Our Mission

Cultural diversity at the core of our mandate

Galerie SAW Gallery:

- promotes contemporary Canadian and international artists, emerging and established, from diverse cultural backgrounds;

- presents a contemporary art program with a strong focus on Canadian performance and media art, with bilingual interpretative material produced for

each exhibition;

- adapts to the changing nature of the contemporary arts by maintaining an evolving interdisciplinary presentation space comprised of SAW Gallery, Club SAW and the SAW outdoor courtyard;

- serves the needs of diverse communities through audience development initiatives;

- engages in collaborations with other arts organizations to increase opportunities for exhibiting artists and to outreach to new audiences;

- commits to paying artist fees above CARFAC recommendations.

About Galerie SAW Gallery

An artist-run centre like no other in Canada

From its inception in 1973, the artist-run centre Galerie SAW Gallery has supported politically and socially engaged art, focusing on the performance and media arts. Many of the world’s best-known artists have exhibited at SAW in the early stages of their careers. In 1981, the centre founded the SAW Video cooperative to support independent video artists and documentarists. During this time, the centre also initiated Club SAW, which has become the most important multidisciplinary space in the region. Since 2001, SAW Video has operated as a distinct organization from Galerie SAW Gallery, although both continue to collaborate on many projects.

Galerie SAW Gallery aims to become a premier artist-run centre in Canada and the world, engaging in innovative programming, outreach and exchange initiatives. With over 30,000 visitors each year, SAW is already a prime destination in the Ottawa-Gatineau region for contemporary art.