Lifetime Artist - Lifetime Supporter of the Arts – Loyal Friend
Dorothy’s story of dedicated service to the Nanaimo Art Community started when she was a young adult. She credits her brother for taking her to her first ever art group meeting, now known as the Nanaimo Art Group which has been in existence for 70 years. She spent several years on the Board for the Malaspina College Gallery and she and two others were responsible for the purchase of items for the gift shop attached to the gallery. She is an active member of the Nanaimo Arts Council and Art 10 Gallery and was instrumental in their beginnings.
Dorothy’s commitment to opening up the community for artists resulted in her becoming the founding member of our Nanaimo Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists in 1989. She had joined the FCA years before on the advice of a visiting demo artist at one of her groups. It was while lamenting that Nanaimo didn’t have its own chapter that someone told her to just do it – get one going. So she wrote to the Federation to find out what was needed to get it up and running. First she had to have a group interested in the idea, they told her, and then they would come over and speak to the group and tell them what it was about and how to get started. She advertised in the Art Council newsletter and the day of the meeting around 80 people showed up. Today our membership is nearing the 100 mark.
We are currently coming up to a 30th Anniversary of the NFCA – all thanks to this lovely person we all know as Dorothy. She grabbed the idea and ran with it.