discussion | cultural dialogues by zahra ebrahim
canadian culture design culture vitality communication discourse
survival struggles canadian design and architectural institutions
To go to a museum or a gallery in one’s spare time comes with an educational hope and a cultural currency that marks one’s pursuit of higher learning — taking in art – taking in culture – and, hopefully, using the institution as the impetus for thoughtful discussion. But do these institutions house provocative, progressive and groundbreak- ing discussion? Institutions that specifically celebrate design – from architecture to industrial design, have traditionally played the role of niche institu- tion, often thought of as superfluous and only targetting a particular design-oriented demographic. However, increasingly com- mon is the idea that design has the power to affect widespread, diverse change and therefore the role of design in the lives of all members of society needs to be recognised as vital — as a tool and a vehicle through which day-to-day life is lived meaningfully in the twenty-first century. Both insignifi- cant items – such as spoons, and items as monumental as houses are designed within parameters, often with an assigned param- eter for creativity. What is the potential of these tools, these vehicles, should we lift both the parameters and the regulations around creativity? If this is done we can see the potential of design institutions around the world, and specifically in Canada, as incubators for the next generation of great ideas. Canada has two such institutions: the Ca- nadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal and the Design Exchange in Toronto. The Design Exchange opened in the former To- ronto Stock Exchange in 1994 and has sev- eral goals. It is committed to raising public awareness and understanding of the es- sence of design and its importance in build- ing Canada’s cultural identity. It promotes Canadian design in both national and global contexts. Its activities include public educa- tion, curation, a permanent collection, lec- tures, seminars and exhibits ranging from Hallmark Cards to Canadian representation at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, to cultural design innovation occurring on the fringes of Canadian cities.
The Canadian Centre for Architecture was formed in 1979 as a new kind of cultural institution that builds public awareness of the role of architecture in society, pro- motes scholarly research in the field and stimulates innovation in design practice. It is a museum conviced that architecture is a public concern. Both are institutions with complementary roles in the promotion, celebration and ex- ploration of architecture and design, how- ever when most Canadians are asked what that CCA or the DX are, the questioner is met with a blank stare. In contrast, many Canadians are familiar with the Museum of Modern Art or the Metropolitan Mu- seum in New York City. They often know more about these institutions than the ones within Canada. So many are unaware of the institutions that serve the innovation of the tools of our everyday lives, of space and of material design — we have fallen behind in promoting the importance of these critical institutions.
approach. Few families, for example, can explain the role that Ebenezer Howard, the father of the Garden City, played in how their children’s homes and neighbourhoods are structured, but they all know about the Mona Lisa. In recent years, with exhibitions such as Bruce Mau’s Massive Change , the design community has engaged with some of the major cultural institutions in the country and the role of design has started to become part of a broader cultural lexicon. If we can partner these dialogues with the design in- stitutions in Canada, some longevity can be created around this discourse while simul- taneously raising the profile of the institu- tions themselves. However, to get to a place where ideas flow freely around the potential of design, cultural institutions require an influx of capital ‘I’ Innovation. As many of them struggle to survive, there is little room for the creative, thoughtful incubation process that has traditionally guided their direction, and they are losing their instru- mentality. The Design Exchange, notably with its recent Innovators in Residence pro- gram, has mobilised its resources to play a more relevant and contemporary role in the changing fabric of cultural dialogue. The museum has seen so many itera- tions over time that we often forget that in essence all museums are public spaces – spaces of public education, gathering, engagement and discussion. As the gen- eration that has seen the ability of cultural institutions such as the Guggenheim Bilbao to transform the fabric of entire communi- ties, we are starting to rediscover the power of the museum to transform cities and to facilitate the education of a society at large. Design institutions must be at the core of this cultural revolution: it is the role of the new generation of museum-goers and cul- tural investors to have the foresight to see how these institutions can shape a more holistic and well-rounded vision of what is constituted as higher learning. ~ 1 Karsten Schubert, The Curator’s Egg: the Evolution of the Museum Concept from the French Revolution to Present Day. London: One-Off Press, 2000. p 67
How do we make design part of a cultural dialogue, a cultural vernacular en masse ?
Alfred H. Barr, the first Director of the Mu- seum of Modern Art, said that the museum must be a laboratory in whose experiments the public is invited to participate. 1 Our problem lies between museums keeping to their mandates and the public perception of the use of a design museum in the context of all the other institutions available to them – major art galleries, museums, performance centres. Which, when investing time and money, is the most culturally relevant? With a cultural and demographic shift to post-modernity and a post-industrial lei- sure society, the public’s perception of the museum has shifted from education to recreation, from research and display to a more audience-driven and service-oriented
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On Site review 20: archives and museums
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