IT BEGAN WITH A CREATIVE IDEA TO CONNECT COMMUNITY THROUGH ART

Oakville artist, Rachel Williams, came up with an idea for an art show with a different twist in the Spring of 2021. As an emerging artist, she wanted to find ways to connect with new people and didn't want to do it alone.

She decided to create an opportunity for Oakville-based artists to share their work as a gift to the community. The show would be a non-transactional experience to simply enjoy art with no strings attached and the focus simply to create a sense of community through celebrating art and sharing in the joy of creativity with everyone in an immersive and relaxed way.

The idea for the ‘gallery space’ of the show was to collaborate with residents in a neighbourhood famous for its charming setting in the core of old Oakville by the lake. Rachel asked if local residents would offer up their gardens and allow talented local artists to display their work on the front lawns of the homes in the lush gardens of old Oakville for an afternoon…luckily a few said YES!

Rachel’s initial hope was to involve a few gardens, have 5 or 6 artists and hope for about 100 visitors but the seeds of the idea grew very quickly.

With the intention of creating an inclusive and equitable opportunity for Oakville-based artists of all levels of experience and the help of outreach via the local BIA & social media the garden gates for artists to participate were opened in 2021 with 29 artists at 18 locations and up to 1000 visitors over the 3 hour period.

By 2022 it had grown to 43 Local Artists, 28 Homes and 1500 Visitors. 2023 had over 50 artists at 27 homes and thousands of visitors. 2024 grew to over 60 artists at 30 homes and streets filled with families, art lovers and curious onlookers alike enjoying a stroll, the scenery, the art and the opportunity to talk with locals artists.

The community support and enthusiasm for Art In My Garden continues to water the seeds of Rachels initial idea into an art filled afternoon artists, art lovers and the community looks forward to. We are excited to keep the tradition in 2025 going and growing.