TRANSFORMATION: PRIX SAIDYE BRONFMAN AWARD 1977-1996
Hull, Quebec, May 22, 1996 - The exhibition, Transformation: Prix Saidye Bronfman Award 1977-1996, celebrates twenty years of excellence in fine crafts. Sponsored by The Seagram Company Ltd., this outstanding display officially opens on May 23, 1996 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull. Featuring the remarkable work of some of Canada's finest craftspeople - all recipients of the prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award - the exhibition will subsequently tour to museums and galleries in cities across Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Victoria and Halifax.
"We are proud of our partnership with The Seagram Company Ltd. - an organization as dedicated as we are at the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the importance of the crafts in Canada's rich cultural tapestry" says Dr. George F. MacDonald, the Museum's Executive Director, adding, "Over at least the next two years, this exhibition will travel the country, offering Canadians everywhere a chance to discover the work of these fine artists."
Transformation will focus on the work of Award recipients from the last decade, including: fibre artist, Carol Sabiston; glass artist, Lutz Haufschild; potter, Harlan House; textile artist, Dorothy Caldwell; fibre artist, Susan Warner Keene; potter, Walter Dexter; furniture designer and maker, Michael C. Fortune; glass artist, Daniel Crichton; bookbinder, Louise Genest; and the 1996 Award recipient, ceramic artist, Steven Heinemann. The work of the Saidye Bronfman Award's first ten laureates will also be shown.
Curated by Alan C. Elder, Transformation includes a superb array of over 70 hand-crafted objects: shimmering blown glass vessels, exotic wood furnishings, fine bookbinding, stunning gold and silver jewellery, elegant stained glass, breathtaking fibre creations, and distinctive porcelain and ceramics. This remarkable collection is a tribute to Canadian master craftspeople who are leaders and innovators within their fields.
The majority of works chosen for the exhibition are drawn from the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. These works have been supplemented by pieces from other public and private collections. The exhibition is not intended to provide a complete retrospective of each recipient's work, but does demonstrate the type of work made by the last ten recipients at the time they received the award. An earlier exhibition, Masters of the Crafts which opened at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1989, and toured nationally, provided an in-depth examination of the work of the first ten laureates of the Saidye Bronfman Award.
Transformation: Prix Saidye Bronfman Award 1977-1996 has been organized to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of an award that is regarded as Canada's supreme recognition of craftsmanship, and one of the most prestigious individual visual arts awards in the country. Established in 1977 by The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, in honour of the late Mrs. Saidye Bronfman's 80th birthday, the Award recognizes the excellence of the work of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the development of the crafts in Canada. The Award includes a $20,000 cash prize, administered by the Canadian Crafts Council. In addition, with the assistance of The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, the Canadian Museum of Civilization acquires works by each recipient for its permanent collection.
"To a certain extent, Transformation reflects the tremendous changes that have occurred in Canadian craft over the last twenty years," says curator, Alan C. Elder. "The profile of Canadian craftspeople has been developed and strengthened by the support of award programs such as the Saidye Bronfman Award, which also promotes fine craft, and the talents of each recipient, to a broad spectrum of Canadians."
Following its presentation at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Transformation will begin a national tour, offering as many people as possible an opportunity to see and appreciate the remarkable skills of these distinguished Canadian craftspeople.
Transformation is an exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in collaboration with The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation and the Canadian Crafts Council. This is the third Canadian Museum of Civilization touring exhibition to be sponsored by Seagram.
The others were Masters of the Crafts, 1989-1993, and the widely acclaimed A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada, 1990-1994, which toured across Canada and travelled to New York and Israel.
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