The Varley Art Gallery is pleased to announce that it is now accepting booking requests for 2025!

Rent space at the historic McKay Art Centre located on picturesque Main Street Unionville. Once the home of Group of Seven member F.H. Varley, the McKay Art Centre is now available for local artists to rent as both exhibition and studio space. In 2025, Exhibition Rentals on the ground floor of this beautiful 1850s heritage home continue to be for one-week, while Studio Rentals are for a minimum two-week duration.

Exhibition Schedule 2024

Please note that McKay Art Centre exhibitions are normally open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, unless otherwise specified. To enquire about renting an available week below, please contact Doriana Cabeceiras at: dcabeceiras@markham.ca

Week
Artist/Group
June 5 to 9
Markham Group of Artists
June 12 to 16
Happy Wife Chinese Painting Group
June 19 to 23
Edmund Prior
September 11 to 15
Carson Young
September 18 to 22
Trinity Home Market
September 25 to 29
Centre of Sustainable Design
October 2 to 6
James Lee
October 9 to 13
Markham Arts Council
October 16 to 20*
AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL
October 23 to 27
Trinity Home Market
October 30 to November 3
Emilia Filecitti Videka
November 6 to 10
Ontario Chinese Artist Association
November 13 to 17
Trinity Home Market
November 20 to 24
Korean Watercolour Group of Artists
November 27 to December 1
Lori Ryerson and Kari Serrao
Dececember 4 to 8
Markham Group of Artsits
December 11 to 15
Bernadette Lau

The Varley Art Gallery is pleased once again to offer Studio Rental opportunities at the McKay Art Centre. Main floor spaces are available as studios from January to March and December. The basement studio, once the studio of Group of Seven member Fred Varley, is available throughout the year (except July and August) on a per day basis. The upstairs studio is available all year round!

Studio rentals on the main floor and upstairs are offered for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of three months. Artists may store their work and materials in the studios while renting, and are provided with security access to enter and leave the building at their discretion.

The small ground floor studio and upstairs studio can accommodate up to two working artists, and the large ground floor studio space up to six. This makes the studio spaces extremely affordable for artists who choose to share the rental cost.

Media permitted in the studio spaces include: drawing, painting, photography, digital art, ceramics, printmaking, and fibre-based art. Toxic materials, including aerosol cans and oil-based paints are prohibited, and any artistic media not listed above are subject to approval by the Varley Art Gallery of Markham.

Studio Rental Fees

  • Small Studio (12 x 12 ft, up to 2 artists):  $343 plus HST for each 2-week slot
  • Large Studio (13 x 24 ft, plus conservatory, up to 6 artists): $629 plus HST for each 2-week slot
  • Upstairs Studio (up to 2 artists): $286 plus HST for each 2-week slot
  • Basement Studio (plus washroom, up to 6 artists): $57 per day plus HST

Detailed McKay Studio Rental Information (as of September 1,2024)

Exhibition Rentals

We are now accepting booking requests for 2025!
Artists and artist groups may rent the ground floor of this beautiful Victorian-era home to host their own exhibitions! Exhibition rentals run for a full week on the following schedule: installation on Tuesday; public exhibition from Wednesday to Sunday; take-down on Monday. In order to ensure fair access to the exhibit space, an individual artist may book only one solo exhibition per year, unless the exhibit space becomes available and may be offered at the full discretion of the Varley Art Gallery.

Artists are responsible for the complete coordination and supervision of their exhibition. Artists are given a key and security access code to enter and leave the building, which facilitates the option of extended hours at no additional cost.

Exhibition Days & Hours

Day
Day of Week
Operating Hours
Installation Day
Tuesday of Rental Week
1 PM - 9 PM
Exhibition (5 days)
Wednesday to Sunday
10 AM - 9 PM

Exhibition Fees

Exhibition rentals at the McKay Art Centre are offered from April to June and from September to early December.

Fees for a 5-Day Rental

Artist/Community Group
$713 plus HST
Driveway Parking (Optional)
$50 (flat rate)

Please note that liability insurance and SOCAN Music fees may apply.

View detailed Information: McKay Rental Information and Fees (as of September 1, 2024)

McKay Art Centre FLOOR PLAN

Applicants for the Exhibition Rentals and Studio Rentals are requested to complete and submit the booking request form below. Please provide your first, second and third choices on the form and return it to Doriana Cabeceiras, Administrator, via e-mail only to dcabeceiras@markham.ca.

Available Exhibition Weeks

OCTOBER 2024
October 16 — 20
APRIL 2025
April 2 — 6
April 9 — 13
April 16 — 20
April 23 — 27
April 30 — May 4
MAY 2025
May 7 — 11
May 14 — 18
May 21 — 25
JUNE 2025
June 11 — 15
SEPTEMBER 2025
September 10 — 14
September 17 — 21
September 24 — 28
OCTOBER 2025
October 1 — 5
October 8 — 12
October 15 — 19
October 22 — 26
NOVEMBER 2025
November 5 — 9
November 12 — 16
November 19 — 23
November 26 — 30
DECEMBER 2025
December 3 — 7
December 10 — 14
December 17 — 21

For studio space availability, please contact Doriana Cabeciras at dcabeceiras@markham.ca.

Booking Request Form

After the Booking Request is approved, the artist(s) will receive a confirmation letter and contract from the Administrator to review and sign.

The renting of the McKay Art Centre is considered final upon completion of the Rental Contract and accompanied with the Rental Deposit (50% of the Rental Fee). The balance of the payment is due on the first day of the rental.

For inquiries, please contact Gallery Administrator:

Doriana Cabeceiras
Email: dcabeceiras@markham.ca
Phone: 905-477-7000 extension 3263