Purpose Statement

The promotion of visual Fine Art through the holding of exhibitions, art festivals for the sales of artists’ work, workshops, lectures, demonstrations and the like.

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History

In 1967, Canada's Centennial Year, Audrey MacLean and Maureen Remington founded the Oshawa Art Association (OAA, which is now incorporated).  In April of  the same year, Audrey became the President and Maureen the 1st Vice President.  Also elected to the executive that first year was  Janet Ferguson (2nd Vice), Iris Starr (Treasurer), Marg Gourley (Recording Secretary), and Pat Calder (Correspondence Secretary).   They began with 43 active members, two inactive members and nine patron members. Audrey and Maureen believed the strength of the visual arts community would lie in the development of a strong pool of new artists.   On April 1, 1968, the first Annual Meeting and first Annual Juried Show were held at the McLaughlin Public Library.  By the end of the  first year, the OAA had more than 150 members, had programmed half a dozen workshops, held its first juried exhibition and was well  on its way to becoming the foremost advocate for artists in Oshawa. In 1981, the first Annual Camp Samac Show & Sale was held during the weekend of September 20th.  Attended to by the hard working committee members, this show grew into a not-to-be-missed weekend for artists and art lovers alike.   The Fall Art Festival is still an annual event that has grown to over 80 artists participating yearly.