Virtual Lecture Package: Studio Glass, Architecture, Indigenous Fashion & Restoration Practices

This year, the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/ Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs celebrates our 42nd Annual Symposium. We are offering virtual access to MEMBERS and NON MEMBERS: Four presenations for $40 CAD! 

—

10:30 am ET –  Mark Osbaldeston presents UNBUILT HAMILTON

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 will showcase 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.

11:40 am ET –  Walter Furlan presents THE ART OF RESTORATION

Walter Furlan, conservationist and Willowbank School of Restoration Arts alumni will address restoration practices, provide an overview of the conservation process and discuss the importance of using existing heritage materials whenever possible. This presentation will use a variety of case studies to illustrate how each restoration project is unique. By implementing techniques that are reversible and through the use of locally sourced materials, minimal intervention can be achieved. Furlan’s process is guided by robust conservation principles for preserving historic sites which help to ensure consistency in planning, intervening, and utilizing historical locations. These principles have been embraced by federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal authorities as the standard for evaluating proposed conservation efforts. 

2:00 pm ET – Angela DeMontigny presents CHALLENGING DEFINITIONS OF LUXURY: INDIGENOUS FASHION AS A HOLISTIC LUXURY 

Join Angela DeMontigny as she reveals her holistic approach to Indigenous Fashion. Angela is an award-winning designer, artist, entrepreneur and mentor of Cree/Métis heritage, who has been a pioneer of the Indigenous Luxury movement for over 2 decades and based in Hamilton, ON. Through the creation of her beautiful, authentic Indigenous fashion, accessories, lifestyle & wellness products under her label ‘DeMontigny’, she has not only been a trailblazer for Indigenous fashion nationally and internationally, but an example of reclaiming her identity as an indigenous woman by utilizing her gifts as a designer and entrepreneur. 

3:15 pm ET – HEATING UP HAMILTON: REFLECTIONS ON BLOWN AWAY

Join us for a lively conversation with cast and crew from Netlix’s highly anticipated television series Blown Away. Panelists include Carly Spencer, Producer of season 4, Brad Turner, Canadian artist/competitor in season 2, Lindsey Adelman, Assistant in all seasons and Koen Vanderstukken, artist and professor at Sheridan College. The glass-blowing reality show is shot in a warehouse in Hamilton’s northeast area. In order to create the perfect setting for the competition, the producers collaborated with Sheridan College’s Craft and Design Glass Studio to design a unique space. This transformation resulted in the largest glass-blowing studio in North America, complete with 10 custom furnaces.

Each presentation is 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute Q & A session. QUESTIONS FOR ALL PRESENTATIONS WILL BE FIELDED FROM OUR LIVE AND VIRTUAL AUDIENCE.

—

Speaker Biographies:
Mark Osbaldeston is the author of three books on architectural and planning history. His first book, Unbuilt Toronto (2008), was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and was shortlisted for the inaugural Speaker’s Book Award. Both Unbuilt Toronto and its sequel, Unbuilt Toronto 2 (2012), received an Award of Merit from Heritage Toronto. For his third book, Unbuilt Hamilton (2016), Mark returned to the city in which he was born and raised. It was shortlisted for the Kerry Schooley Award. Mark has curated exhibitions based on his research for the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Toronto Archives, and the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology.

A woodworker for more than 30 years, Walter Furlan is a graduate of Willowbank School of Restoration Arts in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Walter also has a B.A. in Labour Studies from McMaster University. His work experience includes consulting, project management and conservation of historic windows and other elements at more than a dozen National Historic Sites. He has worked on everything from Dundurn Castle, Auchmar and the Central Presbyterian Church to the House of Commons in Ottawa.

Angela DeMontigny is an award-winning designer, artist, entrepreneur and mentor of Cree/Métis heritage, who has been a pioneer of the Indigenous Luxury movement for over 2 decades and based in Hamilton, ON.  Aln accomplished artist, Angela was awarded a major public art commission in 2020 for her groundbreaking ‘All Our Relations’ sculpture that was installed on Hamilton’s waterfront on Sept. 30, 2023 – the National day for Truth and Reconciliation – which brought together the Indigenous and Hamilton community to honour residential school survivors, the children who never made it home and to celebrate reconciliation in action. She is ecstatic to have been able to co-create a much needed, public art legacy for the City which will also be a designated space for the urban Indigenous community to gather. Future plans are to create an education and tourism component with programming for youth.

Brad Turner creates sculptural and functional glass objects with a strong focus on diversity, craftsmanship, and conceptual originality. Growing up in Calgary, Alberta, Brad Turner holds a masters degree in Fine Arts from Alfred University.  He creates a mix of sculptural and functional glass objects with a focus on clean design and concept.  Maintaining an honest use of material, Turner’s glasswork seeks to elevate the medium’s unique characteristics, whether it’s the rare combination of strength and fragility, the unmistakable relationship with light and optics, or it’s storied roots in vessel-making and functional design.  He has exhibited in multiple international exhibitions and received numerous awards, including the RBC Award for Glass and most recently from the BC Arts Council.  

Carly Spencer is a multi-genre Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer who has worked with a variety of broadcasters across Canada and the US. Most recently, Carly has overseen the creative slate for a slew of top-rated primetime shows at Blue Ant Media, including Blown Away (Netflix), A Cut Above (Discovery), Race Against the Tide (CBC), and Landscape Artist of the Year Canada (Blue Ant). A specialist in original formats, Carly is also expertly skilled in reality, true crime, and documentary.

Koen Vanderstukken is a distinguished artist, professor, and author with nearly four decades of experience. His work is featured in numerous prestigious collections worldwide. As the studio head of the Glass Department at Sheridan College in Oakville, Koen has made significant contributions to both the educational and artistic communities. He authored the book “GLASS Virtual Real,” published by London-based Black Dog Publishing, which explores innovative concepts using glass in art. Koen played a pivotal role in the creation of (at that time) North America’s largest hot shop for the Netflix series “Blown Away,” and serves as the series consultant.

Lindsey Claire Adelman is an emerging glass and photo artist from Barrie, Ontario. After attending Haliburton School of Art and Design, she continued on to Sheridan College, where she completed a Bachelor of Craft & Design in Glass in 2019. During her education she had a Summer Residency at the glass studio at Harbourfront Centre as well as began assisting the contestants on the Netflix show Blown Away. In 2020, Lindsey became a resident artist in Living Art Centre’s glass studio where she continues to expand her practice. She co-owns her business, Lilac Glass, with her partner.

—

IMPORTANT NOTE: Registration must be completed prior to the event. An email will be sent following your registration with instructions on how to access the progam (via Zoom). These presentations will NOT be recorded. A minimal administration fee will be applied.

Click here for full program details, including tickets for our carefully curated in-person agenda, featuring VIP access to exclusive venues, behind-the-scenes studio tours, and expert-led presentations and excursions, can be found on our website.

—

The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/ Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs (CSDA/CCAD) is a national, non-profit organization founded in 1981 for the study, appreciation, and promotion of design and decorative arts in Canada through programming and publications. The CSDA/CCAD publishes Ornamentum magazine twice yearly, with articles in both French and English written by makers, scholars, collectors, and journalists. Ornamentum critically addresses the aesthetics, meanings, traditions, and innovations of Canadian material culture in the areas of decorative arts and design for a general audience. More information about the magazine can be found here. 

Register for the virtual package through Eventbrite or on the CSDA website. 

Image from Season 4 of Netflix’s Blown Away: Katherine Gray, Rosie O’Neill and Hunter March. Image credit to Marble Media.