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.
To that end, DVSA offers programmes that are popular cultural activities and promote being social, lively, and interactive. She wants the school to be invitational to all and has consciously worked to provide greater diversity, equity and inclusion.
DVSA has reacted to the pandemic by reaching out to diverse youth, seniors, and families in need with “Art in a Bag” kits that include 3 art mediums and activities designed to encourage creativity and mental well-being. They have also developed an online flexible programme, “Art for the Heart”, exclusively for healthcare workers. All the tuition and supplies are free. These are all “art projects for non-artists” and the intention is to provide an opportunity to learn new things and to reduce stress.
At DVSA, they focus on building relationships by engaging with people. Claire believes she “manages from the heart”. Building community is at the core of the school. And while online courses are valuable she looks forward to the return to in person instruction for the hugs and the companionship.
Future events in addition to the programme offerings for spring include the Annual Auction, the Children’s March Break Camp and the Summer Camps. Claire also hopes to provide a second series of “Art in a Bag: and Art to Heart” but will need to seek funding for these projects.