Does culture take a village?
By Susan Taylor
When we think of art galleries, or many of the performing arts, we sometimes think of large, spacious buildings, where only a certain segment of the population enjoys going, to see and be seen. It is an elitist view that has been around for a hundred or more years. There’s also an element of truth to it, especially in large, metropolitan cities.
It’s not how we view things at the Kawartha Art Gallery (KAG). Our motto is ‘For the Art in Everyone’. We believe that art, visual art in our case, is many things, but certainly not elitist. It is a community builder, helping to bring people together to experience something new. It is a conversation starter – a chance for people from different backgrounds to share what they like (and often, what they don’t like), and to search for meaning from the artist’s unique take on the world. It is also a business, helping to drive cultural tourism and creating destination cities, in this case Kawartha Lakes.
The Kawartha Art Gallery is also a not-for-profit, meaning it relies heavily on the support of individuals, the municipality, local businesses, and government grants. The model of not-for-profits is, as it sounds, to not build any kind of profit – funds that come in, after supporting some infrastructure, go straight back to artists in our area. But government grants, especially, are unreliable at best. There are wonderful arts councils at the provincial and national levels, but there is an ongoing challenge of advocating to them the unique needs of rural communities.
Recently, Kawartha Lakes City Council agreed to a three-year operating plan support with KAG, a huge step in the right direction. This generous show of support was a first step in building Kawartha Art Gallery’s staff capabilities and answering the need for programming in the community, particularly for those who are underrepresented.
It also got the attention of some in our community. When he heard of this municipal support, Linborough Property Corp President and Lindsay BIA Chair Wesley Found recognized that KAG was a group to get behind. He made the connection that his father, Ken Found, was a man of culture (in addition to a community leader and entrepreneur). He understood KAG’s value to this city and its residents. And he wanted to help further.
This help turned into The Ken Found Art Fund. Managed by the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes, this fund includes an initial monetary value to be used by the gallery over five years. It also includes 61 pieces of art that will be used to fundraise further support for the gallery.
This is a success story no matter how you look at it. An arts and culture gallery that focuses on community needs and supporting local talent, gets the attention and support of a local government, whose investment inspires a local business leader to give their support.
Culture not only takes a village, culture shapes a village. Culture, in fact, makes a village.
Interested in finding ways of becoming part of the Kawartha Art Gallery’s future? Contact us at or visit kawarthagallery.com.
