Abstract

A Storied History of Art Education: The Art Department at Central Technical School, 1892-2014
Dustin Garnet, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2015

The Art Department at Central Technical School (CTS) in Toronto, Canada supports the
countries first and only specialized technical fine art program for adults and high school students.
My purpose in this research is to provide one version of this institution’s 122 year history
utilizing the lived experiences of the men and women who shared in its legacy. I explore how
stories as a form of historical research provide insights into the everyday lives and artistic culture
of CTS resulting in more localized and relational accounts of the past. Questions guiding this
study include: Who were the forces behind the growth of the CTS art program? What are the
factors that have helped sustain this publically funded institution? What were the major historical
events that shaped the history of CTS? And, why is the Art Department at CTS rarely mentioned
in written histories of Canadian art education?
From a theoretical perspective, my approach to new history(ies) has generated a socio-historical literary account of CTS as part of the field of art education, allowing me to construct
stories and emplot characters in ways that provide multiple forms and contexts to understand the
institution from more holistic perspectives. Through the methodological architecture of the
polyptych frame I have built a collection of historical stories that hinge together, but can be
separated and reconfigured to tell multiple stories from personal, external, and internal
perspectives. Stories are at the heart of my research and within them lies much more than
individual oral histories. The new history I construct speaks to a transgenerational artistic culture
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built on relationships and networks that directly contribute to shaping the visual culture of
Canada.
Invoking the use of stories as an aesthetic means of constructing history has permitted me
to expand on significant historical issues specifically addressing the domains of art, education,
social structure, and culture. In an effort to promote genealogical continuity rather than disparity
between historical realities and historical narratives I engaged in primary sources of information
that link five generations and identify four thematic threads including, identity politics,
institutional identity, school culture, social networks, that braid and create continuity over time.