BAC Guilds

Built in 1978, the Burlington Art Centre was developed as an ideal home for the many visual art and craft guilds that had been active in Burlington since the 1950s. There are seven guilds that have fully-equipped studios at the Centre. The guilds include Burlington Fine Arts Association, Handweavers and Spinners , Hooking Craft , Photography , Potters , Fibre Arts, and Sculptors and Woodcarvers.

Each guild runs a varied program to promote a greater understanding of their specific art form and to involve people as creators. The guilds represent an important point of access to the Centre as a whole. Typical guild participants will enter as a beginner and through classes, critiques discussion and exhibition they develop themselves to a serious amateur or professional level.

NOTE: Membership in good standing with the Burlington Art Centre is a prerequisite for all guild members. Click here to become a BAC member.

---

Juried Exhibitions

Each guild has an annual Juried Exhibition which is a highlight for their members and provides valuable interaction between the guild and practicing professionals. The demands on the guest juror are heavy. They not only judged quality, creativity, technical expertise and select prizewinners, they also discuss their selection criteria and choices with the participating artists. This provides a vital educational session which raises many issues facing contemporary artists. Our Guild Juried Exhibition attracts a broad and vital audience of practioners from the region.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 to be the International Year of the Forest to raise awareness of sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. In celebration of this and the rich subject matter which it offers for artistic expression, six BAC guilds will use it as their theme in developing their Juried Exhibition submissions in 2011.

2011 Guild Exhibitions

Latow Photographers Guild (March 12 to April 10); Burlington Sculptors and Woodcarvers Guild-Sculptors Group (April 23 to May 22); Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild (June 1 to 28); Burlington Hooking Craft Guild (August 20 to September 20); Burlington Potters' Guild (October 1 to 30); Burlington Fine Arts Association (November 12 to December 3).

2011 Guild Exhibitions are sponsored by