Beyond the Brim exhibition

WELCOME!

The City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites
are putting together a new exhibition
—Beyond the Brim: Tales Told Through the Hats We Wore—
and you’re invited to participate.

About the exhibition

Beyond the Brim will showcase headwear alongside stories about the individuals who wore them and their impact on Ottawa.

The exhibition will include hats, helmets and head coverings from the City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites collection as well as pieces submitted by local heritage groups, cultural organizations and residents.

Beyond the Brim: Tales Told Through the Hats We Wore will open at Trinity Gallery (Shenkman Arts Centre) in Winter 2026.

Who are we? 

The five City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites include Billings Estate National Historic Site, Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, Fairfields Heritage House, Nepean Museum and Pinhey’s Point Historic Site.

As stewards of Ottawa’s material culture, the City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites manage and care for over 200,000 artefacts and archeological objects.

The City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites research, curate and present exhibitions across the five museums as well as alternative locations including Ottawa Public Library and the City of Ottawa galleries.

How to Participate

We want Beyond the Brim to reflect Ottawa’s diverse history and cultural landscape. Individuals, community organizations and heritage groups are invited to submit headwear and related stories, for this exhibition.

Toss in your hat! The Call for Submissions will open March 2025. You are invited to participate by submitting a proposal for headwear here - the exhibition’s Engage Ottawa page. We are looking for examples of headwear that are (a) unique in their design and (b) have a story to tell about an individual or community who helped shape the Ottawa we have today. All submissions will be reviewed by committee using weighted evaluation criteria. These criteria will be published to Engage Ottawa before the Call for Submissions opens.

Participants will lend their hat to the City of Ottawa Museums and Historic Sites for the duration of the exhibition. The hat will be returned at the end of the exhibition.

If you have questions about this exhibition, please contact Carla Ayukawa (Exhibition Development and Research Officer) at Carla.Ayukawa@ottawa.ca.