Profile
Profile
OACF Endowment Fund, Donor Board
Board of Trustees, Volunteering
The Macdonald Stewart Art Centre is a
public art gallery which annually presents 15 exhibitions of contemporary and historical
art and craft drawn from regional, national and international sources. A major thrust of
the program is to provide a rigorous, in-depth presentation of contemporary art practice
in Canada and to feature the 4000 piece University of Guelph and Art Centre collections
which cover 300 years of Canadian art. Specializations within the collections are
contemporary art, contemporary Inuit drawings and outdoor sculpture in the adjacent Donald Forster Sculpture Park.
The Art Centre has four official sponsors: the University of Guelph, the City of Guelph, the County of Wellington and the Upper Grand District School Board. The Centre is housed in a 1904 school which was renovated in 1979 by Moriyama and Teshima to create the Art Centre. The 31,000 square foot building provides seven galleries on three levels with lecture room, studio, Gallery Shop\Art Sales and Rental, art storage and preparation rooms. Surrounding the Art Centre, the Donald Forster Sculpture Park containing 35 permanently installed sculptures occupies a 2.5 acre-landscaped site.
The collections contain more than 4,000 works and represent a 300-year survey of Canadian Art with some international works, notably prints. The collection comprises the University of Guelph Art Collection on permanent loan and the Art Centre holdings. Approximately 15 exhibitions are mounted each year, of which 80% are organized by the Art Centre staff. The Centre’s education programming is planned to serve adults, students and children.
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre is a non-profit charitable organization incorporated in 1978 through an Act of the Provincial Legislature. The Centre has a Board comprised of 15 trustees of whom the University, City, County and School Board each appoint three representatives. Three trustees are elected by the membership. The Director of the Art Centre is also the Curator of the University of Guelph which is the major contributor to the Art Centre among the local sponsors. The Centre has many active volunteers who manage the Gallery Shop and Art Sales/Rental Service, act as docents and work on fundraising events.
Programming: Regional, National and International Scope
The Centre serves a community of 160,000 (Guelph, Wellington County and the surrounding area) by providing a balanced program of temporary exhibitions of contemporary and historical art, craft and design drawn from regional, national and international sources. As the major public collection in this area, the collection is presented through specialized exhibitions. The exhibition program is supported by exhibition catalogues and brochures published by the Art Centre.
On a national level, the Centre undertakes exhibition projects on single artists, themes or the exploration of a specific aspect of contemporary or historical art. The Centre also circulates exhibitions nationally and, on occasion, internationally.
The Art Centre continues to develop the Donald Forster Sculpture Park through commissions and purchases, aimed at representing significant works by rising and established artists from this region and across Canada. The Art Centre's unique collecting focus in Inuit art centres on contemporary Inuit drawings. By collecting, exhibiting and disseminating research on its collection and temporary exhibitions, the Centre contributes to the development of the visual arts in Canada.
For More Information Contact:
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
358 Gordon Street, Guelph, ON, N1G 1Y1
Tel: (519) 837-0010
Fax: (519) 767-2661
E-mail: info@msac.ca
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