Douglas Coupland, Pacific 2023, Fiberglass and epoxy surfboard, detail image courtesy of the artist
PAST PROGRAMMING & EVENTS |
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| 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 |
.jpg) | 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. |
| ORNAMENTUM LECTURE SERIES: SENSING MUSICAL LANDSCAPES WITH NOLAN SPRANGERS Thursday, October 10, 2024, 7 p.m. 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 Image: St. Thomas's Anglican Church, courtesy St. Thomas's Anglican Church |
| THE DESIGN EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE TEA CERAMICS 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 |
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| 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. |
Frog, courtesy Diane Blunt
| 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. |
@justinmingyong
| 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). |
| 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. |
| 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. |
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Image: York Apartments stairwell, courtesy Gillian Clayton
| 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. |
| 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: Donna Hiebert, The Wave, Halifax 1988. Photo: Alex Smith
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 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 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.” |
| 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. 1847. Victoria and Albert Museum. The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
| CSDA Sundays: The Expert Series - Sunday April 30, 2023 Constitutional Symbols of Turtle Island/Canada That heraldic symbols are central in the affirmation - cultural and visual - of Canada's constitutional order makes sense in the contexts of colonial and national histories that saw settler political systems put in place. As Canada prepares for the coronation of HRH Charles III, there will be necessary, concomitant changes to the visual representation of the country's constitutional monarchy. This panel will consider the role, place and implication of the symbols of Canadian constitutional culture and sovereignty, especially given the urgent work of decolonization and what seem to be shifting ideas about the relevance of the current constitutional system and the question of what symbols can best communicate the realities of the contemporary state. The moderated panel discussion was led by Dr. Michael Prokopow with Dr. Robert Falcon-Ouellette, Bruce Patterson, and Bill Reddick. Image: Arms of Mary May Simon The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
| CSDA YP&C Evening Tour at MOCA Toronto - Friday, April 28, 2023 Tour Athena Papadoupolous and Toronto based design studio Susan for Susan @ MOCA On Friday, April 28th the YP&C Committee hosted an evening tour of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto's (MOCA) third floor installation featuring artist Athena Papadoupolous and Toronto based design studio Susan for Susan. Athena Papadopoulous: The New Alphabet For her first institutional solo exhibition in Canada, MOCA Toronto has commissioned Greek/Canadian artist Athena Papadopoulos to create a site-specific exhibition of large-scale sculptural works, generated in response to MOCA’s columned space and the local context it inhabits. Image above: Athena Papadoupolous Susan for Susan - Trade Show: Employing a visual language that draws on industrial materials and fabrication methods, the collaborative design practice of John and Kevin Watts, aka Susan For Susan, balances rationale with experimentation to explore the distinction between sculpture and product design. Their exhibit at MOCA arranges a set of design propositions for an apartment interior, suspended from a gantry system. Image below: Susan for Susan |
| Ornamentum Lecture Series - Thursday, April 13, 2023 Craftivism since 2001 On Thursday, April 13th, craft historian and writer, Mary Callahan (MC) Baumstark, in explored the ancient and contemporary roots of craftivism, specifically in the UK, Australia, Canada, and US since 2001. This presentation touched on popular and academic understandings of craftivism, as well as the different types of craftivism, before offering practical solutions for engaging with, curating, and supporting craftivist projects. Image: MC Baumstark's The Menstrual Brooch Project, 2019 The recording for this lecture can be found in the "Learn" section of the website. HERE |
| CSDA In-Person Special Event - Friday, February 24, 2023Canadian Modern at the ROMOn Friday, February 24th, guest curator Dr. Rachel Gotlieb, Dr. Alexander Palmer and Dr. Arlene Gehmacher provided their insights into the current exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum. Canadian Modern, which opened in December to rave reviews, features 100 items from the ROM’s permanent collection, ranging from the mid-20th Century to the present. Exhibits will feature the work of more than 70 designers and 40 manufacturers and will include ceramics, electronics, fashion, furniture, glass, graphic design, jewelry and other objects that are both useful and significant from a design perspective. Image: Steamer Chair, 1978, Thomas Lamb (1938-1997), designer, DuBarry, manufacturer. Steam bent maple plywood. Image ©ROM. |
| CSDA Sundays: The Expert Series - Sunday, February 5, 2023 The Psychology of Collecting On Sunday February 5th, Dr. Michael Prokopow, Nicholas Bell, president and CEO of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Peter Gorham, an educator and collector in Fredericton N.B. and Susan Golets, who, as a young adult, observed her parents assemble renowned collections of Kakiemon and Kakiemon-inspired European porcelains considered the question of what has been called the "psychology of collecting". The experiences of these individuals – personal and institutional – illustrated the array of motivations often tied to collecting, including the search for objects as exercises in stewardship, self-fashioning connoisseurship, social history, aesthetics and taste preference. Image: Hydra jug (photo credit Nicolas Bell). The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
| CSDA Sundays: Collectors Series - Sunday, January 15, 2023 The TASTE OF THE EXOTIC: Snuff Boxes Made from Foreign Materials On Sunday January 15th, 2023, Dr. Dorothea Burstyn walked us through the centuries with her stunning collection of snuff boxes. Although taking snuff has for the most part been relegated to the annals of history, the practice has left a legacy that reflects the exquisite style and skilled craftsmanship of bygone eras. By monitoring international auctions and corresponding with other collectors, Dr. Burstyn has assembled a diverse and delightful array of tiny treasures made from wood, horn, tortoiseshell, semi-precious stones and other interesting materials, their common denominator being the sterling silver that encases them and enhances their beauty. Image above: Shell snuff boxes, all unmarked, middle of 18th century. The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
 | YP&C Meet the Artist: Zavisha Chromicz - Thursday, December 1, 2022 On Thursday December 1st, 2022, our Young Professionals & Creatives Meet the Artist event saw the decorative arts/material culture community meet and share the experiences of Zavisha Chromicz's new exhibition - Mother Load: The challenge of suturing the mitochondrial tear at the Paul Petro Gallery on Queen Street West. Zavisha has worked on numerous community and fibre-based projects that explore trauma, healing through pleasure, decadence and queer family making, and colonialism, sexual violence, and disability justice. From 2003-2006 Chromicz was a member and co-facilitator of West Side Stitches, a queer punk makers collective formed by Will Munro and Jeremy Laing. Participants used and taught stitching, embroidery, applique, faggoting and many other fabric art and costuming techniques to make street art, costumes, installations and public art. From 2015-2016 Chromicz collaborated with Leroi Newbold on the Freedom Fighter Puppetry series for Black Lives Matter, Toronto. |
| Special Event: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Screening - Tuesday, November 29, 2023 On Tuesday November 29th, the CSDA held its first movie screening at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto, showing Grethe Meyer: The Queen of Danish Design, "The story of one of Denmark’s most important designers, what she created, what her obsession with perfection cost her, her brilliant legacy. For 40 years, the Danish architect and designer Grethe Meyer designed glass, cutlery, vases and textiles and became one of Denmark’s most important designers. Meyer was responsible for classics such as the Royal Copenhagen Blue Edge set, the Firepot stoneware series and a series of modern shelves, designed together with the lover Børge Mogensen. Yet few people outside of design circles know who she was. In interviews with people around Meyer, and in cinematic reconstructions of formative moments in her life, the story is told of a woman in a man’s world whose functional designs for the home are still used today. But the story of Meyer is also the story of a perfectionist and demanding workaholic who strove for precision and simplicity.” (Credit: CPH:Dox) |
 | CSDA Sundays: The Sis Bunting Weld Private Collectors Series - Sunday, November 6, 2022 A Private Collector's Living Room - The Psychology of a Collector On Sunday, November 6th, this engaging CSDA members-only, in-person event took place in Toronto. Through the presentation of his eclectic collection, the Collector conveyed what he feels are some of the psychological processes involved in acquiring, displaying and selling art. The presentation took the form of a small, guided tour through his living room and den and included: Mid Century Modern furniture, ceramics, glass and other MCM works; coconut shells carved by prisoners held in a notorious fortress complex on the Yucatan peninsula during the 19th and 20th centuries; miniature wooden and argillite First Nation totem poles; historical and contemporary Canadian art; and more. |
| Ornamentum Lecture Series - Thursday, October 20, 2022 Retailing Radio: How the T. Eaton Company Sold the Idea of Radio in 1920s-1930s Canada On Thursday, October 20th Dr. Michael Windover considered the role of the T. Eaton Company in promoting and fostering radio culture in Canada. It will look especially at radio catalogues produced by the retailer as visual evidence of how the new medium was imagined and sold to Canadian publics. (Note: Based on the article found in Ornamentum Spring/Summer 2022) The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Videos on the "Learn" tab of the website. HERE |
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| CSDA Sundays: Makers Series - Sunday, October 16, 2022 Transforming with Glass with Glass Artist Tanya Lyons On Sunday, October 16th, this fascinating event was held in collaboration with the Sandra Ainsley Gallery and in celebration of The Year of Glass. The presentation and discussion followed Glass Artist Tanya Lyons’ path with glass, detailing how she has grown and transformed with the material, from education to solo exhibitions, commissions, special projects, to her recent Canada Council for the Arts grant project and the new work that is coming out of all this. The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
| 40th Annual Symposium & Annual General Meeting Historical and Cultural Treasures - Decorative Arts in Montréal Trésors historiques et culturels - Arts décoratifs à Montréal September 23-25, 2022 |
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| CSDA Sundays: The Expert Series - Han Van Meegeren and the Greatest Art Fraud of the 20th Century On Sunday, September 11, 2022 Dr. Carl Benn provided a lecture on the 1930s and 1940s, Dutch artist Han Van Meegeren created fake paintings of Golden Age works by Pieter de Hooch, Frans Hals, and others. His most famous deceptions were interpretations of Johannes Vermeer paintings. Had his crimes not been exposed, his efforts would have corrupted our understanding of 17th-century art. In this illustrated presentation, we will explore how Van Meegeren made his fakes and fooled the experts for a time, as well as consider larger meanings associated with questions of authenticity. The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
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| CSDA/CCAD is very excited to be a proud member of the Canadian National Exhibition Association. This year the CSDA was present at the CNE on Friday, September 2, 2022. Members of the CSDA/CCAD received a reduced fee on tickets to the CNE. |
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| CSDA Sundays: Sis Bunting Weld Private Collectors Series - Sunday, June 5, 2022 Treasure(d) Boxes On Sunday, June 5th, the CSDA/CCAD held the first in-person event for some time in which Antique collector and dealer Steven Blevins shared his collection of “Treasure(d) Boxes. Often overlooked, the Box is the Treasure here. Throughout history, boxes are where we have encased our precious things, but now these can be more interesting and valuable than the treasures they were originally meant to contain. Steven Blevins says, “I collect to see the hand and skill of the people who have come before imparted in the work in these creations. These boxes are very personal and unique relics of those lives lived. There was also a bonus feature about the venue for the day’s event—the two Avoca co-op apartment buildings in midtown Toronto, classic examples of mid-century modern architecture. No recording is available for this talk. |
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| CSDA YP&C Explore Series - Thursday May 19, 2022 Contemporary Decorative Arts: Blurring the Line Between Art and Design On Thursday, May 19th, The YP&C Committee hosted a talk with Isabelle Weiss advisor and accredited appraiser. The blurring of boundaries between fine art and design is not only shaping today’s decorative arts market but opening up an entirely new sector of ‘contemporary art’ collecting. The intersection of art and design is nothing new and yet, armed with a consciousness of the world’s art and design histories and markets that is unique to this time, emerging artists/designers are examining, pushing and questioning this intersection more than ever. The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member Only portal of the website. |
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| CSDA Sundays: The Experts Series - May 15, 2022Curator's Choice - Treasures from the Fashion History MuseumFashion History Museum Board Chair Kenn Norman introduces us to this gem of a museum and Curatorial Director Jonathan Walford shares some of his favourite treasures from its permanent collection. When is a shoe not just a shoe? When does a foundation garment offer more than support? And when does an accessory serve no useful purpose except to send a message? Answers to these and other intriguing questions will unfold as we explore the interplay between form and function in fashion through a virtual visit to the Fashion History Museum. |
