The Dundas Valley School of Art is an independent art school which has serviced the Hamilton/Wentworth Region for over 35 years. DVSA offers a wide spectrum of activities in the visual arts. The annual student enrolment is currently up to 3,828. This represents the Hamilton-Wentworth community at large. Children as young as four years old, to senior citizens, take advantage of courses offered, which include drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture and art history. Although the part-time programme is the backbone of the school, a full-time programme is also available. This is geared for high school graduates planning on an art career and for post-graduate students from other universities. This latter programme, though small, has placed students in prestigious Masters programmes in Canada, Britain and the United States. In the Fall of 1998, a new full-time diploma programme was launched as a joint venture with McMaster University. The school is an employer of over 40 faculty and staff, many of whom are highly regarded regional artists. The school is also supported by a dedicated volunteer base of over 200. It operates on an annual budget of over 1/2 million. This makes DVSA a major contributor to the region's community and economy.
HISTORY
The Dundas Valley School of Art was founded in 1964 by two private citizens, Marion Farnan and Emily Dutton, who recognized the need in the Hamilton-Wentworth Region for art instruction at a professional standard. The commitment to excellence, therefore, was established from the very beginning of the school. This, and the lack of any similar facility outside Toronto determined a rapid growth. In 1967, the school was incorporated as a non-profit organization. By 1970, the school had outgrown its small, rented premises on Melville St. (believed to have previously housed a candle making business), and the present building on Ogilvie St. was purchased and renovated to offer approximately 27,000 square feet of studio space. It is a designated heritage building, formerly known as "Canada Screw Works" and has also served as a munitions factory in WW1. Dating from the 1860s, it still features the neo-Georgian windows and, among its many studios, a small art gallery, The Dofasco Gallery, and a large space with beamed ceiling suitable for performances.
