Douglas Coupland, Pacific 2023, Fiberglass and epoxy surfboard, detail image courtesy of the artist
PAST PROGRAMMING & EVENTS |
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| 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. |
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 | 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. |
| 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 |
| Canadian Canoe Museum Tour Saturday, June 22, 2024The 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. |
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