Your Support Matters

Send Future Creators to Homer Watson House & Gallery 

Giving Tuesday:
December 3rd 2024  

We’re excited to share an important goal of ours with you this year: to send 40 kids to camp and field trip programs at Homer Watson House & Gallery in 2025—and we need your support to make it happen! 

As a National Historic Site, Homer Watson House & Gallery is not only a place of artistic inspiration, but also one of history and heritage. The beautiful setting, surrounded by nature and outdoor space, offers children the unique opportunity to connect with both the arts and the environment, making it an ideal place for young minds to flourish.  

We believe every child should have the chance to explore their creativity, learn new skills, and experience the arts. That’s why we’re raising funds to offer subsidized spots in all of our youth programs—whether it’s our summer camps, PA Day camps, or school field trips. We want to make sure that financial barriers don’t stop kids from enjoying these opportunities. 

But we need your help. If we don’t raise the funds now, we’ll be unable to provide these subsidies, and 40 kids could miss out on the chance to join us in 2025. 

On Tuesday December 3rd please consider donating. Your donation will directly support these programs, allowing us to offer full-day subsidies to kids and families who need them most. From hands-on art-making in our summer camps to immersive experiences on our field trips, your contribution will help make these opportunities available to more children and youth.  

We’re counting on you! Help us reach our goal of sending 40 kids to camp and field trips in 2025. With your support, we can ensure that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to explore, learn and create. 

Donate today to make these life-changing experiences a reality for kids who need it most. Your generosity will make all the difference! 

Make a charitable donation to Homer Watson House & Gallery

“Some may ask, what is art and why. They seem to think they can get along without it, but they don’t stop to consider, that it is one of the most vital things in life. As we struggle for a finer civilization always with beauty as an ideal, then one may say art is life.” – Homer Watson

Homer Watson House & Gallery is a charitable organization that relies on the support of our community. Contributions are essential to our continued success. Your donations help us make art accessible to everyone by providing vital support for our exhibitions, funding educational programs for adults and children, and enabling us to preserve the collection for future generations to discover and enjoy for years to come.

Your donations help

  • Build a cultural legacy for future generations
  • Showcase the artistic achievements and talent of local artists in the Waterloo Region and beyond
  • Provide affordable programs for children, adults, and families
  • Make art accessible for all

Join the Homer Watson family as a Friend of the Gallery, volunteer, or by making a charitable donation. 

Donations of Art and Artifacts 

Part of our mission is the preservation and collection of Homer and Phoebe Watson’s art and heritage of their lives, as well as that of the Doon School of Fine Arts.  

Homer Watson House & Gallery greatly appreciates donations of art, artifacts, and archival material for our permanent collection. Based on our collections policy, offers must have an association with Homer Watson, Phoebe Watson, the Doon School of Fine Arts, or 1754 Old Mill Road. 

The following considerations are taken into account when Homer Watson House & Gallery is deliberating accepting artworks, artifacts, or archival materials:  

  • HWHG must have the available resources to acquire, document, preserve, store, and exhibit items.  
  • Opportunities for use, exhibition, research, and items not already well represented in the collection.   
  • Condition – items that are in bad shape or actively deteriorating can pose a risk to other objects in the collection or to staff.  
  • Cultural sensitivity.  
  • The item’s authenticity and provenance can be reliably proven.  
  • There are no restrictions on the item’s use or disposition.  
  • Compliance with relevant legislation and regulations. 

FAQs 

Can HWHG purchase artwork?
HWHG does not have an allocated budget for purchasing items for the collection and accepts items as donations.  

Can HWHG do appraisals?  
HWHG does not conduct appraisals/monetary evaluations and cannot offer any specific recommendations for appraisers due to conflict of interest concerns. Browsing the Canadian Chapter of the International Society of Appraisers is a good place to start your search if you are looking for appraisal services.  

Can I lend artwork to HWHG?  
HWHG currently only accepts loans for the purpose of specific events or exhibitions, and no longer accepts long-term or permanent loans.  

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The Loch Doon area was memorialized in celebrated Scottish poet, Robert Burns piece “Ye banks and braes O’ bonnie Doon”

Ye banks and braes o’ bonny Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care?
Thou’lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed, never to return.

Aft hae I rov’d by bonnie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o’ its love,
And fondly sae did I o’ mine.
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree;
And my fause lover stole my rose,
But, ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.

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