Art In My Garden
Saturday 12 Sept 2026
Find me: Thomas & King St
Oakville’s only outdoor immersive art experience that is free for all to attend
Saturday 6th September 12-3pm
70 artists 30+ host gardens
Plan an afternoon to take a stroll in one of Oakville’s most picturesque neighbourhoods, by Lake Ontario. Take a relaxing walk, discover art amongst private gardens and help celebrate local creative talent from Oakville.
Evolving since 2021
In 2021 there were 29 artists at 18 locations and perhaps up to 1000 visitors over the 3 hour period. By 2022 it had grown to 43 Local Artists, 28 Homes and 1500 Visitors.
2023 involved over 50 artists in almost 30 gardens. Read about it on my everyday stories HERE . In 2024 we hit 60 artists and 30 homes - I was showing my work on Front Street, read about it HERE.
2025 was a marvellous day, with well over 1500 visitors interacting with our 70 artists across 35 garden locations. New to the event was the inclusion of ‘Hanging In Harmony’ a collaborative community art installation featuring over 250 individual canvas artworks.
The installation was a real celebration of community and inclusion - showcasing art from ages 2 to 100 years old across Oakville and beyond.
My Story
As an emerging artist, I wanted to find ways to connect with new people and didn't want to do it alone. In 2021, I came up with the idea of creating a collaborative walking art experience with local artists and homeowners.
This would be an opportunity for Oakville-based artists to share their work as a gift. A non-transactional experience to simply enjoy art: to create a sense of community, and to celebrate and share the joy of creativity with everyone in an immersive and relaxed way.
The basis of the show was to collaborate with residents in the core of Olde Oakville, by the lake, who would offer up their front gardens to host talented local artists.
The neighbourhood is famous for its charming setting, close to the Oakville Museum and Lighthouse. Creating an inclusive and equitable opportunity for Oakville-based artists of all levels of experience was important, and outreach via the local BIA social media opened the doors for anyone to participate. The hope was to involve 5 or 6 artists and 100 visitors.
The rest, is history …my hope for the future is that we are established as a Not-For-Profit so it will will enable the day to continue and flourish for years to come.
“Art In My Garden has no tents, no tables and no fuss. Join us on this one afternoon each year - your chance to connect, experience and enjoy. ” - Rachel Williams
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70 Local Artists, 35 Homes, 1500 + Visitors
We had even more visitors and by all accounts this year felt even more popular.
2025 was a marvellous day, with well over 1500 visitors interacting with our 70 artists across 35 garden locations. New to the event was the inclusion of ‘Hanging In Harmony’ a collaborative community art installation featuring over 250 individual canvas artworks from artists across Oakville and beyond.
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60+ Local Artists, 30 Homes, 1500 + Visitors
This was one of the busiest years yet!
So many new attendees who were delighted and surprised to visit. Grandmother’s Voice, a local urban Indigenous organisation invited everyone to take part in creating a large mosaic representation of a 2 Row Wampum.
Saima Adnan, Debbie Alsip, Susan Ambrose, Tatjana Arsic, Eva Baxter, Kimberly Bell Schols, Elle Bruce, Shuyan Chen, Renata Chubb, Gillian Cockcroft, Dale Egan, Priti Girgla, Kim Gordon, Sofia Gutierrez, Ani Harutyunyan, Susan Hoeltken , Kerry Houlding, Sonia Illner ,Wendy Inglis, Rhodri Kasperbauer, Mary Lynne Ketcheson, Alex Landa, Zoe Lefort, Anh Luong, Helen Mara, Elena Martoglio, Traci Maxwell, Kathleen Mcphie, Ronnie Mills, Cheryl Mount, Andrea Nairn, Ayesha Nazir, Alina Nedashkivska, Bella Onay, Alison Petrie, Mark Platt, Deborah Richmond, Isley Rojas, Donna Saull, Rena Sava, Rafia Shafiq, Ben Smith, Tracy Sonnemann, Cath Sparling, Karyn Sturtridge, Nina Tarmohamed, Lisa Tullet ,Marvin Terry, Jasmine Virginia, Karen Walker Rachel Williams
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50+ Local Artists, 27 Homes, 1500 + Visitors
Hosted in early September well over 1500 visitors attended and enjoyed paintings, textiles, mosaics, letterpress activities, and captivating sculptures, with local homeowners and St. Jude's Church parishioners also contributing their own artistic flair.
Alex Landa, Anh Luong, Ashley Toner, Bella Onay, Bill Stone, Cath Sparling, Cheryl Mount, Craig Williams, Cristina Williams, Dale Egan, Deborah Richmond, Donna Saull, Elena Martoglio, Elle Bruce, Gillian Cockcroft, Helen Mara, Joanne MacNair, John Paul Jakub, Karen Walker, Karin Lynn Cumming, Kathleen Mcphie, Kerry Houlding, Laurie McLachlan, Louise Young, Margot Roi, Mark Platt, Mary Lynne Ketcheson, Michael Niblock, Nina Tarmohamed, Parisa Rashnoo, Rachel Williams, Rena Sava, Renata Chubb, Rhodri Kasperbauer, Rod Adam, Ronnie Mills, Sarah Rochon, Sonia Illner, Stephanie Pigott, Susan Ambrose, Susan Hoeltken, Suzette Jeffers-Smith, Tatjana Arsic, Tomas Zatrak, Traci Maxwell, Wendy Inglis
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43 Local Artists, 28 Homes, 1500 Visitors
Susan Ambrose, Renata Chubb, Wendy Inglis, Laurie McLachlan, Leslea Mehltretter, Cath Sparling, Rachel Williams, Ronnie Mills, Michael Niblock, Priti Girgla, Kerry Holding, Elle Bruce, Cleo Lant, Margot Roi, Lynn Fraser-Sumler, Sarah Rochon, Kathleen McPhie, Rena Sava, Karen Walker, John Paul Jakub, Dale Egan, Elena Martoglio, Karin-Lynn Cumming, Rod Adam, Gillian Cockcroft, Jennifer MacDonald, Helen Mara, Cheryl Mount, Mark Platt, Donna Saull, Nina Tarmohamed, Lily Zhou, Sonia Illner, Anh Loung, Traci Maxwell, Rafia Shafiq, Elena Martoglio , Karen Meleniclis , Susan Hoeltken, Shahrzad Amin, Ashley Toner, Mary Louise Buhr, Rhodri Kasperbaeur
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29 Artists, 18 Homes, ~ 1000 Visitors
Susan Ambrose, Renata Chubb, Wendy Inglis, Laurie McLachlan, Leslea Mehltretter, Cath Sparling, Rachel Williams, Ronnie Mills, Michael Niblock, Kate Niblock, Gary Taylor, Priti Girgla, Catherine Harrison, Shahrzad Amin, Helen Hendry, Kerry Holding, Carrie Jackson, Elle Bruce, Cleo Lant, Margot Roi, Lynn Fraser-Sumler, Sarah Rochon, Kathleen McPhie, Rena Sava, Karen Walker, John Paul Jakub, Dale Egan, Elena Martoglio, Karin Lynn Cumming