local stories
The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery: a cultural destination shaping Waterloo's creative economy
We're sharing the story of the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery as part of the Support Local, Support Waterloo campaign.
Explore more local stories and learn how your business can get involved.
In a time of endless scrolling and instant gratification, Sarah Stanners wants to offer you a luxury you didn’t know you were missing—being bored.
As the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Stanners sees the institution as a space designed to let us slow down and reflect.
“For younger generations, their interaction with images is through consuming data. They've been programmed to acquire information through images and often, they're a little bit startled when they just have to be bored in front of an image,” Stanners says.
Spaces like the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery give us the chance to pause and look at art without the distractions of liking and subscribing. "When you spend ten minutes sitting on a bench just looking at a clay work, you aren't being told what to think. You get to build your own context,” she says.
The gallery itself is a masterpiece of materials. Opened in 1993, the award winning building was purpose-built by Vancouver-based Patkau Architects to mirror the art it houses. The brutalist-inspired building uses raw concrete, brick, steel, and wood and features silos that mimic farm landscapes and a glass tower gallery designed to be painted by natural light.
Stanners, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto who moved to Waterloo in 2025, was drawn to the region’s dynamic growth and the unique mix of generations that come through the gallery for exhibits and workshops.
While the gallery is a perfect space for sitting and observing, that doesn’t mean a lack of action. On any given weekend, you’ll find seniors rediscovering traditional crafts alongside teenagers embracing the "grandma aesthetic" of tactile making.
With three kilns firing almost around the clock, the space hosts workshops, summer camps, and popular social events like Pottery, Pints & Prosecco. Beyond the workshops, the gallery fosters deep community ties, partnering with groups like A Better Tent City to provide creative outlets for residents and a retail space to sell their work.
For Stanners, the gallery helps drive Waterloo’s economic and social heartbeat. The gallery attracts visitors from across Canada and around the world and connects them in ways that go beyond dollars and cents.
"You can come here for free and be transported into another world—someone else’s imagination,” Stanners says. “It’s a place where you can be with a group of strangers and have a quiet, connected experience."
Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts provides grants to individual artists, arts workers, groups and arts organizations who engage in projects and activities.
Ontario Arts Council (OAC)
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) provides grants to Ontario-based individual artists and arts professionals, ad hoc groups, collectives and organizations to support a range of arts activities and disciplines.
Join Waterloo's largest annual festival!
Lumen is a free, all-ages festival where light, art, and technology transform Uptown Waterloo through immersive installations by local and international artists.
Lumen also brings together local cultural organizations, including the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, a long-standing festival partner.
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