WORLD CONGRESS ON ART DECO ®
The International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS) is a voluntary coalition of Art Deco Societies in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, New Zealand, South Africa and United States. Also involved are other organizations concerned with Art Deco Preservation, and ‘Key Contacts,’ including individuals in cities which do not have active Art Deco preservation organizations.
The Mission of the World Congress is to provide a scholarly forum for the worldwide exchange and promotion of ideas and information about Art Deco, which would lead to a greater understanding of Art Deco as a worldwide design movement, the identity of sites and monuments and their preservation, and an opportunity for economic development through tourism.
Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) founder Barbara Baer Capitman created the concept for the World Congress on Art Deco in 1989. In January 1990 she conducted an ‘organizing symposium’ to insure the planned inauguration and launch of a series of such World Congresses. Barbara died in 1990. MDPL hosted the first World Congress on Art Deco ® in Miami Beach, Florida in January l99l during the annual Art Deco Weekend ®. This was appropriate since Miami Beach was the first area in the world to recognize and take steps to protect a Twentieth Century historic district with Art Deco as the defining style.
The response to the World Congress was so enthusiastic that MDPL licensed it as a bi-annual event giving the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS) the authority to vote on future sites for the Congresses.
The ICADS adopted a policy of alternating between U.S. host cities and sites around the world. Previous World Congresses took place in: 1991 – Miami Beach, Florida, 1993 – Perth, Western Australia, 1995 – Brighton, England, 1997 – Los Angeles, California, 1999 – Napier, New Zealand, 2001 – Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2003 – Cape Town, South Africa, 2005 – New York, New York, 2007 – Melbourne, Australia.
Plans for the 10th World Congress in Montreal in 2009 were initiated in 2005 in New York City. Breaking with the tradition of alternating between U.S. and non-U.S. sites, the 2011 World Congress will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
We are honoured and delighted to carry on the tradition of welcoming international delegates. After visiting our great Canadian cities – Montreal, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, the Eastern Townships and Quebec City – we are sure you will be delighted and enlightened by our unique Northern Deco and Canadian hospitality.
The World Congress on Art Deco® is a registered trademark of the Miami Design Preservation League, Inc, of Miami, Florida, USA. All rights reserved worldwide.
