Muskoka Arts & Crafts is the true heart of visual arts in Muskoka.
One of Ontario’s oldest and most well established arts organizations, Muskoka Arts & Crafts has grown since its inception in 1963 to include nearly 400 artists and arts supporters, and has become an innovative force in the community at large. For artists, Muskoka Arts & Crafts is one of the benefits of living in Muskoka, a source of support through like-minded people that fosters creative growth and a feeling of community. In turn, the promotion of the arts through Muskoka Arts & Crafts and its members has made Muskoka a vibrant and culturally engaged destination for visitors, local residents and summer residents alike.
Its annual Christmas and Spring Members’ shows feature the work of its many members, and the Chapel Gallery in Bracebridge, which Muskoka Arts & Crafts calls home, hosts an ongoing cycle of juried exhibitions by local and visiting artists.
Muskoka Arts & Crafts’ Summer Show is the highlight of the year for Muskoka’s arts scene and has been a feature in the community for 47 years. This is the most popular arts show in Muskoka attracting hundreds of artists from across the country and over 20,000 visitors.
In April of 2008, an initiative launched by Muskoka Arts & Crafts culminated in the Muskoka District Council declaring the District Municipality of Muskoka as a Designated Arts Community, a testament to the vitality of the area’s arts scene and its potential as a fundamental building block for year-round art tourism in Muskoka.
Be sure to puck up the annual Muskoka Arts & Crafts’ Guidebook, a beautiful full colour publication that is the definitive guide to visual arts in the area. You can pick this up at the Chapel Gallery in Bracebridge, or stop in at the Muskoka Tourism Visitor Information Centre on Highway 11 north.
For more information, visit the Muskoka Arts and Crafts website
Muskoka Books
Muskoka District boasts hundreds of books set in or written about this celebrated vacation region of Ontario.
Our “Muskoka Books” educational project helps individuals discover this rich heritage in many ways:
- We publish, sell & supply Muskoka titles to other booksellers.
- Our website bibliography lists all known titles about Muskoka.
- Books are reviewed by Muskoka historian, author, and publisherJ. Patrick Boyer.
- We provide links to Muskoka booksellers and Muskoka’s public libraries.
- We arrange speaking engagements for literary, historical, and other community organizations to learn more about Muskoka books.
“Muskoka Books” is a handy short name, but includes our larger neighbourhood and books about Georgian Bay, Parry Sound, and Algonquin Park.
We preserve, expand, and share with as many people as possible the literary heritage of Canada’s fabled lakeland district — through fiction, biography and memoir, and books on art, natural heritage, and history.
