Some reflect culture and history, some highlight student creativity and others add vibes and vibrancy.
They all give our campus a stronger visual identity, making it feel more distinctive and alive.
Here’s your ultimate guide to some new additions and the stories behind other pieces you might have always wondered about (or perhaps hadn’t even noticed).
Simard’s student art showcase
One of the newer installations on campus is the digital screen near Simard Hall showing artworks by visual arts students from SimArts 2025. It’s part of the Arts District initiative in the surrounding area.
The screen shows rolling images of award-winning paintings by fourth-year student Sarah Kuchciak (President’s Favourite), fourth-year student Winner Tshibangu (Dean’s Favourite) and third-year student Delaney Dye (Jury’s Choice), as well as others featured in the 2025–2026 student showcase.
All works in SimArts 2025 are also on display in the main first-floor corridor of Simard, near the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and in the Julien Couture Resource Centre at Hamelin Hall.
The mural on Simard Hall
A large mural on Simard Hall’s south wall features a composition of abstract faces looking left and right, a Canada goose and natural landscapes. The piece overlooks Kichi Mìkàns (the Grande Allée) and the 90U parking lot.
Commissioned by the uOttawa Facilities team, the mural was spray-painted by artist Fathima Mohiuddin, otherwise known as @fatspatrol, in summer and fall 2024. Mohiuddin is an award-winning artist of Indian origin. She grew up in Dubai and is now based in Toronto and Dubai.
Indigenous art along Kichi Mìkàns
Along Kichi Mìkàns, 14 concrete flower planters are adorned with colourful Indigenous designs.
Created by Wendat tattoo artist Terry Dactel, the imagery features animals typical of the Ottawa area, along with related plants and symbols. For example, the eagle, which is considered a sacred animal, is associated with tobacco, which is often given to the bird in thanks. The deer is pictured near a yew, its favourite bush.
This art is part of Hoop Three of the University’s Indigenous Action Plan. Hoop Three aims to enhance the visibility of the Indigenous presence on campus through esthetic changes.
A bronze landmark in the arts courtyard
Tucked away in the oasis of the Faculty of Arts courtyard, between Simard and Hamelin halls, stands Transformation. This abstract bronze horse sculpture was created in 1982–1983 by Bruce Garner. It’s on loan to the University from the National Capital Commission. For decades, the sculpture was surrounded by just turfgrass. But in July 2025, geography department professors, employees and family members gathered to plant a pollinator garden around it. The garden commemorates two beloved colleagues, professors Eric Crighton and Kenza Benali, both of whom passed away in 2024.
The mystery sculpture near 90U
If you’ve ever walked by 90U and wondered what that sculpture is, you’re not alone. With its unusual, creature-like form, it’s easy to pass by without realizing what it represents.
During the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie, athletes stayed at 90U. The metal sculpture Abaat, created in 2001 by Malagasy artist Jery Razafindranaivo, pays tribute to all the volunteers at the games.
Les Yeux on the STEM Complex
If you’re walking along the canal, Les Yeux stares back at you from the STEM Complex.
Originally created in 1973 by Canadian artist and professor James Boyd on the former MacDonald Hall (1966–2016), Les Yeux was reimagined as part of the new STEM Complex in 2018.
Depending on where you stand and how sunlight hits it, the work shifts between abstraction and recognizable eyes. This creates the impression that the building itself is watching you.
She dances with the earth, water and sky
Unveiled in 2019, She Dances with the Earth, Water and Sky, by Mohawk and Oneida artist David General, stands on Tabaret Lawn. The sculpture depicts the abstract form of a woman wrapped in a shawl, reflecting deep connections between women, land, water and sky. It also recognizes the relationship between uOttawa and the Omamìwìnini Anishinàbeg, on whose unceded territory the campus is located.
The Hand is a Mind is a Heart
The distinctive, multi-dimensional, repetitive mural of hands on the south side of the University Centre was created by uOttawa alum Laura Taler (MFA ’11). If you tilt your head to the left, the hands form the image of a brain. The University acquired the piece, titled The Hand is a Mind is a Heart, in response to a student’s suggestion that the campus should have more artwork on display. Taler wanted the mural to depict the inner workings of a uOttawa student’s mind.
Long mural on Montpetit Terrace
The redevelopment of Montpetit Terrace in 2023 provided an ideal canvas for the Pond mural by talented Toronto artist Kellen Hatanaka, adding colour and vibrancy to the space. The terrace was revamped when the Montpetit roof was repaired and transformed into a green roof featuring pollinator plants.
Bird-friendly windows
More than just a work of art, the bird-friendly mural on the bridge between Colonel By Hall and SITE was designed by Ottawa-based artist Maria Gomez Umaña to make the glass visible to birds. In 2021, Vanessa Hum and seven volunteers partnered with Bird-Safe Campus at uOttawa and the Office of Campus Sustainability to paint drawings on the University Centre passageway using oil paint markers. In light of the project’s success, Gomez Umaña worked with a group of student volunteers one year later to cover 18 glass panels with luminous designs, combining art and animal preservation.
Similar murals can now be found in Colonel By, SITE, the University Centre and the STEM Complex, bringing art, sustainability and conservation into everyday campus spaces.
Indigenous art in the Rotunda
The Rotunda in Tabaret Hall, a central space in the University’s administrative building, features four contemporary Indigenous artworks. Installed in collaboration with the Canada Council Art Bank, the works are by Jessica Winters, Dominic Lafontaine, Frank Shebageget and Nadia Myre. They invite staff, students and visitors to engage with Indigenous histories, identities and ongoing conversations around truth and reconciliation.
Walk of Arts paintings in Tabaret
Tucked away in the InfoService waiting area at Tabaret Hall is a series of paintings from the University’s 2012 Walk of Arts competition, themed “Dance your shoes off!” They offer a glimpse into student creativity from over a decade ago.
The winning piece, by Zineb Adref and Hawraa Bachir, depicts an urban ballet dancer set against a New York–inspired backdrop. Nearby, Vincent Kember’s painting shows a group of dancers in motion, made in bold bursts of colour. Alejandra Velasquez’s work presents another ballet dancer portrait, featuring a textured background and swapping ballet slippers for black boots.
Morisset’s Francophonie murals
To mark Franco-Ontarian Day in 2024, uOttawa unveiled two murals by Franco-Ontarian graffiti artist Mique Michelle inside Morisset Hall. French Kiss is found near the Gaming Hub on the first floor of Morisset Library. Faire fleurir la francophonie is on Level 0, across from Archives and Special Collections and the Centre de recherche sur les francophonies canadiennes.
Created in consultation with Francophones and Francophiles in the uOttawa community, the murals celebrate the diversity and evolving identity of the Francophonie on campus.
Water teachings in Fauteux Hall
A large mural on the third floor of Fauteux Hall was painted by Indigenous artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch of the Onaman Collective. It brings Anishinaabe teachings and legal principles relating to nibi, or water, into the Faculty of Law.
Depicting two spirited beings who care for the water, the work reflects Indigenous legal traditions rooted in relationships, responsibility and collective well-being. Positioned in one of the building’s busiest spaces, it invites students to engage with Indigenous perspectives on law and their role as water protectors.
Connectivi-T at the Learning Crossroads
Soaring 25 metres from floor to ceiling, Connectivi-T is one of the most striking installations on campus. Created by artist Hélène Rochette and installed in 2018, the piece was the first campus artwork produced through a public art competition.
Suspended within the Learning Crossroads, a space dedicated to exchange and discovery, the structure reflects those same ideas. Rochette describes it as an “energetic hyphen,” symbolizing intellectual progress, human encounters and sharing of ideas.