Arts and Entertainment

Dufferin Arts Council celebrates renewed momentum, growth

October 1, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Co-chair of the Dufferin Arts Council’s board of directors, David Nairn was truly thrilled to discuss the reinvigoration of the organization. He wants to call on members and anyone who would like to become a member to join the council for its Annual General Meeting on Oct. 7, starting at 4 p.m., at the Museum of Dufferin (MOD).

The timing of the meeting aligns with the second After 5 Salon being hosted by the Dufferin Arts Council (DAC), with Beckie Morris speaking, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the MOD’s historic Corbetton Church.

In an interview with the Citizen early this week, Nairn shared very good news about DAC, what is keeping the current members pleased over this past year and why there is so much to look forward to.

“We have had great success,” he began. “Last year, we were facing possibly shutting the council down, but fresh interest came on, and we realized there were many reasons to keep it going. For this year’s meeting, the council has joined partnerships with so many arts organizations from across Dufferin.”

“All strong connections,” Nairn pronounced. “All great partnerships.”

In the course of the last year, a number of initiatives to support and promote Dufferin artists have been released: an online calendar covering arts events across the county, along with an online arts directory, in progress. This is to provide a list of artists for anyone seeking to engage an artist for a project or event.

Yet, Nairn wanted to be clear about how DAC’s definition of an artist covers the whole spectrum of not only visual artists but also dancers, performers, writers, and the many creators in the world of theatre.

There are scholarships and awards, like the Anne Laurier Scholarship Fund and the Reed T. Copper Bursary, which has been extended to the end of October.

The Reed T. Cooper Bursary is a mid-career award for a Dufferin–based visual artist to expand their work through travel, study, or other means. Originally created by his wife, Jane, in Cooper’s memory, herself a supporter of the arts, the bursary has been carried on by their daughter, Sheila Cooper (McCutcheon).

Jane Cooper died in 2024.

Donations to the Reed T. Cooper Bursary can be made via CanadaHelps, which issues an automatic tax receipt.

“A year later and we are really moving forward,” said Nairn. “Also, for encouraging people to see what is happening here – a world-class situation.”

Keeping in line and keeping track with DAC’s new schedule, Nairn was so pleased with the community’s reception of the new DAC programs to date. The first After 5 Salon, held in Hockley Village, was a sell-out, and Michael McCreary’s comic evening at the Orangeville Opera House was very well attended by an audience that looks forward to seeing him again.

Nairn explained the style and intention of the salon events as being more a conversation than a lecture, as the flow of the subject could invite comment or question, keeping the conversation fluid. Refreshments will be served at the upcoming After 5 Salon.

The Dufferin Arts Council is a registered charity founded in 1992, a time of something like a renaissance here in Dufferin County.

In 1989, Nancy Frater and her friend Ellen Clare opened their wonderful independent bookstore, BookLore. From the beginning, while books were the market, for Frater, the focus was on people and the arts community.

Following this, like something wonderful in nature, the arts made their stamp. In 1994, Signe Ball launched In the Hills Magazine, which covers the Headwaters area.

The same year, 1994, saw the opening of the Museum of Dufferin to a wondrous collection of local history and as a venue for many arts events, with an art gallery displaying works of art on walls rising to the upper floor.

Theatre Orangeville, founded and led by Jim Betts, lit its stage first in 1993, as the crown of an increasingly vibrant arts community.

And the Dufferin Arts Council supports and promotes these and all the arts organizations in Dufferin.

Dufferin Arts Council invites one and all to attend the Annual General Meeting on Oct. 7 from 4 to 5 pm, after which a walk across to the Corbetton Church will engage everyone on a trip to creating magic with Beckie Morris. Tickets are available online at www.dufferinarts.com/events or at the door of the Corbetton Church.

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