Today’s speaker was Claire Loughheed, Executive Director of the Dundas Valley School of Art. She joined the School of Art in 2014, after serving a number of years in various cultural organizations including being the Senior Manager of Culture for Oakville and Mississauga. She is also a professor at Centennial College.

Claire’s vision is to use art as a springboard to change the way we think about the world. As the first Executive Director of the DVSA who is not an artist, she brings a different viewpoint and skill set to the role. She runs the school using business principles and works with other professional advisory groups and senior cultural executives to share their business knowledge across all art organizations and schools in Canada.

Claire’s business background leads her to use LERN business models and Environics as well as students evaluations in her decision making. The school has a 1.8 million dollar budget; has an economic impact of 2.5 million on the local economy and is the largest employer in Dundas. 

The school offers programmes in children’s art, drawing and painting, botanical art, sculpture, pottery, printmaking, jewelry, art history, glass blowing, stained glass, textiles, and professional development for artists. Classes were originally in school, but during COVID, they have been made available on line.

Claire sees the DVSA as a place that does more than teach art. She sees it as a place to build community and create well-being. She points to studies by the Canadian Index of Well-Being from Waterloo University which indicate that engagement in leisure and cultural activities contributes to our overall well-being by enhancing our sense of belonging, by increasing our empathy and by altering our perspectives.