Toronto, November 24, 2022 – The Ontario Arts Foundation and The Gordon Foundation are pleased to announce the 2022 grants from the Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program:
Acquisition Grants
Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington $15,000
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton $18,000
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo $6,000
Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto, Scarborough $4,900
Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa $6,000
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay $18,000
Woodstock Art Gallery, Woodstock $2,200
Development Grants
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston $10,000
Art Gallery of York University, Toronto $7,000
Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto $7,900
“The quality of the proposals received this year was very high,” states Bruce Bennett, Executive Director of the Ontario Arts Foundation. “The Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program provides much needed resources to support acquisitions for public gallery collections and provides payment for the artists they represent. Community connections made through grants to development projects also continues to have real impact and value.”
This year the program saw an increase in funds available, now doubling the total granting budget from $45,000 to $95,000 annually. Since the Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program was renewed in 2014 a total of $455,000 in grants have been made to public galleries and museums across Ontario.
Acquisition grants assist galleries and museums with the acquisition of Canadian works of art for their permanent collection. Development grants support initiatives that increase the public’s knowledge of collecting or a gallery or museum’s permanent collection, and help make a gallery or museum’s permanent collection more accessible to the public.
The grant decisions were made by an Ontario Arts Council jury made up of arts professionals with broad knowledge and experience of public gallery activities in Ontario. The 2022 jury members were Anong Beam (M’Chigeeng); Shirley Madill (Hamilton); and Yan Wu (Toronto).
The Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program aims to foster a broader appreciation of Canadian visual art and artists by assisting public art galleries and museums in Ontario to grow their permanent collections, and support community engagement between a gallery or museum and its local community.
For information, please contact:
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director
416-969-7413 | bbennett@oafdn.ca
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2021-2022, the OAF paid out over $4.4 million in endowment income and $300,000 in awards and scholarships.
The Gordon Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to protecting Canada’s water and empowering Canada’s North. The Foundation seeks opportunities to amplify underrepresented voices, elevate emerging issues, and collaborate with like-minded organizations to drive powerful, sustainable outcomes.
About Elizabeth L. Gordon
Elizabeth L. Gordon, a founder of The Gordon Foundation, held a lifelong interest in art, history, and culture. Her passions, in addition to friends and family, included art, museums – for showing and sharing art – and the public value of good design. Her contribution to The Gordon Foundation was to insist on grants for the arts. For many years, she volunteered regularly with the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario), taking great interest in stimulating Gallery membership. Through The Gordon Foundation, Elizabeth Gordon encouraged emerging art galleries and museums across Ontario by providing grants to enable them to purchase original works of art. To honour her, the Foundation established the Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program, providing an enduring memory of Mrs. Gordon’s patronage and appreciation of Canadian art.