Celebrating Decorative Arts & Design!         Célébrons les arts décoratifs et du design !


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                                                                                                                                                            Douglas Coupland, Pacific 2023, Fiberglass and epoxy surfboard, detail image courtesy of the artist

PAST PROGRAMMING & EVENTS



CSDA/CCAD Sundays: Expert Series Presents Masterworks of Modern Design in Canadian Collections and Beyond with Tim Andreadis              

Sunday, February 2, 2025 - 3 p.m. (ET) Via Zoom. 

Tim's presentation will survey major developments and touchstones in the field of 20th century decorative arts and design, told through the lens of objects held in Canadian collections and beyond. Periods covered include the Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, Pre-War and Post-War Design, the Studio Craft movement, Postmodernism, and Contemporary Design. Canadian, American, and International makers and designers will be highlighted as well as artisans working in wood, metal, glass, precious metals, plastic and synthetic materials. Stephanie Rebick, CSDA board member and Director of Publishing & Content Strategy at the Vancouver Art Gallery, will moderate this session and explore 20th century decorative arts and design with Tim.
The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.
Image credit: Brother Thomas Bezanson (1929 - 2007) Fine porcelain vase with flaring rim and chrysanthemum glaze. Weston, VT, after 1985. Photo Credit: Rago/Wright



CSDA/CCAD Sundays: Expert Series Presents Reimagining Purpose: Functional and Cultural Dimensions of Chinese Ceramics with Dr. Chih-En Chen               

Sunday, January 12, 2025 - 3 p.m. (ET) Via Zoom. 

Please join Professor Chih-En Chen who will reevaluate commonly accepted assumptions in scholarship regarding the function of Chinese ceramics. Traditional interpretations often assign specific roles—ritual, decorative, or utilitarian—to these objects, yet such classifications are frequently based on limited evidence. Through a close examination, this presentation considers the complexities of these ceramics’ intended uses and their broader cultural contexts. By questioning established views, this lecture seeks to encourage a more nuanced, evidence-based approach to understanding the multifaceted roles of Chinese ceramics in historical practice. Asian art consultant, Anthony Wu, will moderate the discussion following Dr Chen's lecture.
The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.
Image credit: Ru ware bowl stand, Northern Song dynasty, China @ National Museum of Asian Art



YP&C In-person Event - Guided tour at the Bata Shoe Museum's new exhibition Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists 

Saturday, December 7, 2024 - 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST

Art/Wear: Sneakers and Artists asks why artists are drawn to working on/with sneakers and why so many of us are interested in wearing these pieces. It also explores the longstanding divide in Western thought between art and fashion, ultimately questioning if and how our collective definitions of art are shifting. Topics explored include: a history of sneakers as canvases, graffiti artists and sneakers, and artist collabs, and the rise of customization as its own art form.

Image credit: Darren Rigo


CSDA/CCAD 42nd Symposium (Oct 18-20, 2024)

Hamilton: A City Rediscovered

CSDA/CCAD Symposium Oct 18, 2024

Marian Bradshaw Lecture Series - UNBUILT HAMILTON WITH MARK OSBALDESTON

Mark Osbaldeston, author of Unbuilt Hamilton, presents the Ambitious City at its most ambitious, exploring unrealized building, planning, and transportation proposals spanning two centuries.  Through archival illustrations and photographs, Mark showcases abandoned projects such as a magnetically propelled, elevated transit system, and a 1917 city plan that would have created a North American Champs-Élysées. Alternate visions for landmarks such as Christ’s Church Cathedral, the Thomas McQuesten High Level Bridge and for Hamilton’s postwar foray into urban renewal cast new light on city landmarks. Unbuilt Hamilton presents the Hamilton that might have been.

View the program itinerary.
Image credit: Nick Parry



ORNAMENTUM LECTURE SERIES:                               

SENSING MUSICAL LANDSCAPES WITH NOLAN SPRANGERS

Thursday, October 10, 2024, 7 p.m.
This presentation provides a timeline of the pastoral genre as it has developed through literature, visual arts, and music from ancient Greece to the present day. Specifically, Nolan Sprangers discusses the sometimes vague ways music has engaged this genre in order to provide a broader context for understanding Boni's instrument and its decoration. More broadly, his interdisciplinary approach highlights how the arts have continued to mediate one another when engaging with natural topics. The presentation includes photographs and musical excerpts.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

Image credit: Harpsichord, used with permission from Gardiner Houlgate Auction House


DISCOVER THE ARCHITECTURAL & HISTORICAL TREASURES OF ST. THOMAS'S ANGLICAN CHURCH
September 22, 2024

Explore St Thomas's Anglican Church, a Toronto architectural gem, with historian and professor, Dr. Carl Benn. This Arts and Crafts masterpiece, designed by renowned architect Eden Smith in 1892-93, features a stunning Pre-Raphaelite First War memorial, historical stained-glass windows, and exquisite furnishings by prominent Canadian and British designers. The tour includes a reception showcasing vestments and silver treasures, and falls between the Sunday choral Eucharist and Evensong, and members are welcome to attend either service. The church, originally intended as a temporary structure, has served the community for over 125 years. Its baptistery from 1922 is described as "the most beautiful small room in Toronto.” The building houses several architectural treasures, including a reredos behind the high altar with hand-carved statues of nine saints.

Image: St. Thomas's Anglican Church, courtesy St. Thomas's Anglican Church


Canadian Canoe Museum Tour

Saturday, June 22, 2024

The CSDA will host a day-long visit to the new Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario.  The museum is re-opening in May in a state-of-the-art building in a new waterfront location. It holds the largest collection of paddle-propelled watercraft in the world, along with studios showcasing traditional crafts such as beading, fabric arts, millwork, snowshoe- and paddle-making, and, of course, canoe-building.  In addition to touring the exhibits, CSDA members will be granted access to a spectacular storage area housing the entire collection of watercraft, guided by the curator.



CSDA/CCAD Sundays: Expert Series                              

THE DESIGN EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE TEA CERAMICS

Sunday, May 5, 2024 - 3 p.m. (ET)   

Join art appraiser, Harrison Schley, in conversation with Asian art consultant, Anthony Wu, as they engage in a lively discussion about the ceramics, utensils, and decorative arts created for the tea ceremony, which is one of the most significant categories in Japan’s artistic canon.


Images: (Detail) (2012.168.1‑6), Eiraku Hozen, 1795‑1854, active in Kyoto, Tea Bowl ("chawan"), Between 1827 and 1849, Earthenware, painted decoration in underglaze iron oxide brown over buff slip, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), gift of Teruha Kagemori, Photo MMFA, Christine Guest

Frog, courtesy Diane Blunt

ORNAMENTUM LECTURE SERIES:                               

BITING TOWARDS OUR FUTURE WITH DIANE BLUNT

Thursday, April 25, 2024, 7 p.m.     

A fascinating look at the rare and ancient art form of birch bark biting. For this Ornamentum Lecture Series presentation, Ojibway artist, Diane Blunt, will share her birch bark biting process, her work, and her hopes to keep this art form alive well into the future. View a recording of this presentation.

@justinmingyong

CSDA/CCAD Sundays - The Maker Series presents:

JUSTIN MING YONG, CONTEMPORARY QUILTMAKING

Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.     

A colourful journey through Toronto-based artist, Justin Ming Yong's quiltmaking practice, which explores an unconventional, modern approach to this otherwise classically folk art medium.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

Image credits: LAMAS Architecture Ltd.

YP&C In-person Event - Crafting Space: Exploring the Role of the Arts in a Contemporary Architecture Practice

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST

Award-winning designer, Kara Verbeek, explores the role the decorative arts play in the work of a contemporary architecture practice. Utilizing historic vernacular and traditional building techniques, elements of craft can be embedded within the design and construction of a building itself. On the other hand, while architects most often design spaces for habitation by people, the design can also be centered on housing specific artifacts. Discussing the recent works of a local office, architecture can be seen in relation to its ability to utilize, house, or perhaps even become a form of art. In collaboration with the University of Toronto's Master of Museum Studies Student Association (MUSSA).

Image: The Potter's Reach, courtesy Moe Johnson

CSDA/CCAD SUNDAYS - The Sis Bunting Weld Private Collectors Series:

MOE JOHNSON

Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.  EST                         

Travel with Moe Johnson on a journey back in time as he discusses his new book, The Potter's Reach in 19th Century Ontario. Lauded as a “tour de force” and based on the author’s forty years of collecting and sixteen years of research, this volume represents the rich visual history of utilitarian Ontario-made earthenware and stoneware pottery.


Image: York Apartments stairwell, courtesy Gillian Clayton

CSDA/CCAD Sundays - Treasures in the City presents:

THE "ART OF APARTMENTS"

Sunday, February 4, 2024, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST

Toronto heritage advocate, Adam Wynne, and heritage architect, Eric Charron, in conversation with CSDA/CCAD Board member, Charlotte Mickie, as they reveal the rich decorative details hidden behind the doors of Toronto’s most venerable apartment buildings. Often through the grace of benign neglect, these structures may now hold the last best evidence of the City’s Edwardian past, providing intimate glimpses of life at the turn of the last century.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

Image: Joan Carrigan, courtesy Joan Carrigan

CSDA/CCAD Sundays - The Maker Series presents:

A BASKET JOURNEY WITH JOAN CARRIGAN

Sunday, January 7, 2024, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST

Joan takes us on a journey through her 32 years as a basketmaker and basketry teacher. Through images of her work and the material processes involved in creating baskets, Joan will provide a broad overview of some of the many different techniques and materials within this medium, ranging from traditional to contemporary explorations.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

Image: Morris-inspired  cake, Gianna Wichelow

CSDA/CCAD Sundays - The Expert Series presents:

WILLIAM MORRIS CAKES - SWEET TRIBUTE TO A BRITISH DESIGN LEGEND

Sunday, November 5, 2023, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST

For 14 years, Laura Bright and Gianna Wichelow created cakes in celebration of William Morris, the great British designer and socialist. The cakes are created to celebrate his birthday each spring, accompanying a lecture hosted by the William Morris Society of Canada. In this illustrated, online presentation, Laura and Gianna discuss their inspirations and techniques.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

Image: Donna Hiebert, The Wave, Halifax 1988. Photo: Alex Smith

Ornamentum Lecture Series: Where do the Children Play?

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 7:00 p.m.

Play expert, Alex Smith, takes us on a curated tour of Canadian play spaces, past and present, with a smattering of contrasting international examples.  Photos and video illustrate different approaches and design elements that keep kids coming back for more.  Whether it’s public art, minimalist landscapes, child-led temporary creations or vernacular builds, each space offers seemingly endless moments of joy through the simple medium of play. 

View a recording of this presentation.

Lecture sponsored in part by: 

 

Image: Gavrila Unstinow, Silver, niello, engraved, gilt, Gross Famil Collection, Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: Ardon Bar-Hama

CSDA/CCAD Sundays - The Expert Series presents:

JUDAICA BY SILVERSMITH ROBERT HENDERY

Sunday, October 15, 2023, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST

Robert Hendery (1814-1897), of Montreal, ranks as Canada's foremost silversmith of the late 19th century. He supplied retailers across Canada with honorific, domestic and cultic wares. The latter include liturgical objects for both Catholic and Anglican churches. Hendery also made silver for Montreal's nascent Jewish community. This presentation will explore Hendery's Judaica, its forms, design sources, and patronage for the first time. Pieces range from the prosaic to innovational, while remaining within the confines of traditionalist conventions.

This silver speaks eloquently of the culture, spirituality, and achievement of its patrons.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.


3rd Annual CSDA/CCAD Auction Fundraiser
September 30 — October 05, 2023


In partnership with Waddington’s, the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts presents our 3rd Annual Auction Fundraiser in support of CSDA/CCAD programming and our award-winning magazine, Ornamentum. This year’s auction includes a wide variety of beautiful objects, including fine jewelry, glass, ceramics, Japanese woodblock prints, engravings, Indigenous art, and books.



Photo: Sis Weld at Home, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Donald Mclean

Member Event: The Sis Bunting Weld Private Collectors Series
Tour of Sis Bunting Weld’s Home and
Private Garden!

September 24, 2023

Sis opens her beautiful home and garden in Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) to CSDA Members and discover her hidden garden, tour the house and learn about her favourite pieces of decorative arts objects and furniture. Sis is a cherished member of the CSDA, and a regular fixture in the arts and culture realm, having served on both local and national Boards such as the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts, Shaw Theatre, National Youth Orchestra and Ontario Heritage Board, to name a few. Sis has a gift for bringing colour, form and texture together to create an exquisite palate for the eye, both inside and outdoors. 



CSDA/CCAD 41st Symposium and General Meeting (Sep 8-10, 2023)

Super Natural: Place and Practice - Vancouver 

CSDA/CCAD Symposium Sep 8, 2023

Marian Bradshaw Lecture Series - Accidental Career: Public Art

Artist, Author, Innovator Douglas Coupland gives us some insights into his experience with public art. Public art is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse and is visually and physically accessible to the public.

“Public art is like the nonfiction version of art. Instead of working in a private personal universe, public art is tethered to the real world in some way. Public art is also an amazing way to learn about new ways of making objects, as well as meeting new people along the way. My goal has always been to make life feel like art school, and public art has been an enormous part of this drive.”

View the program itinerary.


CSDA/CCAD In-Person Special Event - Thursday June 8, 2023

A Tour of Massey College 

The CSDA is delighted to offer its members a private tour of Massey College. Nestled in the heart of the University of Toronto's St. George campus, this architectural gem was designed by renowned architect Ron Thom as a place for graduate students to live, work, and socialise in a setting "where people and ideas intersect," as the college motto so aptly puts it.

Image: Dining Room, Massey College, Toronto. Photo by Steven Evans.



CSDA YP&C Explore Series - Thursday, May 18, 2023

Lani Adeoye: Designed by Stories

On Thursday, May 18th Lani Adeoye discussed the beginnings of her career, her design inspirations and where she is headed next.

For more information on Lani’s work, visit her website at studio-lani.com

Image above: Ekaabo Collection - Debuted @ Milan Design Week 2022

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.



CSDA Sundays: The Expert Series - Sunday May 7, 2023

Multiple Affinities: Art Botany in British Design Reform: 1835-1870

On Sunday, May 7th Dr. Sarah Alford provided a lecture about how early nineteenth-century Britain natural philosophers found themselves in a crisis: A rapid influx of exotic plants had begun to defy and confuse the orders of classification. Specimens were arriving in nurseries and conservatories that couldn’t possibly exist. To cope, botanists invented a new and unstable Victorian taxonomy called the Natural System. This presentation addresses the unsung role the Natural System played in the emergence of Victorian design reform, and suggests that what design reformers, such as Dyce, Redgrave, Dresser, and Owens deemed appropriate for the surface decoration of carpets, jugs, wallpaper, and furniture, was not a rejection of nature, but was rather, an embrace of botanical illustrations and diagrams as sources of fantasy and imagination.

Image: Richard Redgrave, Wellspring Vase. 1847Victoria and Albert Museum.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website.