Take a first look inside new Ottawa Art Gallery expansion

Ottawa's newart gallery has plentyof airy spaces, natural light and much more room for art and social activities.

CBC got a sneak peek of the new Ottawa Art Gallery this week. And while theart is not yet installed, construction on the building set to open on April 28 is largely complete.

Tour the revamped OAG

7 years ago

Duration 3:11

The Ottawa Art Gallery has undergone a $34 million renovation, now with four times the gallery space. Take a tour of some of the changes.

The $34-million renovation spans five floors and features more than 5,000 square metres of exhibit space including permanent and contemporary galleries.

It also includes studios,storage areas and the new Jackson caf, a place "where people can have a glass of wine, sometapasand talk about art," saidOAGdirector and CEO AlexandraBadzak.

The expansion will show the art world that Ottawa has come of age, Badzaksaid.

"We're finally playing in the same sandbox as other key municipal and regional galleries across Canada," she said.

The OAGwas slated to open in autumn of 2017, but that was pushed back due to construction delays.

"Like any big project we saw it getting more and more complicated," said Badzak. "Hooking a new building into a historic building has some complications to it."

When the expansion opens, the first show will cover 6,500 years of art making in the local area, including 193 historical and contemporary works of artby 181 artists.

The exhibitionwill have three titles:diskmagan, Nous connatre un peu nous-mmes,We'll all become stories, and will fill three floors of gallery space.

It's important for the region to have a gallery to showcase the great artists who work here, Badzaksaid.

"The artists in this area will finally have a space that is worthy of their talent," Badzaksaid.