M. Hughes, If My Hands are Tied, How Can I Dance? (detail)

1701, WOODROFFE AVENUE
OTTAWA, ON K2G 0C4

D’OMMA is located in the Nepean Sportsplex.

Go to Entrance 3 at the rear, in the hallway just above the Nepean Visual Arts Centre.

D'OMMA GALLERY

calls for Art

New shows starting:

  • sept. 23, 2024 to jan. 13, 2025

  • jan. 13, 2025 to mar. 31, 2025

  • mar. 31, 2025 to jun. 16, 2025

  • jun. 16, 2025 to sept. 15, 2025

The artwork presented at D’OMMA Gallery is unjuried, allowing new artists the opportunity to show their work alongside those with more experience. Paintings can have been completed in a workshop or class. Once shown in D’Omma, paintings cannot then be shown in a juried OMMA show. Other than these criteria, the basic rules for exhibition for OMMA apply and can be found In Member’s Corner, in the OMMA Standard Criteria for Exhibitions.

Please use our easy D’Omma Entry Form below to enter up to four (4) artworks for any one show. Showing in D’Omma is always first come, first served. We want all OMMA members to have the opportunity to show there at least once a year. Let’s hope the member response is so enormous this fall that we are required to reimplement our ‘not in two consecutive shows’ rule.

For more details, please read the “Frequently Asked Questions” , also below.

D’OMMA Entry form

Please complete one form for each artwork you wish to show.

FREQUently asked questions

How do i get to show my work in D’Omma?

All registered, paid up members of OMMA who have completed the OMMA waiver form can show their work in D’Omma. You can be a professional artist or an absolute beginner. All you need to do is sign up for an upcoming show by filling out the application form above, once for each artwork you want to show.

How do I know if i’m in a show?

The coordinator will email you with confirmation and further details, like drop off times, etc.

I am really scared of heights. will I have to get up on a ladder?

Luckily, the current D’Omma coordinator has a very kind husband who is a constant member of the hanging committee. He will do the ladder work and provide all kinds of assistance as required.

what if the coordinator thinks my artwork is terible? what if it gets rejected?

The D’Omma coordinator is not a judge. No work will be rejected unless it can’t be physically hung on the wall or it has some kind of unsuitable content. There are no aesthetic criteria for showing work in D’Omma. That’s what is so wonderful about it. Even in the most beginner beginner paintings, there can be wonderful parts, beautiful use of colour, intriguing use of materials, bold and free lines, magnificent creativity. Part of making art is finding the courage to show your art. Be brave. Fill out an entry form.

I‘ve never used an online form before. is that the only way to apply to show my art in d’omma?

Not at all. You can type the answers to the questions into an email and send it directly to the D’Omma coordinator.

is that all there is to it? I just drop off my art and leave?

Sometimes, yes. But the artwork doesn’t get hung on the walls by magic. Each show requires a hanging committee of three (3) volunteers, preferably participants in the upcoming show, who will help the coordinator get the show up in the D’Omma Gallery.

when do we get our paintings back?

Assuming no more Sportsplex closures because of renovations or Covid, you will pick up your artwork the evening that the next new D’Omma show is hung.

what if I’m busy that night?

It’s your responsibility to be there to pick up your work or arrange to have someone do it for you. It is not the responsibility of the D’Omma Coordinator to transport or store of your work.

How should I price my work?

There are a lot of factors to consider, such as what prices you have received for other work you have recently sold, how experienced you are as an artist, your professional credentials, if you have some, and/or your reputation in an art community. You also have to be able to step back, look at your work and honestly decide how good it is based on your experience and knowledge of art. Ask a trusted colleague or artist friend for their opinion. You also need to consider the gallery, the clientele that will be seeing the work and how likely they are to pay what you're asking. Also, how much do you want to sell your work? A good place to start is to go to some local art shows and see how other artists are pricing their work.

is there a deadline for entries?

Well, D’Omma is first come, first served. There is room for about 15 to 20 larger paintings, plus a showcase for about 6 to 8 smaller works. Depending on demand, which is sometimes very low, the coordinator may be pleading for more artworks at the last minute. Ideally, though, the show would be all confirmed two weeks before it is hung. When the date disappears from the entry form, it’s because the show is full.

but I’ve never hung an art show before. how much help will i be?

First of all, the coordinator will be in charge and make all the difficult decisions about the show. You may be receiving work as it is dropped off, or moving pieces around the gallery, or doing the showcase, or putting up cards that identify the paintings, or offering your opinion about what looks good. The bottom line is, your help will be invaluable, you will get to know other OMMA members, you will begin to learn how to hang artworks in a gallery and you will get to talk about art and what could be better than that?

do I need insurance?

If your artwork is worth a lot of money, say, thousands of dollars, the D’Omma Gallery may not be the best place to show it. That said, no artwork has ever been damaged or stolen from our location in the Sportsplex. The space is monitored by closed circuit video.

I have some other questions. how can i get them answered?

Easy. Just contact the D’Omma Coordinator by email.

D’OMMA GALLERY

OMMA is very fortunate to have its own gallery space at the Nepean Sportsplex. Historically, D’OMMA was first opened in 2008 at the Dome on Hunt Club Road. The small gallery had an area for a featured artist and a corridor with space for about twenty other artworks. The gallery was named D’OMMA…. we thought that was quite clever.

After three years of shows, the Dome was slated to close for several months, so the gallery was moved to the Nepean Sportsplex. Tessie Boretos, from the City, offered the space in the concourse outside the Nepean Visual Arts Centre and had all the hanging system moved there. Happily, OMMA has held successful shows there continuously since that time.

What is particularly special about the D’OMMA Gallery is that it allows new members and inexperienced artists to show their work alongside the more experienced and professional artists in OMMA.

No work is juried before hanging there and may have been completed in a class or workshop. Once artworks are exhibited in D’OMMA, they cannot be shown in a juried OMMA show. Additionally, the D’OMMA Gallery shows are hung by the members exhibiting their work and shows run for about two to three months. To know more, contact the D’Omma Coordinator.

D’Omma Coordinator, Sarah Wayne

To contact Sarah Wayne, please click here.