Art in Our Region: What’s On in May
A guide to May exhibitions, markets and classes across Grey Bruce, including new shows in Wiarton and Owen Sound and continuing work at the TOM and Durham.
This May, Grey Bruce’s galleries lean into light and renewal with new solo and group shows, makers markets, continuing exhibitions in Durham and at the TOM, and plenty of classes in Owen Sound. From luminous stained-glass to landscape and floral exhibitions, to Lovers and Losers – there’s truly something for everyone’s tastes.
Owen Sound Exhibits & Events – Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Grey Gallery
Having opened at the Tom in April, Liz Zetlin’s More Than Human — a year in my garden continues through June 27. The show is an immersive, four-channel video installation that enlarges the garden into an entangled ecosystem and reframes human presence within it; Zetlin gives an artist talk on Saturday, May 9, 11:00 am–12:00 pm.
The Tom also hosts Emergence 2026, the local high-school art exhibition running until June 20, bringing student voices into the gallery’s seasonal dialogue. And finally, Forecast, which pairs Tom Thomson’s landscape studies with contemporary artists exploring climate, weather, and environmental change, also continues until June 20.
Over at Grey Gallery John Laughlin will be exhibiting Lovers and Losers from May 7 to 30. During the exhibition, the Gallery will mark its 8th anniversary with a celebration Saturday May 23, from 2 to 4pm – all are welcome.
Laughlin will also be exhibiting his one-of-a-kind books at BiblioArts when the print and book arts fair returns to Owen Sound May 14 to 17. The third annual fair will raise funds for Georgian Bay School for the Arts (GB Arts). Details on the weekends program can be found here.
Owen Sound Classes & Creative Spaces
Speaking of GB Arts, the school continues to offer a wide array of studio classes and workshops across disciplines, printing, pottery, sewing, whittling, jewellery and painting are only the start of what’s offered in May.
Just a few minutes away, Grey Bruce Makers provides access to wood, metal and digital fabrication labs plus short certification courses, weekend workshops and meet-up events. Both hubs are central to the region’s hands-on learning ecosystem and between them cover an incredible spectrum to support the creative community.
Wiarton – The Deep Water and MAD Galleries
In Wiarton, Deep Water Gallery opens Tanya Zaryski: Shake off the darkness of winter on Saturday, May 2, running through May 30. Zaryski’s mixed practice – painting, glassblowing and sculpture – often draws on rural life and the small ecologies that stitch our region together. The show, a large suite of paintings complemented by blown-glass pieces and sculptural elements, unfolds as a visual storytelling of her lived experience, featuring portraits of family and friends that anchor memory and place.
Deep Water also stages its Artisan Spring Market on Saturday, May 16, 10:00 am–4:00 pm, a downtown gathering that spotlights local makers and small-batch craft.
A short walk away, the Miniature Art & Design (MAD) Gallery at 704 Gould Street opens a new stained-glass exhibition by Chris Malleck on Sunday, May 3. Malleck’s work, rooted in copper-foil technique and contemporary design, brings a jewel-like luminosity to small-scale studio glass.
Southampton Arts Centre
Southampton Arts Centre’s spring program pairs two complementary shows from April 29 to May 23, 2026: Brian Hanley’s The World Around Us in the Gallery Studio, a suite of acrylic landscapes attentive to local environments, and Nancy Cornforth’s Blooms and Wandering Vistas in the Promenade Hallway, a mixed-media celebration of colour and accessible creativity.
Durham Art Gallery
The System is Broken by Breanne Jeethan continues at the Durham Art Gallery until June 7. The body of work channels the artist’s Emergency Department experience into abstracted, urgent images that consider care, bureaucracy, and trauma.
The Gallery is gearing up to host Summer Art Camps for kids aged 7 to 11, so if you’ve got a creative kid who would enjoy a full week of creative projects, outdoor exploration and fun games Durham might be the place for you in July and August.
Closing Thoughts
From exhibitions that ask us to notice small seasonal shifts, to markets that reconnect makers and neighbours, and studios that open their doors to anyone wanting to learn, this months’ round up offers up plenty of opportunities to indulge in the arts.
May’s program is a reminder that art here is both seasonal and social: go for the shows, stay for the conversations, and bring home something made by a neighbour.
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