The Art Gallery of Burlington, founded in 1978, is the seventh largest public art gallery in Ontario. The Gallery collects and maintains Canada's largest collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics. It is located on the City of Burlington waterfront in close proximity to Spencer Smith Park. The Gallery is a non-profit registered charitable organization that provides free admission to over 100,000 visitors each year to exhibitions, educational programs, studios and other activities.
History
It was formed by several active visual arts co-operatives and guilds in the Burlington region. It was opened in 1978 as a facility for art groups to develop dedicated studios, photography, hand weaving, spinning, sculpture, woodcarving, ceramics, fine arts, and hooking craft know today as Arts Burlington. The Gallery expanded and it started to become a public art gallery with exhibitions, publications, and a collection of contemporary Canadian ceramic art and educational programs. The facility has undergone two capital expansions in response to the increasing need for collection storage, studios, and revenue generation.
The Art Gallery operates a 4,100 m². facility with exhibition spaces that include the 400 m². AIC Gallery, the 40 m². F.R. Perry Gallery, a collection atrium, multiple display cases throughout the facility for works in the collection, and a 225 m². exterior courtyard for site-specific exhibitions. The educational programs have 10 studio/classrooms. Meeting rooms, gallery shop, café and offices account for 1,400 m²..
Programs
There is an exhibition program, which has contemporary Canadian ceramists and regional artists including the AGB's guild members. There is an education program which trains artists and craftspeople. The AGB collects contemporary Canadian ceramics. The development of a collection of over 1,000 artworks is a principle 'driver' for curatorial work. Exhibitions of contemporary ceramics are curated from the gallery's collection and from practicing Canadian artists. International and historic artworks are utilized to provide context and background for Canadian developments. Itabashi, a sister city of Burlington, an Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan and public art galleries across Canada recognize the Gallery's ceramic collection. The Gallery has a "Fire + Earth" exhibition through Virtual Museums Canada.
