Craft Ontario, legally known as the Ontario Crafts Council (OCC), is a member-based, not-for-profit arts service organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization is dedicated to promoting the recognition and appreciation of craft and craftspeople in Ontario and beyond.
History The OCC was founded in 1976 through the merger of the Canadian Guild of Crafts Ontario, established in 1931, and the Ontario Craft Foundation, established in 1966.
In 2014, the OCC rebranded itself as Craft Ontario, simultaneously renaming the OCC Gallery as the Craft Ontario Gallery and the Guild Shop as the Craft Ontario Shop. However, the organization remains legally known as the Ontario Crafts Council.
Progenitor Organizations
The Canadian Handicrafts Guild (The Canadian Guild of Crafts Ontario) The Canadian Handicrafts Guild originated at the turn of the twentieth century in Montreal as a result of the dual efforts of Alice Peck (née Skelton) and Mary (May) Phillips.Ellen Easton McLeod, In Good Hands: The Women of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild (Montreal: Carleton University Press, 1999), 1. In the same spirit as the Arts and Crafts Movement spearheaded by the English artist and designer William Morris, these likeminded women shared an appreciation for handmade work that was becoming increasingly rare as industrialization brought machine-made materials and objects to the market. Motivated by a desire to arouse waning public interest in handcrafted objects, the group organized two exhibitions of craft. The first of these exhibitions was held in 1900 in Métis, Quebec. The second was in Montréal at Henry Morgan's department store. In 1905, the group was chartered as The Canadian Handicrafts Guild; in 1906, it was incorporated nationally.McLeod, 2.
The Canadian Handicrafts Guild is a significant organization in Canadian history whose impact extended well beyond the promotion of arts and culture. During the Depression, the Guild opened a weaving school in Montréal to train instructors to teach weaving to farmers in Manitoba and Alberta. Crop failures in these provinces left land workers with no money to purchase clothing. The instruction program initiated by the Guild enabled workers in Manitoba and Alberta to weave their own fabric for clothing.Paul Bennett, "A History of the Ontario Crafts Council" (Unpublished notes, Ontario Crafts Council archives,1977): 2.
In 1931, a group of Toronto individuals interested in crafts joined to form the Handicrafts Association of Canada. Adelaide Marriott, who had been involved with The Canadian Handicrafts Guild, informed this new group of the existence of The Canadian Handicrafts Guild.Adelaide Marriott, "History: The Canadian Guild of Crafts," Craft Dimensions December/January (1972): 12. The existence of another national craft organization having been brought to their attention, the Toronto group changed their name to the Ontario Branch of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild.Bennett, 3. In 1967, the Canadian Handicrafts Guild changed their name to Canadian Guild of Crafts, and it was, ultimately, the Canadian Guild of Crafts Ontario that amalgamated with the Ontario Craft Foundation to form the OCC.Bennett, 5.
Ontario Craft Foundation The Ontario Craft Foundation was established in June 1966 following a series of recommendations developed at two provincial conferences. It was recommended that an organization be established whose primary aim would be to promote the development of craft in Ontario. Thus, the Ontario Craft Foundation was formed. One of the key achievements in the history of the Ontario Craft Foundation is the establishment of Sheridan College School of Design.Bennett, 10. The Foundation was also set apart by its mandate to serve craftspeople throughout the entire province of Ontario since its funding was largely drawn from taxpayer dollars.Bennett, 12.
The Formation of the OCC The OCC was formed when, in the 1970s, it was evident that there was confusion surrounding the mandates of the two independent provincial craft organizations and overlap of their programming and services.Bennett, 11. From 1973 to 1975, a series of meetings were held to discuss a merger between the Canadian Guild of Crafts and the Ontario Craft Foundation. A new board was formed of twelve board members from each founding organization. In October 1975, the first meeting of the Interim Board of Directors of the Ontario Crafts Council was held, though the organization was not patented until August 1976. The founding president of the board was Toronto philanthropist Joan Chalmers.
The Craft Ontario Gallery
The Craft Ontario Gallery (previously known as the Craft Gallery or the OCC Gallery) opened in 1976 when the exhibition committees of the Canadian Guild of Crafts Ontario and the Ontario Craft Foundation merged.Bennett, 16. Historically, The Craft Gallery has been housed in the same building as the council's administrative offices, and this is still true today.
The Craft Ontario Gallery is unique in that many of its exhibitions are framed within a critical context that is relatively uncommon when presenting works of craft. For instance, The Craft Ontario Gallery's 2009 exhibition DIwhy, for which the council partnered with Toronto Craft Alert to organize, examined the social and political origins of the DIY movement and the ways in which its aesthetic and driving philosophy have infiltrated wider craft and art making practices.
In addition to establishing a strong curatorial focus for its exhibitions, of utmost importance to the OCC is that its yearly programming reflects the diversity of its members. OCC members may apply for exhibitions at the Craft Ontario Gallery, and they are encouraged to submit their work to OCC juried shows.Ontario Crafts Council, Advancing careers: Ontario Crafts Council Craft Professional Membership brochure (Toronto: 2010)
Studio Magazine
Studio: Craft and Design in Canada is the OCC's biannually published magazine. It is the descendant of a number of past OCC publications – specifically, of Craftsman, which ran from 1976 to 1980 and was reborn as Ontario Craft in 1981. In 2006, the OCC launched Studio, revamping the publication's focus and design, and since then has partnered with the Crafts Association of British Columbia, Alberta Craft Council, the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador to make the magazine a nationally distributed publication.
Awards and scholarships The OCC has an awards and scholarships program through which it distributes approximately thirty awards annually. Awards are given out to both emerging and established makers.
The present-day awards the OCC offers have their origin in the awards established by the women's committee of The Canadian Handicrafts Guild. The women's committee recognized a need for scholarships that would enable makers to further their studies in the field. Lacking funds to initiate such an endeavour, the women's committee arranged an exhibition of a portion of the Salvadore Dali collection of "Art in Jewels," owned by the Cheatham Foundation of New York. The exhibition was on display at the Royal Ontario Museum and successfully raised $4,760 for the scholarship fund. In fact, the exhibition drew in the largest number of visitors for a single exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum to date.Marriott, 18.
Mather Award for Lifetime Achievement Since 1981, the OCC has recognized individuals for outstanding contribution to crafts over an extended period with a Mather Award. The namesake of the award, John Mather, was president and managing director of Indusmin Limited. Through the company's association with glass and ceramic production, Mather became a firm supporter of craft, serving as President of the Ontario Crafts Foundation in 1972 and the founding treasurer of the OCC. After Mather's death in a plane crash in 1977, the OCC honoured Mather through the establishment of the John Mather Award, which is administered by the executive committee of the OCC.Jean Burke, "The John Mather Award," CraftNews 4, date unknown. Originally awarded to three individuals annually, the award is now given to one individual each year, a change that has increased the already high level of prestige associated with the award.
The Mather Award medal was designed by Jim Wies. A hand and the OCC logo decorate one side of the medal, which is cast in bronze in high relief. The reverse side of the medal has the inscription: "The Ontario Crafts Council awards this medal in appreciation of your contribution to craft in Ontario." The Mather family commissions the casting of the medals as well as the presentation piece for the medal, designed by Toronto-based artist and woodworker Joel Robson.Ontario Crafts Council, "John Mather Award for Lifetime Achievement," Ontario Crafts Council (OCC) - Programs - John Mather Award for Lifetime Achievement, http://www.craft.on.ca/Programs/John_Mather_Award_for_Lifetime_Achievement . In the past, this presentation piece was designed by Michael Fortune.
Past Recipients of the Mather Award 2021: Jayne Nevins 2020: Dr. Denis Longchamps 2019: Volunteer Committee (over 40 years) 2018: Rosalyn Morrison 2017: Laura Donefer 2016: Michael Fortune 2015: Beth Alber 2014: Lois Etherington Betteridge 2013: M. Joan Chalmers C.C O.Ont. 2011: Andrew Goss and Sandra Noble Goss 2010: Lily Yung 2009: David Kaye, Lillian Forrester, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell 2008: Anne Chambers, Peter Fleming, Carolynn Pynn-Trudeau 2007: Melanie Egan, Alice Fournier, Kent Farndale 2006: Herbert O. Bunt, Gilles Latour, Rosemary Swan 2005: Judy Donaldson, Ruth Haig, Brian Truscott 2004: Bruce Cochrane, Pat James, Robert Têtu 2003: Keith Campbell, Doug Farndale, Ann Roberts 2002: Aggie Beynon, Winifred Shantz, Harold Takayesu 2001: Paulus Tjang, Melinda Mayhall, Susan Jefferies 2000: Jan Waldorf, Donn Zver, Jonathan E. Smith 1999: Anne Sneath, Gail Crawford, Peta Hall 1998: William Hodge, Judith Tinkl, Ann Suzuki 1997: Joan Francis, Edith Pierce, Mary Walker 1996: Eric Poschman, Bill Corcoran, David McAleese & Alison Wiggins 1995: Scott Barnim, Anne Barros, Alison Vallance 1994: Heather Daymond, Wendy Shingler, Adrienne Van Riemsdijk 1993: Ron Roy, Shelagh Smith, Frank Tucker 1992: Barb Bolin, Mary Corcoran, David Wilde 1991: Susan Eckenwalder, Elizabeth Kantor, Ruth Markowitz 1990: Eunice Anders, Suzann Greenaway, Steve Irvine 1989: Robert Jekyll, Ted Carson, Leta Cormier 1988: Paula Letki, C. Kennedy May, Alice Peck Slavin 1987: Ankaret Dean, Joan Foster, Ann Mortimer 1986: Barbara Mather, Donald A. Stuart, Vincent Tovell, Susan Willoughby 1985: Dorthy Burnham C.M., Stephen Hogbin, Walter Sunahara 1984: Jean Johnson, Richard LaPrairie, Karen Smith 1983: Jean Burke, Elizabeth Dingman, Mary Eileen Hogg C.M. 1982: Helen Francis Gregor C.M., Dr. Franc Joubom, Yvonne Williams 1981: Tommia Vaughan-Jones, Hero Kielman, Donald McKinley
The Craft Ontario Shop
The Craft Ontario Shop (previously known as the Guild Shop) in Toronto's Yorkville district is the OCC's retail location. Since the OCC's origins as The Canadian Handicrafts Guild Ontario, retail sales have been an integral component of the OCC.Marriott, 13. Members of the OCC may submit their work for consideration to be sold at The Guild Shop, the proceeds of which support the livelihood of individual makers, as well as help support general OCC programming.The Guild Shop, "About The Guild Shop," The Guild Shop | Welcome, http://www.theguildshop.ca/. The Guild Shop represents approximately 400 craftspeople from across Canada.