Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien'kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the
custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is known as a gathering place
for many First Nations and remains home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples.
A land acknowledgement is not a formality to complete before moving on; it is an invitation to sit with
discomfort, to recognize that the ground beneath us holds histories of displacement that continue into the
present. As designers, we shape how stories are told, which narratives are amplified, and which are rendered
invisible. The works in this exhibition will one day become Artefacts, subject to reinterpretation by future
hands. This asks us to consider what our designs preserve and what they erase. Whose presence do they center,
and whose do they overlook?
We offer this acknowledgement not as a settled statement but as an ongoing question, one that extends beyond
these borders to all colonized lands where people resist erasure and fight to remain visible. We recognize
that the act of acknowledgement is incomplete without continued learning, relationship, and action.
Ancient/Raw -- Future/Refined
The world of design is shaped by its present context, but how might these works be understood if rediscovered
centuries from now? Which elements of today's designs will endure, and which will no longer hold the same
meaning? How might students and their projects be remembered?
Artefacts embodies this shift in perspective, drawing on both the ancient and the futuristic to celebrate
contemporary design. Projects will be “unearthed” and introduced as remnants from another era,
encouraging reflection on the lifespan of design work: how it evolves, is reinterpreted over time, and
ultimately becomes an artefact.
