Burlington Potters Guild members,

A couple of weeks ago, I, and others from our guild, attended the AGB’s Town Hall.   At that meeting they announced their plans to seek the approval to tear down the existing building and rebuild a new 77,000 sq foot building. There will be an education centre where some classes can be held (that don’t need specialized equipment).  This would also include a new “maker studios” wing that will have access outside of gallery hours and two new studios – jewelry and screen printing (Fabric). The project has not been approved as of yet, but the plan is to move forward with the plan.   For more information, please see AGB Power of Place.

In the meantime, the AGB is making changes to their membership structure THIS FALL.

We haven’t been given a date, but they are targeting September/early October.

This is what we know:

There will be new Classes of Memberships:

  • Friend of the AGB – This class of membership does NOT give access to the studios (starts at $35/year)

  • Studio Access Membership - $175/year.   For current guild members, they will be allowed to renew for 1 year at the current rate of $90.   Non-members will pay the $175.

    • This allows access to ALL the studios at the AGB

    • Members will be required to book their time in the studio through a new booking system they are developing.

    • In 2027, the membership fee will increase to $325/year

With the new Studio Access Membership, you will be working alongside those who may not be in our guild.  The AGB has told us that new members will need to do a hands-on orientation in any studio they choose to go in.  

There’s a lot of information we do not know, and I am sure you have a lot of questions.  Our plan is to bring our questions to the AGB so they can take our concerns/questions into consideration when planning out the new studio guidelines.

We have created a survey to collect everyone’s questions. You can access it below.

A link to the questions that have been submitted through the form can be found below.

In the meantime, below you will find the list of questions already brought forward by our executive and other members.

As we know more, we will communicate with our membership.

Thank you,

Lisa Koster, BPG President