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the story of the ou
Our flagship residency and art gallery ran for five years from our home in the Cowichan Valley before we took a pause for Donovan to turn his footwear dreams into reality with Pelago (learn more here) and we fell in love with Gabriola Island.
We are thrilled to be opening a new residency in a gorgeous little cabin and studio on Gabriola with an established garden full of flowers and fruit, and are deeply grateful to call this part of the world home.
The lands we live and love are part of the traditional Coast Salish territory of the Quw’utsun and the Hul’qumin’num Treaty Group and the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw nation.
who ‘is’ the ou?
Barclay + Donovan created The Ou with help from their wonderful friends and family to satisfy their dreams to inhabit and share beautiful and gentle creative spaces, to be surrounded by contemporary art, and to bring artists from around the world to a place where they can feel at home, relaxed and inspired.
Barclay started learning about art on the kitchen floor with oil pastels. From there she tried out a year at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and ended up with an MA in Media and International Development. Her passion for travel, art and community engagement has taken her around the world as a student, artist and volunteer.
Donovan is an oil painter and bird lover, whose lust for life sprouted as an adventurous child spending summers at the Shuswap. His work and life is inspired by an ever evolving palette of Leonard Cohen and Henri Matisse. He is currently represented by Gallery Merrick in Victoria.
Find his artwork at donovanrose.ca and check out his footwear company at pelagofootwear.com