Speaker: Dr. Sandra Alfoldy

Art, Design and Craft in Context Lecture Series
Co-presented by Craft Ontario
Ron Thom and the Allied Arts Lecture

This lecture will investigate the complex relationship between craft and architecture in post-war Canada. In previous centuries these two fields were considered to be "allied arts" but by the mid-twentieth century it was more common for them to be regarded as separate and distinct. During the post-war building boom Canadians were challenged to consider public craft commissions and the way institutions are mediated by practical and aesthetic considerations of material, scale, form, ornament and identity. Using examples from across Canada, including the work of Ron Thom, Dr. Sandra Alfoldy will celebrate the successes of architectural craftsmanship, while questioning the ways in which the allied arts continue to shape how we experience our public spaces.