It's Our Birthday!
It's Our Birthday!
Image Credits: Installation views of Homecoming, Maralynn Cherry, Sujesh Chitty, Tony Cooper, Jane Eccles, Ron Eccles, JR Hunter, Jihee Min, Amy Shackleton, Pete Smith, Todd Tremeer, David Trotter at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, 2026.
Celebrating
50 Years of Creativity
Gallery Anniversary
For 50 years, the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington has been a place where creativity takes root, grows, and is shared. What began as a small, community-driven initiative has evolved into a vibrant cultural hub—one shaped by artists, learners, volunteers, supporters, and neighbours who believe that the arts matter.
Since its founding, the Centre has reflected the spirit of Clarington itself: welcoming, curious, resilient, and deeply connected to place. Over five decades, we have grown alongside our community—expanding our programs, our facilities, and our reach—while staying grounded in the same core purpose: to make visual art accessible, meaningful, and enriching for people of all ages and backgrounds.
The VAC has been a first studio for beginners and a professional platform for established artists. It has been a classroom, a gallery, a meeting place, and a creative refuge. Thousands of people have walked through our doors to take a class, view an exhibition, volunteer their time, or simply experience the joy of making and seeing art. Each has left their mark, just as the Centre has left its mark on them.
Homecoming:
A 50th Anniversary Exhibition
June 12 - December 6, 2026
Our growth has been shaped by dedication and care. From volunteer-led beginnings to a professional arts organization, the Centre has continually adapted—responding to new artistic practices, community needs, and opportunities for inclusion and access. Exhibitions have become more ambitious, programs more diverse, and partnerships more far-reaching. At every stage, progress has been guided by a belief in the power of creativity to connect people and strengthen community.
As we mark this 50th anniversary, we do so with gratitude. We honour the visionaries who founded the Centre, the artists who have shared their work and knowledge, the staff and volunteers who have sustained it, and the supporters who have believed in its future. Their collective efforts have ensured that the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington is not only a place with a history, but a place with momentum.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to growth—thoughtful, inclusive, and community-centred. The next chapter will build on the past while embracing change, ensuring that the VAC continues to be a space where creativity thrives for generations to come.
A Message from our Executive Director
Happy Anniversary! This year marks 50 years of the VAC! It’s a milestone worth celebrating!
In August 1976, the papers were signed and the VAC became an official part of the community. However, our story starts even before that. It began with a group of passionate community members who believed Clarington needed a home and gathering place for the arts. These people carved out time and effort to build the foundation for the VAC we know and love today.
Because of their care and dedication, fifty years later, that vision continues to grow.
Anniversaries give us a chance to look back with gratitude, but they’re also a chance to reflect on just what keeps a place going for fifty years. Buildings change. Programs evolve. People come and go. What stays at the heart is a community that continues to choose and believe in a place like the VAC.
So, Happy Anniversary!! To every artist who has shared their stories through their work, to every instructor who has turned our studios into places to learn and grow, to everyone who has decided to try something new and take a class, to every volunteer who has given their time and passion, and to every person who has wandered through to see an exhibition.
Happy Anniversary, and thank you!
For fifty years, our community has ensured that Clarington has a place where creativity can flourish, where new ideas can be explored, where artists can share their work, and where everyone can encounter new perspectives that enrich their own.
The next fifty years will be shaped by the same choices that brought us here: a commitment to artists, to learning, and to the belief that creativity belongs at the heart of community. If the VAC has been part of your story, thank you. You’ve helped make this place what it is.
As we look forward to the next fifty and beyond, we hope you’ll continue to join us.