OTTAWA.- During this holiday season, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) offers an ideal opportunity to visit opulent exhibitions, purchase gifts, take part in enriching, playful and fun art-education activities, and simply relax and enjoy yourself at one of its restaurants. The Gallery welcomes you with its enchanting 12.2-meter-high Christmas tree, a crowning glory in the Great Hall. The Gallery will be open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays until 8 p.m., and exceptionally on Monday, December 29. It will be closed on December 25 and January 1. To find out more about the exhibitions and activities at the Gallery, visit www.gallery.ca or call 613-998-8888 or 1-888-541-8888.

Spectacular exhibitions
Whether you’re with family or friends or visiting on your own, the featured exhibitions at the NGC and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) will leave a lasting impression. Spectacular, fascinating, surprising, bold, and sometimes moving – the works presented will evoke a whole range of emotions.

Among the must-see exhibitions are Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture, named one of the 10 best exhibitions by Time magazine; Caught in the Act: The Viewer as Performer, invites you to experience contemporary art; and Steeling the Gaze: Portraits by Aboriginal Artists, presents contemporary portraits of Aboriginal artists by the artists themselves. Contemporary art exhibitions Living Room and Drawn Positions: Geographies and Communities, which feature installations by Canadian and American artists, are stunningly bold. Plan your visit by clicking on Exhibitions, where you’ll find a description of each of the current exhibitions.

Discover your national treasure: the NGC collection
The Gallery’s collection comprises a wealth of invaluable treasures, both artistically and historically, including the most important collection of Canadian art in the world. While at the Gallery, take also the opportunity to explore the exceptional collections of indigenous art, photographs, contemporary art, prints and drawings, European and American art, and Asian art.

Come into contact with art: guided tours and educational activities
Every day at 2 p.m., discover the works of art in the sculpture collection. These 45-minute tours provide a wealth of information about certain works in the Gallery’s collection. The tours start in the Grand Hall and are included with admission.

The holiday season is a great time to take part in art-looking and art-making with your children ages 3 years and older. Offered daily, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Artissimo offers a variety of fun activities designed to familiarize young visitors with art and the Gallery’s collection. In addition to art-making activities and wooden building blocks, pair up with our Art Buddies - reproductions of characters and animals in paintings – to find the artworks in which they appear. Try Art from Above, an activity where families reproduce artworks on a grand scale using coloured fabric. Feely Boxes engage the sense of touch as kids feel objects, in a sealed box, that provide clues to finding an artwork. Animals at the Gallery is a self-guided tour inviting children to search for animals in the collection.

Young artists will be proud to see their works displayed on the Artissimo wall. Access to the Artissimo program is included with Gallery admission. No registration is required. Just look for the red Artissimo pods in the Great Hall.