This Pride Month, the Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University is inviting visitors to reflect on the life and work of Erica Rutherford, a multidisciplinary Canadian artist and transgender trailblazer whose practice explored identity, gender, home, landscape, and belonging. 

Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works is on display at the Owens Art Gallery from May 30 to September 13, 2026. The nationally touring exhibition examines Rutherford’s rich and multifaceted career through more than 100 works, along with personal photographs and memorabilia that offer an intimate look at her life and creative practice.  

Born in Edinburgh in 1923 and later based in Prince Edward Island, Rutherford was a painter, writer, performer, filmmaker, and printmaker whose work reflected a lifelong search for identity and community. 

“The Owens Art Gallery has long played an important role in bringing thoughtful, challenging, and meaningful exhibitions to our community,” says President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ian Sutherland. “Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works is a timely and powerful exhibition for Pride Month, inviting us to reflect on identity, visibility, and the ways art can deepen our understanding of one another.”  

Rutherford’s art is marked by transformation, resilience, and a deep engagement with questions of selfhood and place. The exhibition brings together paintings, prints, and archival material to tell the story of an artist whose work continues to resonate with contemporary conversations about gender, belonging, and visibility. 

"It is an honour for the Owens to host this important exhibition, which celebrates the life and artistic practice of one of the region's most important artists,” says Director and Curator for the Owens Art Gallery Emily Falvey. “Erica Rutherford lived her life with an ever-increasing degree of authenticity, which she expressed openly in her art and writing. Her work is a reminder to us all to stay true to ourselves." 

The exhibition is curated by Pan Wendt, Director of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and is organized and circulated in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada.  Rutherford’s work has received renewed national and international attention in recent years. In 2024, five of her paintings were featured in the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, making her the first Prince Edward Island artist to be included in the prestigious exhibition.  

Read more: Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works – Owens Art Gallery