Overview

Drawing from History brings to life the remarkable story of Toronto’s Central Technical School Art Department, a vibrant hub that inspired generations of Canadian artists. Weaving together personal insights, first-hand accounts from students and teachers, and rare archival treasures, this book traces the department’s journey from its 19th-century beginnings to its enduring impact today. Through captivating storytelling and meticulous scholarship, it reveals how this distinctive program fostered creativity, artistic excellence, and a sense of community while navigating cultural upheavals, global conflicts, changing policies, and the persistent challenge of maintaining arts education in public schools. Insightful and thought-provoking, Drawing from History illuminates an overlooked cornerstone of Canada’s artistic heritage and prompts readers to consider what is lost when the arts are marginalized. More than a local history, this book serves as a testament to how art education shapes lives, strengthens communities, and helps define a nation’s cultural identity. It is essential reading for educators, students, historians, artists, policymakers, and anyone who believes in the power of the arts to transform lives and foster a more creative society.

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9781771127196

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Reviews

Utilizing a ""polyptych"" historical armature of storytelling, oral interviews, archival research, and a range of material culture, Garnet constructs a captivating story of a significant Canadian art school through the words and stories of those who helped to direct and shape the school from its inception until today. Drawing from History is a must read and serves as a precedent for anyone desiring to conduct similar institutional research in the future. -- Paul E. Bolin, Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Austin From its founding to its current condition, the significance of Toronto's Central Technical School Art Department has rested on its distinctive artistic culture and sense of community. Garnet skillfully curates fascinating stories interpreting histories of the oldest technical art program in Canada. Five generations of faculty, students, alumni, and stakeholders speak in their own voices through extensive direct quotations. Garnet's methodology builds an evolving narrative architecture inspired by panel paintings, polyptychs, that can be folded and unfolded to reveal new perspectives within educational, political, and economic contexts. -- Mary Ann Stankiewicz, Professor Emerita of Art Education, Penn State University Dustin Garnet has written an extraordinary history of an exceptional high school in Canadian art education history. Central Technical School, in the Toronto School Board, has a long history dating back to 1892. During its existence, numerous well-known art educators and artists have been students or instructors in its program. Weaving together this extensive history is no small feat. Garnett created a unique polyptch methodology that afforded narratives of complex connections across generations of individuals set within thematic eras. It is a captivating read! This book is absolutely essential reading for historians of art education in Canada and internationally. -- Rita L. Irwin, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor Emerita, Art Education, The University of British Columbia

Author Information

Dustin Garnet is Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and serves on the editorial boards of Visual Inquiry and the International Journal of Education through Art (IJETA). His recent books include Living Histories: Global Conversations in Art Education (2022). He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

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