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|---|---|
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| Single Plus | $120/year |
| Family | $130/year |
| Family Plus | $175/year |
| Contributing | $300/year |
| Supporting | $600/year |
| Sustaining | $1,000/year |
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Art Exhibition: Of Wonders, Wild and New
Date & Time:
January 31 to April 6, 2026* (Tues-Sun)
Image from the 2025 exhibition
As part of the 2026 floral showcase Bloomland in Oz, RBG presents Of Wonders Wild and New. This visual arts exhibition draws on themes from the world of Oz through the lens of contemporary woodworking.
Featuring six artists from across Canada, Six Nations, Italy and Spain, joined by members of the Ontario Wood Carving Association, our artists explore the power and beauty of nature, duality, our impact on the environment, and the material splendor of wood.
Bloomland in Oz tickets required
About the Exhibit
Royal Botanical Gardens stewards extensive natural lands, including 1,000 acres of forest within its nature sanctuaries and nearly 4,000 specimen trees across its cultivated gardens. In addition to stewardship, RBG has repurposed over 175,000 trees into restoration projects that support the health of local waterways and ecosystems.
Drawing from the original 1900 text The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we’re introduced to the Fighting Trees who, though protecting the forest, meet their fate by the axe of the Tin Woodman as Dorothy and her companions travel North.
This act of destruction is viewed as necessary for the travelers even though they recognize the conservation role of the Fighting Trees. Much like the City Beautiful Movement, a design and city building philosophy popular at the time of the writing of OZ, mankind is conflicted as it both reveres and seeks to control the natural world.
This sense of duality, or conflict, in values is ever-present in Oz and our present day. The notion that nature can be both celebrated yet casually discarded in pursuit of progress is central to our global climate and conservation crisis.
In Of Wonders Wild and New II, our artists explore the themes of the power and beauty of nature, duality, our impact on the environment, and the material splendor of wood.
Artists
Featured Artists
- Willy Verginer – Ortisei, Italy
- Marc Sparfel – Barcelona, Spain
- Renee Condo – Verdun, Quebec
- Breanna Shanahan – Hamilton, Ontario
- Kelsey Powless – Six Nations of the Grand River
- Ericka Walker – Head of St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia
Supporting Artists
- Sonya DeLaat, Tor Lukasik-Foss, Lisa Pijuan-Nomura, Kayla Whitney – Hamilton, Ontario
- Kathleen Hutcheson (RBG Horticulturalist), Jeremy Freiburger (RBG Cultural Development Lead)
- Ontario Wood Carvers Association
Soundtrack
- John Smith, Milk Crate Studios
