The First Floor Gallery, created to profile the incredible artwork of local artists, opened in January 2015. This exhibition space is located at City Hall, between the Service Barrie and Legislative Services counters. The space is open to the public from 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays).
The First Floor Gallery provides the City an opportunity to serve the arts sector by profiling the works of local artists and beautifying a public area within City Hall, while providing artists with paid exhibition opportunities.
Are you an artist interested in exhibiting your work? Please refer to The First Floor Gallery guiding principles and application process.
January and February 2026 Exhibit
Black History Month with Blacks for All Races
Blacks For All Races (BFAR) presents 14 artworks in the First Floor Gallery at Barrie City Hall as part of their Black History Month public exhibition running until the end of February 2026.
Featuring works by:
- Orlena Broomes
- Jamar McLean
- Victoria Ezeokoli
- And a selection of artwork by Black artists from BFAR’s collection.
This exhibition reflects BFAR’s ongoing commitment to celebrating creativity, amplifying diverse voices, and ensuring that Black art and storytelling are visible within prominent civic spaces. As we approach Black History Month, this exhibition serves not only as a celebration of artistic excellence, but also as a space for reflection, dialogue, and community connection. The featured works explore themes of identity, resilience, culture, and shared humanity, values that are central to BFAR’s mission of building an inclusive community for all races. BFAR invites the public to join us in recognizing the power of art as both expression and education, and to engage with these works throughout Black History Month as we honour the past, uplift the present, and inspire the future.
BFAR emerged as a community-driven response to longstanding gaps in inclusion, equity, and practical support for Black residents and other racialized communities in Simcoe County. BFAR’s beginnings were rooted in a desire to create a forum where Black people and people of colour could engage in meaningful dialogue with the broader community, develop solutions to recurring barriers, and promote Black culture in a way that is explicitly inclusive “for all races.” From its inception, BFAR has positioned itself not solely as an advocacy voice, but as a structured community-building organization: one that blends cultural connection with hands-on, day-to-day services that help community members stabilize, integrate, and thrive.
Visit www.bfar.ca to learn more.
Visit barrie.ca/BlackHistoryMonth to learn about special events and programming happening in the community.