Dufferin Arts Council

Sharing Recipient Stories

2024 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$3,600

Sharing our story

With our grant we were able to host an arts community consultation. DAC has been in the County since 1992 and started as an all volunteer organization formed by enthusiastic citizens to foster the arts in the Community. As many things have changed, DAC found the need to revision itself in 2024 by increasing partnerships and undertaking a strategic planning effort to determine our direction. DAC became a member of SPARC (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural Communities) early in 2024 and became aware of an opportunity to host an arts community consultation using a successful pre-meeting survey and event template used by SPARC for several other communities. The Director of SPARC, Rachel Marks, was also engaged to be our facilitator. Together we designed a survey to precede the session to provide fulsome data from the arts community. The consultation was held in June and attended by over 30 representatives from a variety of arts organizations in the community. It was hosted at Streams Community Arts HUB in Shelburne. The aim of the event was to gather live and dynamic feedback, work in groups to brainstorm solutions and make recommendations for DAC to take forward. Key feedback was that previously, DAC’s role was seizing opportunities to connect the community to art via programs and events (Artist in the School, lunch and learns, art festivals, field trips, etc.). Now, there are several arts organizations that exist doing a variety of art experiences. There is less need to execute, more need to support, connect, enable and amplify on behalf of them.

Shirley Boxem