Craft and material culture
La Guilde has collected and cared for art and craft objects in a permanent collection since the beginning of the twentieth century. The collection is a compendium of educational materials and craft objects expressive of La Guilde’s founding mission to preserve and promote craft objects and knowledge. Comprising over 1 500 objects and works of art, from hand carved snow goggles to woven chairs, from sculptures to ceintures fléchées, our collection covers a vast geographic range, diverse media, a considerable time span and multiple cultural and social histories The initial objective of the collection was to ensure accessibility to high quality examples of traditional and experimental craft for the preservation and teaching of craft techniques to future generations. With time, our collection has become a vital resource for students and researchers of handmade art and craft in Canada.
The collection is made accessible through thematic collection-based gallery exhibitions, behind-the-scenes visits to the vault, and by appointment for academic researchers.
The majority of the art and craft works and objects have been and continue to be acquired judiciously through institutional and individual donations that align with our mission. In addition, our collection acquisition committee has a modest budget to acquire exceptional works of craft with a focus on artistic production by women and artists who are Indigenous. A significant section of our collection is art and craft - sculptures, decorative objects, personal accessories and prints - by Inuit makers created between 1950 and 1965 in the communities of Povungnituk, Inukjuak, and Kinngait.
La Guilde’s collection is a compendium of objects that invites exploration of social histories of craft and its place within Canada’s artistic heritage. The collection is a fertile ground to reflect on industrialization, womens’ roles’ in the promotion and preservation of handmade artmaking, and colonialism and Indigenization around the promotion and sale of art by artists who are Indigenous.
Archives
Since 1909, La Guilde has conserved documentation about our organisation’s evolution and activities and histories of craft in Canada. The archives comprise internal documents, publications, ephemera, photographs and correspondence from the early 20th century to the present. This archive contains both information about the educational, commercial and artistic activities of La Guilde over the years and more broadly documents the social and art histories around craft by women and makers who are Indigenous.