In 1873, following the creation of the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA), a group of twenty-eight painters exhibited on Toronto's King Street West. Praised as possessing "sustained merit," these emerging artists went on to establish "Ontario School of Art" and were the predecessors of the present-day students of OCAD University. Over the following years, the Government of Ontario purchased work by Society artists and the OSA donated additional artworks, building a legacy for the future generations of artists and students.
Celebrating the OSA's 150-year history and past donations to the Government of Ontario Art Collection, twenty-five OCAD students drew inspiration from these historical artworks and created responding works in varying mediums. The Archive of Merit: From the OSA to OCAD showcases the artwork from the Archives of Ontario's collections and present-day OCAD students in one collective space, connecting the past to the present.

Presented by OCAD University in partnership with the Ontario Society of Artists and the Archives of Ontario

Artists: Adam Gourlay, Agnes Wong, Alex Tremblay, Anita Lasek, Ariana Fraser, Brandon, Baghaee, Cherie Leung, Connor Rothe, Dilshad Kanji, Emerald Repard-Denniston, Erika Klee, Ethan Platt, Firouzeh Saremifar, Ievgeniia Cherednikova, Isadara Bulaklak, Judith Librach, Katrina Langstroth, Nandy Heule, Olivia Aguiar, Parisa Heydari Gheshlaghi, Rachael Grad, Raha Alipourfard, Seo Young Yoon, Shinae Kim, and Tiffany Duong
 
Advisors: Emma Nishimura, Ilene Sova, and Nafeha Khan
 
Curators: Anqi Li, Lex Barrie