Exhibition explores how Canadians stand on guard
The decades following the Second World War were marked by a broad movement toward greater freedom, equality, dignity and belonging. That progress was neither linear nor universal — and history reminds us that it is never guaranteed.
That premise lies at the heart of On Guard for Thee…, now showing at the Priest’s Mill Arts Centre (PMAC) Gallery in Alexandria. The curated exhibit invites audiences to consider the values and freedoms we inherited — and our responsibility to sustain, strengthen and pass them on. It explores what it means to stand on guard — for one another, for our shared values and for those whose voices are too often unheard.
Issued in March 2026, the Open Call asked artists to wrestle with questions of freedom, responsibility and civic values. Thirty-six artists responded, submitting 93 works for consideration. Sixty-two works were selected for the exhibition. Among the works on show are Jody Pilon’s 51 Acts of Resistance, Susan Jephcott’s in Distress, a fractured vision of geopolitical turmoil and Alan Forster’s consideration of histories too often suppressed.
Drawn from across Eastern Ontario and Western Québec, the selected works consider the everyday acts of kindness, courage and compassion that help sustain a free and inclusive society. Rather than offering a single definition of Canadian identity, they bring together individual responses to a shared question: what do we choose to protect, nurture and carry forward?
“The freedoms we inherited were entrusted to us through the sacrifices of previous generations,” said PMAC Executive Director Lourens Joubert. “If we defend those freedoms — and continue the work of building a more just society — we can pass on an inheritance worthy of those sacrifices.”
Many of those hard-won gains face renewed challenges. Around the world and here at home, growing division, declining trust in institutions and rising intolerance challenge assumptions about rights and freedoms once regarded as secure.
“Societies seldom change all at once,” Joubert added. “They change gradually, through the choices people make and the moments in which they choose not to act. This exhibition asks us to pause and consider the values we hope to pass on to the next generation.”
On Guard for Thee… brings together works ranging from the deeply personal to the explicitly political. Expressed on canvas and paper, in clay, stone and textiles, the works acknowledge both the fragility of democratic and social progress and the quiet resilience found in people, communities and everyday acts of citizenship.
On Guard for Thee… is showing at the PMAC Gallery, 16 Mill Square, Alexandria, Ontario, through 8 November 2026.
The PMAC Gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.
