine.
Meryl McMaster's library installation
Meryl McMaster, Time’s Gravity, 2015. The gallery holds a collection of over 2000 artworks by prominent Indigenous, Canadian, and international artists. On-campus installations of works from the collection prompt engagement with contemporary art in atypical settings, while enhancing the aesthetic of our everyday surroundings. To browse the DMG Collection online, visit: https://embark.utsc.utoronto.ca. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Photo of women in a forest in front of a large egg
First offered in 2016, the Scarborough Mycological Foray is a now-annual program. Led by Diane Borsato and Amish Morrell of Outdoor School, alongside collaborators such as mycologist Alan Gan, and Indigenous Agriculture & Plant Knowledge Keeper Isaac Crosby, this informal family-friendly foray in the Highland Creek Valley provides opportunity for participants to gather and study wild mushrooms and other local plants, learning more about their linguistic, historical, cultural, edible, ecological, and medicinal properties, while enjoying and celebrating nature. Photo by Natalie Logan.
Children holding colourful masks they made at a workshop
Mask-making workshop for children from U of T Scarborough’s N’sheemaehn Child Care Centre, offered to accompany the 2013 exhibition David R. Harper: Entre le chien et le loup. Photo courtesy the Doris McCarthy Gallery.
Youth Artist-in-Residence Animikiik’otcii Maakaai
In 2019, the inaugural Indigenous Youth Artist-in-Residence Animikiik’otcii Maakaai presented the exhibition Tako-Pinehsiiwan in Gallery 1265, featuring the work she developed through the six-month residency. The annual residency is a collaboration between the DMG and 7th Generation Image Makers with support from the Department of Arts, Culture and Media. The program offers studio space, a stipend, mentorship and professional development, access to university resources, events, staff, and faculty, as well as the opportunity to audit courses at U of T Scarborough to a young Indigenous artist. Photo by Alan Peng.
Photo of Boys to Men installation in the Instructional Centre lobby
Anthony Gebrehiwot’s exhibition From Boys to Men: The Road to Healing was presented in the Instructional Centre Vitrines from 2020 – 2022. Gebrehiwot’s large-scale photographs challenge how masculinity can fit into today’s society by focusing on acts of care. The Instructional Centre Vitrines offer another exhibition space to the Doris McCarthy Gallery, typically programmed around the collection, faculty research, and/or community collaboration. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Northern Oracle
Northern Oracle, a 2017 solo exhibition by American artist Heather Hart, had as its centrepiece an ambitious rooftop installation that seemingly emerged from the floor of the gallery and could be climbed on by visitors. Through her work, Heather Hart considers Black histories, access to ownership, taking up physical space, and the significance of having a place to call home. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.

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