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.


Get Involved / Sponsorship

How can your organization benefit from structured partnership packages? Click here for sponsorship rates. 

Sponsorship offers brand visibility, collaborative opportunities, and VIP access


Plus, we've got options! Sponsorship opportunites are available for

    • Our ever-popular CSDA/CCAD Sunday Series where we invite makers, designers, artists, curators, collectors, and industry experts to discuss their work
    • The Ornamentum Lecture Series where we invite a contributor to Ornamentum magazine to present an online lecture
    • Exclusive, in-person events which includes tours of private collections, studio tours and workshops

Connect your brand with vibrant, cultural conversations! Contact marketing@csda-ccad.org.

On-Demand Access

 CSDA/CCAD members can catch up on recorded presentations by visiting our Member Portal.

Not yet a CSDA/CCAD member? Head to the Membership page and sign up.

UPCOMING EVENTS 


Marian Bradshaw Lecture - Save the date!

September 26, 2026

Lisa Binkley will discuss Canadian Quilts and Their Makers: Design, Material, and Place in the Nineteenth Century.

Event details and registration information will be posted soon. This special, in-person presentation will be available online and is open to the general public.


PAST PROGRAMMING & EVENTS


Young Professionals & Creatives: Studio Tour with Designer, Artist, and Maker Dylan Moore

Sunday, May 31, 2026 - 11AM (ET) In-Person.

Moore's tour was an intimate and informative presentation on his sculptural artwork, furniture design, and artistic practice. Moore's presentation highlighted past projects, finished works on site, and the fabrications labs where these projects come to life. 


Ornamentum Lecture Series: Poisoned Pages and Persistent Residues: Hazards, Histories and Decisions in Natural History Collections.

Sunday, May 24, 2026 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

This talk explored the oft-overlooked presence of hazardous materials in natural history collections, with a focus on recent research into toxic pigments in rare books.

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


CSDA/CCAD Sundays, Special Members-Only Event: Charlotte's Closet: Tender Care for Slow Fashion

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - 3PM (ET) In-Person.

The CSDA’s own Charlotte Mickie shared her tips for wardrobe management. The in-person event facilitated an on-site forum for exchanging helpful hints, references to trusty tradespeople, fibre facts, and more. 


CSDA/CCAD Sundays, Maker Series: A Modernist's Reflection: Why Canadian Graphic Design from the Mid-Century (1960-1985) Still Matters with Blair Thomson

Sunday, March 1, 2026 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

Thomson, founder of Canada Modern, guided viewers through the artefacts, designers, and creative ideas that defined mid-century Canada. He shared insights from archival research, personal discoveries, and his work on the Design Canada documentary.  

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

Image credit: Blair Thomson.


CSDA/CCAD Exclusive Member Tour: The Gardiner Transformed

Thursday, February 5, 2026, 6:00PM (ET) In-Person.


This tour introduced visitors to the Gardiner's transformed ground floor, focusing on the newly conceived and installed collection galleries, led by Chief Curator and Deputy Director Dr. Sequoia Miller.

Installation view image credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.


CSDA/CCAD Sundays, Expert Series: The Politics of Hotel Design: Hilton International and InterContinental in the Cold War with Stephanie Rebick

Sunday, January 11, 2026 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

Using Hilton International and Intercontinental Hotels as case studies, this presentation will examine how hotel design and architecture were used during the Cold War to serve the larger political agendas of some of the world’s most powerful nations. 

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

Istanbul Hilton, c. 1960s.


CSDA/CCAD Sundays, Expert Series: Victorian Jewellery with Dr. Dorothea Burstyn

Sunday, November 23, 2025 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

Queen Victoria had enormous influence on fashion and jewellery during her long reign (1837-1901). Guest speaker Dr. Dorothea Burstyn walked us through the various stages of Victorian jewellery in this richly illustrated talk.

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

Snake ring similar to one given by Prince Albert to Queen Victoria.


CSDA/CCAD 'Ornamentum' Series Presents Pictorial Puns: Rebus Plates for Our Times with Dr. Jennifer E. Salahub


Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.


Rebuses have historically served as a fascinating blend of art and linguistic puzzles, providing entertainment and intellectual engagement. More recently, Calgary artist Mireille Perron, inspired by an antique plate, set out to reimagine the rebus tradition. Dr. Salahub discussed how Perron's engaging plates led her down a rabbit hole, one which saw her husband gifting her an antique plate for her birthday. 

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

Mireille Perron. Après Moi le Déluge, 2024, fibre clay and low fired glazes.


CSDA/CCAD Sundays, Expert Series Presents Coins, Cards, and Counterstamps: The Currency of Nouvelle France (1608-1763) with Andrew Winger

Sunday, October 5, 2025 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

This presentation examined the unique evolution of money in Nouvelle France - what is now part of modern-day Quebec - highlighting the colony’s reliance on barter, various forms of coinage including counter-stamped foreign currency, and the world’s first use of playing card money. 

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

 "Le Chameau" Shipwreck Gold, Louis d'Or, courtesy of Heritage Auctions.


43rd Decorative Arts & Design Symposium (September 26 & 27, 2025)

Toronto: Canadian Modern & Beyond

Marian Bradshaw Lecture Series - Modern Heritage with Michael McClelland

Exploring contrasting visions of modernism in Toronto’s postwar architecture, this presentation considered how architectural expression, material culture, and cultural value intersect in the city’s evolving heritage landscape. 

View the program itinerary.

100 Spadina Road, Uno Prii. Image courtesy of Rashana Youtzy.


Mansions and Motorcars: Time Travel to an Age of Grace and Elegance

Parkwood Estate National Historic Site and Canadian Automotive Museum

Oshawa, ON.


Friday, June 20, 2025 - 10:30AM (ET) In-Person.

The visit included private tours of the Parkwood Estate, home of R.S. McLaughlin. Following the visit to the Parkwood Estate, there was also a tour of the Canadian Automotive Museum.

Image ourtesy of the Parkwood Estate National Historic Site.


CSDA/CCAD Ornamentum Lecture Series Presents Stepping Out of a Painting: A Look at Historical Costuming with Dr. Kelly Arlene Grant

Thursday, May 1, 2025 - 7PM (ET) via Zoom.

One of North America’s foremost practitioners in the field, consultant and maker Kelly Arlene Grant, granted us a fascinating glimpse into the world of living history and the skilled practitioners who make it come to life.

:Image courtesy of Dr. Kelly Arlene Grant.


 CSDA/CCAD YP&C: Lecture Series Presents Victorian Picture Frame in Canada:   Stylistic and Institutional Histories with Eric Birkle

 Thursday, April 17, 2025 - 7PM (ET) via Zoom.

 This lecture considered the stylistic development of 19th-century eclectic and Revival-style (i.e.   “Victorian”) frames in Canada. It examined Victorian frames in Canadian institutional contexts both   historic and current, with featured case studies from the Art Gallery of Ontario. 


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


 Frame Image: French. Louis XV Revival-style Frame, 1800s. Overall: 54.6 x 45.1 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of an anonymous collector, 1997. Photo © AGO. 97/1026


CSDA/CCAD Sundays: Makers Series Presents Hase'kanał - Beautiful Breath of our Ancestors with artist Calvin Hunt

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom.

In this presentation, Calvin took us on a journey through his 55-year career, tracing the cultural roots and spiritual values that inform his art, and described the process of creating two unique masterpieces, from start to finish.

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

Image credit: Marie’s Moon Mask, Western red cedar, 36” diameter overall, mask 18” diameter, photo Marie Hunt. 


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

Sunday, February 2, 2025 - 3PM (ET) via Zoom. 

Tim's presentation surveyed 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. 

The recording for this lecture can be found in CSDA Member 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




The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts primarily operates out of Tkaronto/Toronto, Ontario. We recognize that the city is situated on the traditional territory and unceded lands of the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, and Mississaugas of the Credit.

The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/ Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs was formed, with the generous support of the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, to provide a forum for all those interested in the decorative arts.
© 1981 - 2025 Canadian Society of Decorative Arts / Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs

(Reg. Charitable # 886343391RR0001) 

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