Encompassing multiple activities, the Community Art Experience Program works closely with community organizations to provide hands-on quality visual art experiences. The CAE Program is generously funded by the incite Foundation for the Arts, with additional donations from our community.
Three Sundays a year, we open our doors for free, drop-in, family artmaking events.
DVSA faculty lead engaging art-making projects in our studios, designed to be fun and accessible for children of all ages. Adults are welcome to join in the creativity or just stand back and relax while the young artists get busy. Families move from room to room throughout the school, giving children a chance to lead the way as they explore the variety of artmaking activities offered year-round at the school. Everyone goes home with a bunch of wonderful new art creations!
Each year, our Art in a Bag initiative provides 500 free art kits to approximately 15 community partners (not-for-profit, charitable and grassroots organizations), allowing them to be given out to individuals for self-directed artmaking or for group art programming.
The key mission of this initiative is to deliver supplies into the hands of members of our community who might not otherwise have access to art materials, i.e. seniors, newcomers and immigrants, people facing financial, social and physical limitations or barriers.
If you work for a not-for-profit, charitable or grassroots organization in the Hamilton region that serves a marginalized population and are interested in receiving some free Art in a Bag kits for your members, please contact our Outreach Facilitator.
In partnership with not-for-profit, charitable and grassroots organizations, we offer free, hands-on art workshops led by DVSA faculty. The classes – stand alone or a series – ensure that communities who may have financial, social or physical limitations to attending art programs have the opportunity to have a visual arts creative experience.
If you work for a not-for-profit, charitable or grassroots organization in the Hamilton region that serves a marginalized population and you are interested in partnering with DVSA to provide free art programming for your members, please contact our Outreach Facilitator.
Each year, we take part in a number of festivals and events happening around Hamilton. These make-and-take activities are made possible through our friends and partners across the city and help us reach new folks who may not be familiar with what DVSA offers through our part-time programming and outreach initiatives. Be sure to stop at our tent and say hi when you see us out in the community.
Through the generous support our community, DVSA is able to offer a limited number of bursaries for children, youth and adults.
The Parkside Brenda Evans Bursary Fund was founded in honour of Brenda Evans, a former English and Art teacher at Parkside High School in Dundas, who passed away after a courageous battle with A.L.S.
The bursary celebrates Brenda’s life as a gifted glass artist, devoted teacher and consummate gardener, and is awarded once a year to a Hamilton Wentworth regional student (under 19 years), who has an interest and commitment to the visual arts but experiences financial barriers to participating in a DVSA class/workshop.
Applications are accepted between January 1st to May 1st each year and bursaries must be used within one year of awarding.
