NSCAD University has received its largest gift from a donor outside Atlantic Canada: $936,050 from Toronto's Dalglish Family Foundation, which will provide materials for student projects, enhance visiting artist programming, and purchase new photography equipment.
This is a first-time gift to NSCAD from the Dalglish Family Foundation. The Foundation's directors recognized NSCAD as an ideal recipient due to the family's longstanding commitment to the arts as both practitioners and patrons.
"The Dalglish family is delighted to support NSCAD University and their work fostering creative thinking and education in Atlantic Canada. Our family has long believed in art as a driver for joy and expression in the Canadian psyche and the students graduating here will have beneficial impacts on our entire country."
The gift supports three programs and initiatives that will greatly enhance the student experience at NSCAD. The Dalglish Family Foundation has funded the Photography Equipment Fund ($361,050), the Thesis Project Fund ($250,000), and the Visiting Artist Fund ($325,000).
Erinn Langille, the director of the Anna Leonowens Gallery, says this donation will open doors to a robust catalogue of visiting artists and speakers to the university.
"These individuals supply fresh ideas, perspectives, and techniques to students, the wider NSCAD community, and the region at large," she says. "The generous donation by the Dalglish Family Foundation will have a massive impact on our ability to bring in the brightest and best minds, working at the top of their fields. With this gift, we can strengthen our connection to the wider world of contemporary ideas, solidifying NSCAD as a fountain of art and culture."
The Thesis Project Materials Fund will be available to undergraduate students with financial need to purchase materials and supplies to complete their final projects. The Fund will support approximately 50 students with an average grant of $1,000 per year. Over the course of five years, up to 250 graduating students will benefit from the Fund.
"This generous donation marks a new chapter in nurturing young talent and the advancement of creative work in the NSCAD art community," says Jana Macalik, NSCAD's provost and interim vice-president for academics and research. "It not only demonstrates the Foundation's commitment to developing the future generation of artists, but it also considerably improves our potential to recruit exceptional students who want to push the boundaries of art practice.
"The Dalglish Family Foundation is investing in the future of art by allowing our students to explore, create, and contribute to the art world without financial restraints," she continues. "We look forward to sharing student success stories with the Dalglish Family Foundation for years to come."
Noelle Peach, director of teaching and learning, says the Photography Equipment Fund will go a long way to ensure students have access to high-quality equipment and maintaining photography facilities at the university.
"We are very excited and grateful for the opportunities this equipment fund will afford in both augmenting classroom curriculum and individual photo practice," she says. "Photography requires both old and new technologies to realize conceptual work, and the Dalglish Family Foundation gift will provide an extraordinary opportunity for nearly any concept to be realized by our students. The Photography program serves not only students within the program, but also a wide cross-section of students exploring multi-disciplinary practices, and students needing to document and archive work completed in other disciplines. The impact of this gift will be felt across the university."
With this generous donation, young and emerging artists from NSCAD will not only receive a financial boost but also invaluable support to help them lay a solid foundation for their artistic careers, says NSCAD President, Peggy Shannon. This will empower them to explore their creative potential and contribute meaningfully to our artistic landscape.
"I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Dalglish Family Foundation for this support," Shannon continues. "I am thrilled that this investment will have such an immediate and significant impact on our students, faculty, and staff."
