Virtual launch of Craft & Craftivism: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Ceramic, Fibre, and Glass Artists in Canada

The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art at Concordia University is pleased to present the virtual launch of, Craft & Craftivism: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Ceramic, Fibre, and Glass Artists in Canada, a free, three-volume e-publication co-edited by Loren Lerner, Janice Anderson, Shannon Stride, and Karine Antaki.

This publication features professional biographies of nearly 350 artists, with an emphasis on the artists’ works in relation to materials, techniques, processes, creative inspiration, and artistic vision. Also featured are artists who blend craft with activism, using their works to convey social and political commentary, challenge the status quo, and advocate for change.  

The following speakers will be present:

Shannon Stride is a Montreal-based curator, editor, and arts writer with an MA in Art History (2022) whose work spans contemporary craft, feminist art histories, and modern Canadian art. She is the Curator of the S.A. Jarislowsky Art Collection, Craft Content Developer at the Canadian Crafts Federation, and co-editor of Guide to Studying the Visual Arts in Canada (2023) and Craft and Craftivism (2025).

Her presentation will go behind the scenes of Craft and Craftivism, exploring the collaborative co-authoring and co-editing process and the team’s efforts to ensure the dictionaries reflect the diversity and richness of Canadian craft today.  

Denis Longchamps is an Art Consultant and Appraiser in Canadian art and craft with a PhD in Art History (2009), who was, until July 2025, the Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. He received his PhD in Art History in 2009 from Concordia University, where he was the Administrator of the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art (2006 to 2011); he was also the publisher and managing editor of Cahiers métiers d’art: Craft Journal (2006-2016).

His presentation will focus on his curatorial career, highlighting some of the artists he has worked with and who are represented in Craft and Craftivism.

Susan Surette is a craftsperson with over fifty years of experience and with a PhD in Art History (2014), working in both decorative and functional textiles (1976-1987) and ceramics (1987-present). Since 2008, she has taught craft, ceramic, and textile theory and history at Concordia University, contributed to Canadian craft, textile, and ceramic publications, and recently became co-editor of Bloomsbury’s newly launched Critical Craft Studies series.

Her presentation will discuss how she positions the works of contemporary Canadian ceramic and textile artists, included in Craft and Craftivism, within key movements and controversies of our times.

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We hope you can join us for this event, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Gail and Stephen A Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art.

The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art presents a series of conversations entitled Afternoons at the Institute, now in its eleventh season. Bringing established and emerging scholars together, the series focuses on pressing questions and current issues in the research and writing of art histories. The series has been made possible by a generous donation from the Jarislowsky Foundation.