The Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery is a free public art gallery located in downtown Sarnia, Ontario. With more than 250 members, over 1,200 works of Canadian art in the permanent collection, and with the support of a keen volunteer team, the gallery serves an immediate community of 128,000 people across Lambton County.

We approach our job with a regional responsibility and an appreciation for the national sensibility; responding to issues that matter in our immediate community within the broader context of the Canadian cultural economy. We offer a variety of historical and contemporary exhibitions that, as per our mandate, focus on visual art and visual culture by Canadian artists of national and regional calibre in a dynamic environment.

Our goal is to provide the community with an exciting range of art exhibitions, tours, lectures and art programs that inspire creativity and interest in the visual arts.

Acknowledgement of Ancestral Lands Preamble:

We acknowledge that the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples, referred to collectively as the Anishinaabeg, inhabited these lands at the time of transfer to the Crown by treaty. Lambton County was part of the Huron Tract Purchase, which was transferred under Treaty #29 in 1827, and also includes lands associated with the Sombra Township Purchase transferred under Treaty #7 in 1796, and Long Woods Purchase transferred under Treaty #21 in 1819. We also acknowledge the earlier Indigenous people who travelled these lands in the time of the Wampum treaties.

We acknowledge that we are all treaty people, with our own set of rights and responsibilities. Treaties are a foundational part of our society, and the settlement of Lambton County within a treaty area was made possible through the treaty process. The existence of treaties is proof that the first settlers of what is now Canada acknowledged First Nations as sovereign people and negotiated Nation to Nation. By understanding the colonial history of Canada we can renew our relationships with each other and move towards meaningful reconciliation.

Further, it is through the connection of the Anishinaabeg with the spirit of the land, water and air that we recognize their unique cultures, traditions, and values. Today, we are part of this same land that sustains all life, and it is the sacred responsibility of all people to ensure that the environment remains protected. Finally, we acknowledge that the inherent languages of the Anishinaabeg preclude any English/French meaning.

Acknowledgement of Ancestral Lands:

We acknowledge that this land on which we are gathered today is part of the ancestral land of the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples, referred to collectively as the Anishinaabeg. It is through the connection of the Anishinaabeg with the spirit of the land, water and air that we recognize their unique cultures, traditions, and values. Together as treaty people, we have a shared responsibility to act with respect for the environment that sustains all life, protecting the future for those generations to come.

Language Pronunciations:

Anishinaabeg (ah-nish-i-nah-beg)
Chippewa (chip-uh-wah)
Odawa (o-dah-wah)
Potawatomi (pot-uh-wah-tuh-mee)

Mandate

To collect, manage, research, showcase and interpret a collection of contemporary and historically significant Canadian visual art and visual culture; to support and mentor emerging, mid-career and established contemporary artists; to provide a dynamic environment that will engage and challenge the viewer on multiple levels fostering and expanding their relationship to art.

Vision

The Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery will support the community by being a safe space that provides creative opportunities for people to connect, share stories, and discover new insights through art.

Guiding Principals

Informing the artistic vision is the recognition that the public art gallery is a social space where dialogue, debate, confrontation, personal reflection, innovation and experimentation can safely occur. That visual art and visual culture, with its capacity to embrace and reflect the multifaceted makeup of our society, is a powerful and vital medium that stimulates opportunities for creative exchange and discovery. In this regard, the JNAAG operates on the edge between art, education, and community, exploring how the visual arts can lead to new ways of thinking about, and being in the world. Striving to remain agile, JNAAG is responsive to the changing community, to new media and to new ideas, ensuring that the artistic programs enable the visitor to make personal connections to art.

Exhibition projects and ancillary programming are thought of as an ongoing and living process. By challenging and extending the traditional, and looking for new artistic, curatorial and programming strategies we strive to make Canadian art and visual culture relevant to a wide demographic within our community. Our activities are based on the cultural dynamics of our regional community within the framework of the larger provincial and national arts community. Our responsibility is to showcase a wide range of art and art practices and to provide opportunities for engagement that draws on the experiences and stories of the region as a reference point.