Crafting Canada

August 19 - October 29, 2017

Art Gallery of Burlington 

Natania Sherman, Katherine Seally

Curatorial Statement
Crafting Canada is a 5 panel pop-up banner exhibition curated by Katherine Seally and Natania Sherman in conjunction with the Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB). The exhibition is a primer on Canadian craft history from Expo ‘67 to today. Since the 1960s the role of craft in Canadian cultural expression has shifted and changed. What hasn’t changed is that craft evolves along with us as our priorities, needs, and desires develop.

Audience
Crafting Canada is written for a general audience, including the many craft artisans, artists, scholars and admirers who visit the Canadian Craft Biennial. As a travelling exhibition, Crafting Canada will potentially be displayed at other sites, where it will be seen by a general  audience.

Host Institution
The Art Gallery of Burlington was founded in 1978 by Burlington-based visual arts co-operatives and guilds. In 1983, the AGB began collecting Canadian ceramics and opened as a public art gallery. Today, the AGB holds over 2300 works of contemporary Canadian ceramics. They collect works from across Canada that look “at the intersection where high craftsmanship and artistic expression converge.”

In 2017, the AGB is hosting the inaugural Canadian Craft Biennial and the Can Craft? Craft Can! Symposium, a series of events and programming designed to showcase Canadian professional craft. Crafting Canada will be displayed during the Canadian Craft Biennial as a complement to the Art Gallery of Burlington’s program of exhibitions.

Project Sponsors
Funding and support for Crafting Canada came from the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, as well as from the Art Gallery of Burlington.

Timeline
We undertook this project in late-September 2016 and it is set to launch in August 2017.

Project Content
Crafting Canada looks at the evolving role of Canadian craft since its landmark year in 1967. The exhibition begins with Expo ‘67 when Canadian craft was exhibited for the first time on the international stage. From there we attempt to provide a definition for craft and take the viewer through the highlights of Canadian craft history, from the development of craft councils and guilds, to the craftivism movement and the 21st century adoption of digital technology in professional craft practice. The exhibition highlights the value of craft as a form of expression on par with fine art and will provide viewers with a newfound appreciation of the uniqueness of Canadian craft.

Outcomes
The intended outcome of Crafting Canada is to impart visitors with a sense of the relevance of Canadian professional craft to their daily lives. Visitors will learn the history of craft in this country as well as finding a newfound appreciation for the craftsmanship, uniqueness, and cultural value of craft. Through calls to action in the text, visitors will learn how they too can participate in the craft sector.

Acknowledgments
We’d like to thank our project partners Christine Saly-Chapman, Denis Longchamps and Lee Bondzio  at the Art Gallery of Burlington. We would also like to extend our thanks to Professor Matt Brower, Rebecca Noone, Hillary Walker Gugan, and the Exhibition Project Class of 2017 for their support on this project.

“How are crafts woven into your life?”

history exhibit

Canada, craft, history, textiles, ceramics, Art Gallery of Burlington, Expo ‘67, art, design, Craft Ontario, craft councils, craftivism