Artist-in-Residence Program
Established in 2014, the Diefenbunker’s Artist-in-Residence Program fosters connections between the museum, local artists, and the wider Ottawa community through the creation and presentation of art inspired by the history of our national historic site.
Flower Power
Olivia Johnston and Neeko Paluzzi
2025 Artists-in-Residence
November 7, 2025 to February 1, 2026
Humanity has an enduring — and often fragile — yearning for peace amid conflict. In Flower Power, follow the familiar motif of the flower, a powerful Cold War symbol for peace, which is woven through two immersive installations. This compelling visual and symbolic thread invites us to contemplate the uneasy dance between beauty and destruction that has shaped our world over the past century.
Spanning the Allard Gallery and the Bank of Canada Vault, this multi-part exhibition draws inspiration from Cold War literature, media, and cultural responses to conflict, employing multiple mediums to explore aspirations and realities of peace.
Olivia Johnston and Neeko Paluzzi are artists based in the Ottawa-Gatineau region and together they form the no collective.
Admission to the exhibition is included with museum admission.
“I learned about the many nuclear disarmament protest movements and integrated some of their imagery into a site-specific installation. Every element of the work was printed, cut, and pasted on site, with visitors witnessing the process unfold. This project could not have been made in a studio — it had to be created in direct response to the bunker’s secluded atmosphere.” Neeko Paluzzi
"Ultimately, I hope Secret Garden encourages viewers to consider what peace looks like in the face of late-stage capitalism and twenty-first-century isolationist tendencies." Olivia Johnston
Past Artists-in-Residence
“I am thrilled to have been selected as the Diefenbunker’s 2024 Artist-in-Residence. As a queer, third generation, Chinese Canadian artist with a studio in the Ottawa Valley, this opportunity holds significant personal and artistic resonance for me."
Ottawa, ON (June 21, 2021): The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum is thrilled to announce Algonquin artist, Mairi Brascoupé, a member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, as its Artist-in-Residence for 2021. Mairi hopes to explore our understanding of place during times of change and uncertainty and how values differ, specifically for Indigenous people, through mapping and remapping during Canada’s Cold War history. Mairi will conduct research on the maps created during the Cold War and the maps that exist in the Diefenbunker. She will focus on mapping waterways and traplines in contrast with fallout zones, evacuation plans, and Military Town Plans. By integrating these maps with beadwork, Mairi says these new maps will “move across time and space, from what was, is, and could be.” The aim of this discussion will be “how our values connect and collide” and “how we can strive for a future that brings these perspectives into alignment.”
It was the cold and concrete spaces of the Diefenbunker that inspired 2020 Artist-in-Residence Greta Grip to bring the warmth of knitting to its walls. This underground bunker, commissioned amid the anxiety and uncertainty of the Cold War years, was built to protect, preserve, and nurture the few who would carry on for the greater good in the event of a nuclear attack. Grip parallels the purpose and procedures of the Diefenbunker with those of knitting — something individuals do to contribute to wartime efforts and social causes, or to build community in difficult times. Both the bunker and the knitted items provide protection and comfort.
The Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War Museum is thrilled to announce artist, 
Apply to be the next Artist-in-Residence
Your art, 75 feet underground
Help us bring new life and stories to our concrete bunker walls. Our Artist-in-Residence program is an opportunity to inspire and educate visitors, building deep connections through the works of local artists.
Call for Artists: Diefenbunker 2026 Artist-in-Residence
The Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum invites artists to submit their application for its 2026 artist residency. Established in 2014, the Diefenbunker’s Artist-in-Residence Program fosters connections between the museum, local artists, and the wider Ottawa community through the creation and presentation of art inspired by this national historic site and its history.
To date, the Museum has proudly welcomed Olivia Johnston & Neeko Paluzzi, Don Kwan, Wind Up Radio, Christos Pantieras, Mairi Brascoupé, Greta Grip, Carol Wainio, Annette Hegel, Anna Frlan, Jesse Stewart, Gail Bourgeois, and Pixie Cram as past artists-in-residence.
About the Residency
The museum welcomes one artist (individual) per year for a period of 10 months including two months of exhibition starting in November 2026. The program is open to artists working in all media and living within 100 km of Ottawa. Works produced through the residency must have a connection to the Diefenbunker, the Cold War, or related themes.
The residency is not a live-in opportunity, and artists must have their own means of transportation (there is no public transit to the Diefenbunker). Artists are given full access to the museum, its library, collections, and archives, and on-site work can be discussed.
The residency will culminate with an exhibition, or a presentation of work completed during the residency, as well as an artist-led tour of the exhibition or a public talk.
The artist will receive a CARFAC project fee during their residency.
How to apply
Artists should submit their submission to s.campbell@diefenbunker.ca through WeTransfer.com. Submissions must include:
- A current CV (maximum three pages; please include your name, phone number, and email address)
- An artist statement (maximum 500 words)
- A clear and concise description of what you propose to do during the residency (maximum 1,000 words), including proposed work schedule and visual/audio inspiration.
- 10 images of works completed in the last 10 years. Each image must be saved as a JPG or TIFF file at 72 dpi and be no larger than 2 MB. Please use RGB with maximum 1,240 pixels (length or width). Files must be named with the image number, artist name, and title, each separated by an underscore.
OR
- Up to three tracks of audio or video clips (maximum 10 minutes total) of works completed in the last 10 years. Files must be named with the track number, artist name, and title, each separated by an underscore.
- A numbered list of the works submitted, indicating artist name, title, date, material, metric dimensions, and duration for audio or video samples.
Applications that do not include all of the above will be deemed incomplete and may not be considered. Please include only the requested material in your application.
Deadline and notification
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2026.
We will acknowledge receipt of applications by email. A committee will make the selection, and the successful applicant will be notified by Tuesday, March 17, 2026.