Current exhibit
Glenn Fretz: Graphic Design for the Mennonite Community
Guest curator: Glenn Fretz
Dates: July 2026—April 30, 2026. The exhibit is open during library hours.
Opening talk and reception: Thursday, September 17, 7pm, Community Education Room, Conrad Grebel University College.
Location: Archives Gallery and Milton Good Library (3rd floor, Academic Building), Conrad Grebel University College
Tours: The exhibit is self-guided. Contact Laureen Harder-Gissing to inquire about guided or group tours.
About the exhibit:
“Without relationships, design is basically a science. It’s my job to bring some humanity into it.” — Glenn Fretz
Logos surround us. How often do we think about the values they convey? This exhibit tells and shows the story of Glenn Fretz’s fifty-year career as a graphic designer and consultant, focusing on his work with Mennonite and non-profit organizations. It also gives a nod to his most ubiquitous work – his redesign of the Trillium symbol for the government of Ontario.
Thoughtfully designed by Fretz himself, the exhibit features reflections on process (“relationships are the most important part of the job”), and pays tribute to his clients and the meanings they asked him to convey through design. Examples from the Mennonite Archives of Ontario and Fretz’s personal collection demonstrate how his work was (and continues to be) used in real life.
Fretz was already an established consultant when, in 1976, he was asked by Mennonite World Conference to design a logo for their next world assembly in Wichita, Kansas. Fretz helped the organizers see that such a complex event—involving multiple languages and cultures—needed a broader vision of design to achieve its goal of bringing global Mennonites together. Thus began a collaboration with Mennonite World Conference that lasted forty years. Mennonite clients since then have included Mennonite Reporter/Canadian Mennonite, the Mennonite Church (Canada and U.S.), MEDA, and more. Fretz’s career dovetailed with Mennonite organizations’ search for bolder and more expansive visual expressions of their work and values.
For more information contact: Laureen Harder-Gissing, Archivist-Librarian
Past exhibits
What They Carried: The Archives of Russlaender Mennonite Immigrants
Against the Grain: Mennonite Archives, Indigenous Histories
Conchies Speak: Ontario Mennonites in Alternative Service, 1941-1946
Sites of Nonresistance: Ontario Mennonites and the First World War
Growing Family: Design & Desire in Mennonite Genealogy
Self-Guided Mennonite Art Tour
The Mennonite Archives of Ontario collects works of art that contribute to a greater understanding of Mennonite history and culture with emphasis on Ontario themes or artists. Comprising quilts, sculptures, paintings, and photographs, most of the collection was donated to the College or commissioned on behalf of Grebel. While some of Grebel’s art pieces are stored in the Archives or in offices, much of it is accessible to be viewed by the public during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm). Here is a guide to the easily accessible pieces, including primary details available about the art and artists, as well as the location of the works