Contact

The xDX is a collection, a project, and a research network that brings together scholars, curators, archivists, ontologists, data analysts, and designers dedicated to documenting and preserving Canada’s unique design heritage. The goal of the project is to create a linked open data resource, the xDX ResearchSpace, to enhance public awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of modern Canadian design history.

Led by Principal Investigator Jan Hadlaw and Co-Director Michael Windover and funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council Partnership Development Grant, xDX partners include the inheritors of the former DX collection––the Canadian Museum of History (CMH), Archives of Ontario (AO), York University, and Carleton University––and infrastructure partners––the Linked Infrastructure for Networked Cultural Scholarship (LINCS, University of Guelph), and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN). The xDX network continues to evolve and to expand its community of participants and collaborators from diverse communities, professions, and institutions.

The xDX Project is committed to activating and remediating Canada’s design heritage by encouraging critical approaches that account for what and who is included and excluded from its histories. We seek to foster connections between design scholars, researchers, and practitioners, as well as members of the public. The project is guided by values of open access, acknowledgement, sustainability, and equity.

what is xDX?

xDX refers to the artefacts of the former DX collection, now held by Archives Ontario, the Canada Museum of History, the Royal Ontario Museum, Carleton, and York Universities. It also refers to the digital reconstitution of the DX collection, which is the goal of the xDX Project. The xDX ResearchSpace will have the capacity to envision both known and novel connections between artefacts in the former DX collection. This tool will not only provide innovative avenues for research, analysis, and interpretation but also encourage the engagement and participation of design enthusiasts and experts. In the spirit of open-source collaboration, the xDX ResearchSpace and xDX linked open data will be publicly accessible, citable, and attributable.

what was DX?

Toronto’s Design Exchange (DX), established in 1994, was widely known as “Canada’s design museum.” In 1996, the DX began to acquire, preserve, and showcase historic examples of postwar modern design in Canada, and came to play a pivotal role in provoking debates about what constituted ‘design’ – in Canada and beyond. Over the next 20 years, the DX collection expanded to include several archival fonds and more than 600 artefacts, ranging widely from housewares and furniture to electronics and safety equipment, all designed between 1945 and 2010. The dismantling of the DX’s museum operations and deaccessioning of its collection in 2019 was a critical blow to design scholarship and public education about Canadian material life and culture.

goals

enhance and preserve public, professional, and scholarly access to Canadian design heritage
‍

create a sustainable LOD infrastructure to facilitate innovative research, analysis, and interpretation related to Canadian design

amplify collaboration between Canada’s cultural and research institutions

G2 Stereo. Designed by Al Faux for Clairtone Sound Corporation (1966).

land acknowledgement

xDX is hosted at York University in Toronto, Canada. We recognize that many Indigenous nations have longstanding relationships with the territories upon which York University campuses are located that precede the establishment of York University. York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto has been care taken by the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron-Wendat, and the Métis. It is now home to many Indigenous Peoples. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region.