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Following the end of World War One, and throughout the 1920s, a number of concerts and art exhibitions were held in Kingston, under the joint auspices of the Richardson Bequest and the Queen’s University Art and Lecture Committee. However, in 1927, Agnes McCausland Etherington, the administrator of a trust, established by her late brother, Captain George Taylor Richardson, for the stimulation of art and music among the citizens of Kingston and the students of Queen’s University, decided it was time to organize a formally constituted society for that purpose. Consequently, on 1927 the Kingston Art and Music Club was founded. Its first President was Agnes Etherington, its Secretary was Miss R.H.M. Tullis, and its first Treasurer was Mr. A.N. Lyster.

This new organization proved to be very popular with both the inhabitants of Kingston and the students of Queen’s University alike, and within a year its membership numbered approximately seven hundred. It soon became apparent to the Executive, in particular, that an even more structured organization was necessary to handle the somewhat diversified demand for instruction, concerts, lectures, exhibitions, etc., and so three “working groups” were established in the autumn of 1928, to reflect the interests of the membership .

Of these three – music, drama, art – the last was by far the most organized; so much so, that at a meeting held on 5 October 1929, the Art Group was formally constituted, following a suggestion put forward by Mrs. Etherington. For the next three years this organization, under the leadership of Convenor, Mr. E.C. Kyte, Secretary Treasurer, Mrs. Dorothy Mahood, and Business Manager and Publicity Agent, Dr. W.D. Hay, arranged public lectures in art, sponsored and hosted exhibitions which were free to the general public, and organized regular painting sessions in the club room of the old Bank of Commerce building on King Street.

These instructional classes were held under the guidance of two instructors, a Miss Kitty Grant, and a Miss Kirby, whose services had been obtained with funds secured from the George Taylor Richardson Bequest.

While the Art Group was thriving, its parent organization was not. Kingston, like the rest of the country was suffering from the throes of the Great Depression, and many groups, the Kingston Art and Music Club (KAMC) not the least among them, were increasingly strapped for funds. At its meeting in April 1932, the Executive of KAMC proposed that the conveners of the three groups meet with the George Taylor Richardson Bequest Committee to discuss the possibility of continuing independently from the parent body.

This proposal met with a favourable response at the annual meeting of the Art Group, and so, on 11 October 1932, a meeting was held to reorganize the group. A constitution was adopted unanimously, and the Kingston Art Association (KAA) came into existence.

At its meeting in April 1932, the Executive of Kingston Art and Music Club proposed that the conveners of the three groups meet with the George Taylor Richardson Bequest Committee to discuss the possibility of continuing independently from the parent body.

This proposal met with a favourable response at the annual meeting of the Art Group, and so, on 11 October 1932, a meeting was held to reorganize the group. A constitution was adopted unanimously, and the Kingston Art Association (KAA) came into existence. Under a new Executive consisting of President, Professor Reginald G. Trotter; Vice-President, Mr. Ernest Cockburn Kyte; and Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Annie Gibson, the nineteen members of the KAA set down its purpose as being “to encourage the practice, study and appreciation of art among its members and in the City of Kingston.”

With these objectives in mind, the Association busied itself with arranging lectures and exhibitions and obtaining professional instruction for its members who were painters. Under the energetic leadership of its president, Professor Trotter, the KAA was able to persuade the Carnegie Foundation in 1933, to grant money to Queen’s for the promotion of interest and activity in art, both among residents of the community and students of the University. The funds made available by this grant allowed for art classes to be conducted for elementary, secondary, high school, and university students, as well as for adults. They were led by Miss Barbara Lowe (Assistant in Art at Queen’s) and by Mr. Goodridge Roberts, a Montreal artist, who became Artist-in-Residence at Queen’s for the next three years.

However, the Carnegie Foundation withdrew its funding in 1936, and it was at this point that Agnes Etherington, once more, came to the rescue. She offered to provide enough funds for the appointment of a new artist-in-residence at Queen’s, on the condition that the University recognized the work of students studying under this person as counting towards of a degree in Fine Arts. The University agreed, and André Bieler was appointed to the position in the autumn of 1936.

The Kingston Art Association’s programme of providing instruction and practice to members, residents, and students continued through the War years and into the 1980s, and exhibitions, including the ever-popular and increasingly sophisticated annual spring exhibit of works by KAA members, such as André Bieler and Grant MacDonald became an annual event. .

By the mid-1950s, the demand for a more ambitious and varied programme led the Association to undertake a slightly expanded calendar of public lectures, exhibitions, and discussions. This expansion however, led the Treasurers to report a deficit in 1955, and forced the KAA to approach the Mayor and Council of Kingston for financial support in early 1956. The request was turned down and the organization was obliged to raise its membership fees (its only source of revenue) for the first time in living memory.

The year 1957 brought the KAA a step closer to realizing the one objective, first posited in 1932, which had yet to be achieved – namely to obtain for Kingston a permanent collection of paintings to be housed in a community art gallery. The result of the generous giving of her house to the University by Agnes Etherington now offered the chance for the housing of a permanent art collection in a fixed location. The relationship of the Association to the University became even closer than in the past. In the spring of 1957, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (AEAC) opened its doors to the community. For many years the Association, while a civic group, had enjoyed close ties with the University – the latter had offered the use of meeting rooms in Douglas Library, as well as exhibition space; and KAA members had been instrumental in assisting the University Art Committee, and especially the Queen’s University Art Foundation during World War Two, to acquire several major collections which would form the nucleus of a permanent art collection in the City of Kingston. In short, the Association had always been very closely related to the University, and had promoted the collections held and displayed on campus to the larger public.

With the opening of the AEAC in Etherington House on University Avenue, and its subsequent additions, it became increasingly apparent over the succeeding years that energies and talents should be pooled into one cohesive and dynamic organization. Thus, in early 1965, it was recommended by a Special Committee of the Executive, charged with looking into the future role of the KAA that “the Kingston Art Association as such, disband and that its members be free to joint the newly proposed Gallery Association as they see fit.” This notion, when presented to members as a whole on 5 May 1965, carried unanimously. The Kingston Art Association, after a large and fruitful effort to keep an interest in painting and paintings alive and thriving in Kingston, dissolved on the 19 July 1965.

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On December 1, 1975 the first proposal for an artists’ cooperative for Kingston was put forward to the Chair of the Visual and Creative Arts Department of St. Lawrence College.

During the summer of 1976 research into the feasibility of the project was carried out. Rental of a space was investigated, aims and objectives were formulated, and matters of incorporation were pursued. A comprehensive mailing list of local artists was developed, biographical information and slides were collected and the first memberships were taken out. .

An initial and interim Board of Directors were elected at a General Meeting of interested parties, in November of 1976. Those Board members were: JoAnne Abrams; Toby Anderson; R. E. Buff; Gaye Bullock; Jeffery Childs; Lorne Coutts; Alana Kapell; William Roff; Alan Wilkinson; and Lenni Workman.

Priority was given to the need for space for a gallery and studio spaces, and several potential facilities were investigated. However, while the cost of downtown Kingston space was found to be too high for the group, St. Lawrence College rented 325 King St. East to facilitate the development of the artist-run center, and the initial St. Lawrence Art Project (S.L.A.P.) was established there.

The first Gala Party and Membership Drive was held in June 1977 and resulted in 30 new members. The group gained its legal non-profit status in August 1977 and became known as the Kingston Artists Association Incorporated (K.A.A.I). In October 1977, the K.A.A.I was officially incorporated. Its main aims were to provide a focal organization and meeting place for artists and the public, to provide studio and workshop space and a gallery for exhibition purposes, and to collect and disseminate information about local artists.

Just one year later, the K.A.A.I amalgamated with “Another Space Gallery” originally owned by Lee Kozlik, and located at 191 Princess Street. Later that year, the Kingston Artists’ Association Inc./ Another Space Gallery moved to 21A Queen Street, and at that time re-named itself Kingston Artists’ Association Inc. & Gallery.

The new association provided art exhibitions, performance events, art festivals, newsletters, and an artists’ index. The first outside funding came from Ontario Educational Communications Authority in 1978.

By January 1979, the membership had grown to 57. The Association applied for operating and project grants with the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. By 1980, funding was secured from both of these bodies. The more secure financial situation made it possible put into place a policy that ensured fees were paid to the artists for exhibiting at the Gallery.

The Kingston Arts Council adopted its constitution in January, 1962 and was incorporated on February 18th, 1963 as the Kingston Regional Arts Council, making it Ontario’s oldest arts council.

When Kingston’s Grand Theatre faced demolition in the early 1960’s, a group of concerned citizens united people interested in the arts and determined that there was a need for an arts council. After assuming the leadership role in this endeavour, The Kingston Arts Council (KAC) was formed.

The mandate that became the heart of the organization in the sixties— to sponsor, encourage and foster excellence in the arts—still holds true today. An umbrella organization that represents all of the artists in Kingston and the surrounding regions , the KAC has been devoted to nurturing regional artists of all disciplines and skill levels, and advocating on their behalf for nearly half a century.

Operating with a small staff, dedicated volunteer board and committee members from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, the Council acts as an artistic hub, channelling information and ideas to (and from) the wider community. All of the programmes and services of the Kingston Arts Council are aimed at creating this vital, ongoing engagement between community members and the region’s arts and artists.

The KAC and its volunteers have been particularly successful in developing community partnerships. It worked closely with the City of Kingston to develop and implement its cultural policies, strengthening the voice of the arts through active planning, promotion and communication. The KAC was the driving force behind the establishment of the first Kingston Arts Board in 1982 and has always remained closely aligned with efforts to maintain arts support from the municipal government. One of the major operations of the Arts Council since 2007 has been the administration of the City of Kingston’s Arts Fund, a fund which distributes approximately $450,000 annually to eligible not-for-profit organizations. Numerous volunteers associated with the Arts Council worked behind the scenes for nearly a decade to help re-establish this critical funding source for arts activities.

The KAC was also given the honour of administering the Nan Yeoman’s Award for Artistic Development, an award to help young artists further their professional artistic growth through focused training and guided creation which has a monetary value of $2500.

The KAC currently has three main internal projects: The Kingston Prize, The Juried Art Salon, and The Fine Craft and Art Guide. Founded in 2004, The Kingston Prize is a biennial contemporary portrait contest that was inspired by the Archibald Prize in Sydney Australia (1921). Funding from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation provides a $10 000 prize, which helps to attract Canada-wide interest. In 2009, the KAC was awarded an $8000 grant from the Ontario Arts Council to take the Kingston Prize finalists to Wolfville, Nova Scotia and Calgary, Alberta as part of a nationwide tour. The Kingston Arts Council’s annual Juried Art Salon enables member artists from the region to enter up to two pieces in any medium and have their work judged by two professional artists. The winners and finalists are exhibited at the Wilson Room of the Kingston Public Library during the month of May. The Fine Craft and Art Guide promotes the best of Kingston region’s artisans, artists, and theatrical talent.

Shortly after the arrival of the main body of Loyalist settlers in 1784, Kingston acquired its first school. In 1785 or 1786 the Rev. John Stuart persuaded the authorities to build a schoolhouse. Although difficulties in getting and keeping a teacher forced periodic closures, the school ran continuously from 1795 to 1799 with George Okill Stuart as schoolmaster. In 1807 the School Act was passed in the Upper Canada Legislature establishing a public or grammar school in each of the eight districts of Upper Canada. The one for the Midland District was located in Kingston and was known as the Midland District Public School. Since these schools were not public or free in our sense of the word pressure grew in the Assembly for common schools that would be accessible by all. The result was an act passed in 1816 that made it possible for Boards of Trustees to be established with power to appoint teachers and charge fees, but without the power to levy rates upon the community. It was not until the Common School Acts of 1841 and 1843 were passed that provision was made for the collection of rates by municipal councils for school purposes. Up until 1847 each common school in a town or city had its own board but in 1847 a new act made it lawful for each City Council to appoint a Board of trustees to take possession of all common school property. Finally, in 1850, an act which consolidated former measures and made possible the gradual adoption of the free school system was passed. The first meeting of the school trustees elected under the 1850 act met in Kingston on September 19, 1850. The year 1871 saw a major step in education legislation with an act that provided that all common schools should henceforth be known as public schools, introduced compulsory attendance for children between the ages of seven and twelve, and made a clear distinction between elementary and secondary education. In 1897 a union between the Board of Public School Trustees (in existence since 1847) and the Board of Trustees of the Midland District Grammar School (in existence since 1807) resulted in the Board of Education.

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The Dominion Business college was founded in 1883 by Issac Wood, Principal of the Wellington Street Public School, and John B. McKay, an instructor in penmanship in the Kingston public schools. Sometime prior to 1896 the name was changed to Kingston Business College. After a fire destroyed the building in 1898 the college moved to the Y.M.C.A. building. Two years later the college purchased a building that had formerly been a public school. The college remained here until 1968. About 1902 McKay was succeeded as Principal by Hiram F. Metcalf, a long-time member of the Kingston Board of Education. He remained in this position until his death in 1932 at which time W.T. Rogers purchased the College. Rogers had been the owner and principal of the Standard Business College of Hamilton (later the Parks' Business College) and part owner of the Brockville Business College. R.H. Metzler was appointed as Pricipal. Later Principals of the College were D.H. Barclay, Irene Rogers. Aleda Rogers and W.R. Rogers. In 1968 the Kingston Business College ceased operation due to an insufficient number of students to continue classes, probably a result of commercial courses being offered by high schools.

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