Oakville Galleries (Gairloch Gardens)

Oakville Galleries is driven by a belief in the singular power of art and artists to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our communities and move us toward a better world. Oakville Galleries is a not-for-profit contemporary art museum engaging communities throughout Oakville, and wider audiences regionally, nationally and internationally. Oakville Galleries is comprised of two previously independent sites: Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens and Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square. The galleries formally amalgamated in 1978. Gairloch Gardens and the adjoining grounds was formerly a private estate that was bequeathed to the Town of Oakville in 1971 by James Gairdner. In his will, Gairdner, a Toronto investment dealer, requested that the residence be used “as an art gallery for the display of works of art by contemporary artists, and the remaining land become a public park.” In January 1972, the Town of Oakville took over the eleven-acre estate and, through the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers, the residence began to function as an art gallery, known initially as Gairloch Gallery, in 1974. Today, Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens is situated in what used to be the main house. Lt. Col. W.G. MacKendrick built this Tudor-style residence in 1922 and, upon his death in 1960, Gairdner purchased it and the grounds. Of Scottish parentage, Gairdner named the estate “Gairloch” after a small village in Scotland whose name, when literally translated from the Gaelic, means “short lake.”