
Historical treasures and stories from the community on display!
What do a photo of Pierre Elliot Trudeau with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a map drawn by Samuel de Champlain, a first-edition Anne of Green Gables, the patent for Armand Bombardier’s snowmobile and Ottawan artifacts all have in common? Ādisōke!
Ādisōke will unquestionably offer more opportunities to highlight Canadian treasures and community stories in Ottawa’s Centretown. On the first floor of this five-storey facility, new exhibit spaces will be dedicated to Canadian and local history and culture, a must-see for visitors and locals curious to discover what LAC, OPL and other local and national partner collections hold.
LAC will be able to exhibit true hidden gems you never even imagined existed. Perhaps you’ll see the first act restricting the slave trade in the British colonies, the only known depiction of a Beothuk person created from life or the only surviving copy of one of the first silent films made in Canada. And the gallery is full of choices, as the LAC collections include 30 million photographs, 425,000 works of art and three million architectural drawings, plans and maps.
This is also the first time Ottawa Public Library will have its own exhibit space to inspire visitors. OPL plans to use the space to share Ottawa’s culture and stories—all sure to delight the local community. OPL also wants to share stories of the communities that make up the city of Ottawa, raise awareness and, in doing so, forge greater bonds with those communities. This will be an open space, with OPL hoping to develop partnerships with other organizations and institutions.
No two visits to the gallery will be alike, as both OPL and LAC will rotate exhibits through these spaces designed for exploration rather than permanent exhibits. These new free public spaces will bring our culture and stories to life in countless ways—no doubt about it!