Yours to Uncover
Special Reception: Thursday, August 7, 7–9 PM Orillia Museum of Art & History
This summer, the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) invites visitors to explore Yours to Uncover, a provocative new exhibition that reimagines Ontario’s iconic “Yours to Discover” tourism campaign through the lens of contemporary art. Running from August 2 to October 18, 2025, the exhibition features the work of artists Peter Fyfe and John Notten, who use familiar objects from cottage country—canoes, lawn chairs, tents, and more—to unpack themes of nostalgia, privilege, settler colonialism, and national identity.
A public reception will be held on Thursday, August 7 from 7 to 9 PM, with both artists in attendance. Opening remarks will begin at 7:30pm. Guests will have the opportunity to hear directly from Fyfe and Notten about the ideas behind their work and how their personal histories connect to broader questions of place, memory, and representation.
Originally launched in 1982, Ontario’s “Yours to Discover” campaign projected an idyllic, timeless vision of the province—one curiously devoid of modernity, with cars conspicuously absent. Yours to Uncover responds to this nostalgic framing by offering a more critical look at the symbols and stories that have shaped the province’s identity. Through assemblage, painting, and immersive installation, the exhibition invites viewers on a visual road trip—equal parts playful and thought-provoking.
Peter Fyfe, an Orillia-based artist and past recipient of OMAH’s Paul Quarrington Multidisciplinary Arts Award, works with found objects and abstract painting to explore themes of Canadiana, immigration, and tourism. His art draws on decades of practice examining how cultural icons—like the Mountie or the canoe—are used to market national identity.
John Notten, a Toronto-based installation artist and educator with deep personal roots in Orillia, transforms everyday materials into immersive experiences that interrogate the cultural weight of leisure. His recent projects include large-scale works featured at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche and Luminato Festival. In Yours to Uncover, Notten digs into the contradictions of cottage country nostalgia, reimagining its artifacts through a lens of settler history and displacement.
Through humour, interactivity, and accessible materials, Yours to Uncover invites audiences to reflect on the deeper meanings behind the objects and narratives that define the Ontario experience.
