Drawing from History

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.

"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 District 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. Garnet 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

• ​Acknowledgment​Foreword​Introduction​Chapter 1 - Stories, Historying, and the Polyptych Methodology​Chapter 2 - A Generation of Change: 1891-1916​Chapter 3 - Memorializing Greatness: A Generation of Remembrance: 1917-1942​Chapter 4 - A Generation of Pride: 1943–1968​Chapter 5 - A Generation of Shifting Undercurrents: 1969–1994​Chapter 6 - A Generation of Educational Change and Standardization: 1995-2019 171​Conclusion: A Legacy of Stories​Afterword​References​Appendices​