The National Gallery of Canada opened a new biennial exhibition Friday that features works by contemporary Canadian artists.

It Is What It Is: Recent Acquisitions of New Canadian Art, which runs until April 24, displays some of the 400 works of art purchased over the past two years for the national collection. The gallery in Ottawa said the work shows the true diversity and imagination of Canada's arts scene.

"It's a celebration of how wonderfully creative we are in Canada," gallery director Marc Mayer said. "We're a very sophisticated country and this is the proof."

Mayer, contemporary art curator Josée Drouin-Brisebois, and artist Mary Anne Barkhouse led CBC Ottawa's Kate Porter through the gallery to give you a sense of what's in store.