The Heart of Dundas Campaign

Tom Bontje, Chair, Dundas Valley School of Art, Arthur Greenblatt, Executive Director, DVSA, Nancy Gray, Chair, Carnegie Gallery, and Clare Crozier, Chair Dundas Museum and Archives were here to promote the Dundas Community Arts Foundation and its Heart of Dundas Campaign to raise $8.5 million for the school of art, the gallery and the museum. Arthur Greenblatt gave a brief history of the school of art from the first building on the site in 1836 to the founding of the school in 1964. Presently there are 4200 places filled in a variety of programs with half of them children and half adults. He was followed by Tom who gave a history of the fundraising with $2.45 million coming from the federal government in May and another $2.45 million from the City of Hamilton last week. The entire $4.9 million is dedicated to revitalizing the school of art and must be spent by March 31, 2011. Building permits and plans are well underway and now that the funds have been pledged construction will begin to meet the deadline. With that said the Heart of Dundas Campaign continues to raise another $3.3 million for the Carnegie Gallery and the Dundas Museum and Archives. Tom asked the club to spread the word about the campaign, to talk to Ted McMeekin our MPP to get the province onboard with its share of the money and to consider the restoring, enhancing and protection of these historic buildings as a cause the club might be interested in taking up.