It's Our Birthday ✳︎
It's Our Birthday ✳︎
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.
We’re turning 50! We invite you to be part of the celebration with a Birthday Donation that helps sustain our work and carry us into the next 50 years.
If the gallery holds a special place in your story, we’d be delighted if you shared your favorite memories as part of our 50th birthday celebration!
Help Us Celebrate.
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.
“Durham is fortunate to have this pillar of the arts community. I am still appreciative I was able to attend day camps here as a child.”
— Sienna Rose