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Volume 2   Number 10   December 2011

Reflection

With 2011 coming to a close, it is time to relax and to reflect. It has been a year of celebration for our 40th birthday, a wonderfully busy year of reuniting with friends and colleagues and reinvigorating membership.

Through our Elements series of curated exhibitions we celebrated our members, past and present, and highlighted the mediums metal, glass, fibre, ceramics and wood. The series attracted significant attention and we were thrilled to win a Canberra Critics' Circle Award 2011 for Visual Arts.

In celebration of the Centre's forty years, a record number of award exhibitions were offered to emerging artists through the exhibition series, Harvest. Ms Joy Burch, Minister for the Arts, warmly welcomed members and guests to our 40th birthday dinner, Reunite Reinvigorate, an evening to be remembered.

The Designing a Capital: Crafting a City program expanded with national and international speakers joining us in conversations around design education, building creative capital and the creation of art precincts. The inaugural Embracing innovation exhibition showcased the scope of innovation taking place in the sector.

The Centre was selected to manage the Centenary of Canberra project, Centenary of Canberra - a legacy of good design, seeing an investment of $50,000 in direct support to the professional craft and design sector in Canberra and the region.

We congratulate artists Jock Puautjimi, Luna Ryan and Keiko Amenomori-Schmeisser, whose works were purchased from the Centre for major collections at the National Gallery of Australia, National Glass Art Collection and the University of Canberra.

The year's successes are possible because of the vitality and commitment of staff, and our wonderful volunteers, members and supporters.

The Management Committee and staff thank you all for your support in 2011 and wish you a safe and festive holiday season.

Avi Amesbury, Executive Director

Notes

Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre will be closed from Friday 23 December 2011. The Centre's office will reopen on Monday 16 January 2012 and the Shop will reopen on Tuesday 24 January 2012 - just in time for Valentine's Day.

The Centre proudly received a Canberra Critics' Circle Award "For Visual Arts, Presented to Craft ACT, For a series of exhibitions titled Elements held throughout 2011 celebrating the 40th anniversary for this visual arts organisation. The exhibitions were sensitively curated to showcase the work of prominent craftspeople working in the Canberra region."

Our professional members

Nikki Main, group exhibition
Main explores the issue of water scarcity in the environment in Rain Gauge at Sturt Gallery, Mittagong until 29 January 2012

Amanda Stuart, public art
Stuart's bush pack (nil tenure) has been installed in City Walk, Canberra. Seven life-size dogs run towards the Merry-Go-Round

Blanche Tilden, radio interview
Tilden, who work in metal and glass, was recently interviewed on ABC Radio National and spoke about her practice and inspirations

Nancy Tingey, solo exhibition
Tingey exhibits recently constructed textiles, works on paper and water media in NeTlines at Belconnen Arts Centre from 21 January to 12 February 2012

Visit our Professional Members calendar

Our exhibitions

Opening at 6pm on Thursday 9 February 2012.

Parallels - Barbara Rogers
An installation of contemporary textiles by Barbara Rogers, exploring the diversity and language of the graphic stripe pattern. Rogers draws on her knowledge of shibori techniques combined with experimentation to build layers of colour and design and create unique effects on a single fabric layer.

Space Dissolving - Melinda Willis
Willis' practice is concerned with architectural glass and its reflective qualities as a vehicle for the transience and impermanence of time and space. Space Dissolving presents an array of reflections on sheet glass from buildings in public city areas translated into layered structures of sheet glass, fused glass and mixed media.

Elements: leather - Penny Amberg and Linda Davy
Elements is a dynamic series of group exhibitions celebrating the Centre's 40th birthday. The sixth in the series, Elements: leather, highlights invited artists Penny Amberg, Linda Davy, Colin Lee and Judy Parker, and runs over two exhibition periods in the Crucible and Foyer Showcases. Elements: leather is curated by Meredith Hinchliffe.

Our Shop

Are you ready for the holiday season? Do you still have a couple of gifts that you need to buy? It isn't too late. Join the handmade revolution and support local craft and design at Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre. The Eat Drink Share shopping season continues until 5pm on Thursday 22 December 2011.

Valentine's Day will be just around the corner when the Shop reopens on Tuesday 24 January 2012. The delightful array of exquisite, handcrafted jewellery stocked in the Shop could be just the gift that you are seeking for your loved one.

Are you looking for a special gift but aren't sure what to buy? Did you know that the Craft ACT Shop also offers gift vouchers? Perfect for those instances when you're uncertain - let them choose!

Preview a selection of the products available in the Craft ACT Shop

Opportunities

Freedom exhibition
Submissions close 19 January 2012
TAP Gallery and Amnesty International Australia have teamed up for the 16th year running to present the Freedom exhibition. The competition is open to all artists and mediums.

Australia Council Creative Australia Fellowship Program
Applications close 31 January 2012
Fellowships supporting the professional development of outstanding artists. These fellowships provide financial support for artists working across artforms to undertake creative or professional development.

CAPITheticAL
Stage 1 submissions close 31 January 2012
CAPITheticAL is an international competition inviting individuals and collaborative design teams to imagine how an Australian national capital might be created in the 21st century.

More opportunities Member's login

Industry news

Arts Minister orders review of Australia Council for the Arts
Simon Crean, Federal Minister for the Arts, has ordered a review of the Australia Council as he prepares to draft the national cultural policy. This is the first major review to be conducted since the 1980's.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Centre Accredited Professional Member Sean Booth on recently being awarded the Rosalie Gascoigne Memorial Award by Capital Arts Patrons Organisation (CAPO), and to Centre member Maryann Mussared on being a finalist in the 2011 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.

2011 Canberra Critics’ Circle Awards
The Centre congratulates all those who were awarded Canberra Critics' Circle Awards. Notably Centre Accredited Professional Members Robert Foster and Nikki Main, and artist of the year, Michael Le Grand.

Dr Chris Bourke appointed 5th Minister
The Centre warmly welcomes Dr Chris Bourke's appointment by Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, as the fifth Minister in her Cabinet. Dr Bourke takes on the role of Minister for Education and Training.

Design protection in Australia
Griffith Hack, an Australian intellectual property law firm, has released a report which explores the impact of 2003 legislation on registered design protection in Australia.

World's first virtual fashion museum
Italian fashion icon Valentino Garavani recently unveiled a 3D virtual museum, reputed to be the world's first virtual fashion museum, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Also showing

1601
An ephemeral exhibition exhibited at The ApARTtments, Level 16, 19 Marcus Clarke Street, New Acton until 23 December 2011. Daily viewing from 1-4pm with 15% of sales going to Barnados.

Brilliance - University of Canberra
Innovative works from the Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra in 2011 are exhibited at Gallery of Australian Design until 28 January 2012.

Generate '11
Group exhibition of work by the dedicated artists and designers completing the JamFactory's Associate training program. Exhibition continues at the JamFactory until 12 February 2012.

• Season's greetings image designed by Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre, 2011
• Nancy Tingey, Black Bird Net Nest. Photograph: courtesy of Art Guide Australia
• Barbara Rogers, Scarf (detail), 2011, silk satin georgette, shibori, de-coloured, azoic dyes. Photograph: courtesy of the artist
• Danyka van Buuren, tea cup rings, $110.00 each Photograph: courtesy of the artist.
• Kristel Britcher, Cumulus Humilis/Making the Visible Seen (detail), 2011. Photograph: courtesy of JamFactory