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Dartmouth Visual Arts Society

Dartmouth is a neighborhhod of Halifax founded as an independent city in 1750 on the opposite side of the harbor from Halifax. A ferry between the two cities was started in 1752 and is still in operation; the oldest ferry in North America.With commercial and industrial buildings dating from the early 19th century and residences from the late 18th century, today Dartmouth is a beautiful neighborhood in greater Halifax. Within minutes of Dartmouth one can find the most scenic rocky harbours, gentle fishing village coves, farms on rolling hills and parklands both along the coast and inland: ideal subject matter and encouragement for artists of all kinds.
The Dartmouth Visual Arts Society (DVAS) was founded in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 1987

The purpose of DVAS is to support and promote visual arts at all levels. The original membership in 1987 was less than 20 and has grown to over 120 during the past several years.

From a workshop
DVAS offers its members many programs within which to promote visual arts. Their flagship activity includes the nine workshops each year planned and organized by DVAS and given by well known maritime artists. These have been held at a local church hall for several years. Very popular workshops often have to be spread over two days to accommodate all the interested attendees.

From the October '05 Sale and Show - Note the emphasis on landscapes
Another visual arts activity includes four main “show and sales” each year. Two of these are held at our home gallery, the Craig Gallery located at Alderney Landing by the Dartmouth to Halifax ferry terminal. The remaining two are held each year at a local shopping centre and at the Shearwater Aviation Museum. These offer plenty of opportunities for artists of all level to participate.

In addition DVAS offers a limited scholarship each year to a graduating high school student who pursues fine arts education or degree at a higher level institution. Planning for this begins in the autumn and involves all the Municipality High Schools. Participating students are invited to provide a portfolio of their artistic creativity by the following spring. These portfolios are set up in the Craig Gallery for the judging by respected maritime artists and then are opened to the public for a short period.

Dartmouth Visual Arts Society's most senior member and the winner of this year's scholarship
One of the more popular and consistent activities is a weekly studio group held at a Dartmouth Senior Citizens complex. About 20 DVAS artists take part in this ongoing activity. During the cooler months we meet inside the complex and in summer, or warmer periods, we have recently started ‘on location’ painting at various sites.
Many artists in DVAS participate in fundraising events such as tiles for the Mental Health society and the Children’s Hospital. Several DVAS artists are members of Canada’s oldest watercolour society – Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colours or CSPWC.
The many DVAS activities require a large Board of Directors, currently including 15 positions.

The Dartmouth Visual Arts Society maintains a website at: http://www.dvas.ca/
Contact by email can be made at: jav.stevenson@ns.sympatico.ca

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