Public programs: 2008

Connect with the diversity of the contemporary craft and design world when you join artists, designers and curators to hear first hand what drives and inspires these makers. Free event in the Craft ACT gallery.

Wednesday 27 February @ 10:00am - 11:00am

Recipients of the 2007 Australian Council Mentorship grant, Jaimi Kark and mentor Susan Taylor will share their experience of the mentorship process and the resulting exhibition. Hear about the development of Kark's Interview collection and how it transforms from the studio into the retail market.   See artbytes below.

Thursday 13 March @ 6:00pm

New Zealand curator and historian Dr Damien Skinner shares a curators perspective of the work created by Jason Hall and the theoretical undercurrents of the exhibition 1839 Exchanges: Jewellery by Jason Hall.   See artbytes below.

Wednesday 16 April @ 6:00pm - 6:30pm

Silversmith Karin Beaumont discusses her practice within the context of the exhibition Tidal Zone; a touring exhibition from Design Centre - Tasmania presenting contemporary Tasmanian furniture and object design which explores the edge that delineates an Island's geographical space. Beaumont is inspired by the diverse beauty and intriguing form of microscopic plankton in the Southern Ocean, and has used silversmithing to create a set of wearable objects.

Wednesday 16 April @ 6:30pm - 7:00pm

The Border explores the use of generic forms (such as a bowl, platter or vase) as the starting point for the construction of objects. Craft ACT curator Jason Hugonnet shares a curators perspective of this exhibition, and participating artist Lia Tacjnar gives an insight into her interpretation of the curatorial brief and her work.

Tuesday 17 June @ 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Accomplished ceramicists, Sarit Cohen and Kaye Pemberton, exhibit their individual approach to tableware resulting in two unique installations. Join Cohen and Pemberton for an exploration into the rituals of domestic settings and the symbolic meanings associated with objects.

Thursday 31 July @ 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Mixed media artist Caroline Huf discusses the work presented in weaving in and out of time, a transition from woven objects and hand modelled plasticine forms to stop-motion animated videos. See her intricate objects, constructed from discarded tickets and packaging, come to life through animation.

Tuesday 7 October @ 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Furniture maker Craig Harris discusses his practice within the context of his exhibition Craig Craft; a selection of eight hand crafted pieces of furniture including seating, lighting, table and tableware and sea craft (ie: 'the surfboard').

Craft ACT is 'art and about' at the Australian National University School of Art Artforum Seminars. FREE EVENT at the ANU School of Art Lecture Theatre.

Thursday 13 March @ 1:00pm - 2:00pm

New Zealand based curator and historian Dr Damien Skinner discusses the politics of identity in the work of four leading jewelers from Aotearoa; Warwick Freeman, Peter McKay, Lisa Walker and Jason Hall.   See artbytes below.
ANU School of Art Lecture Theatre, first floor above the main foyer / Childers Street ACTON

Thursday 29 May @ 1:00pm – 2:00pm

F!NK Fostering Design, curated by Merryn Gates, is an exhibition featuring products in the F!NK range designed by Robert Foster, maker designer and craftsman, and the many talented designers he has worked with under the F!NK brand. Robert will revisit his twenty one years of practice and the collaborations undertaken with F!NK.

Receive a regular dose of art without leaving your chair. Not restricted to the gallery walls Artbytes is art in your ear, conversations from artists and curators exhibiting with Craft ACT.

The Interview: Recipients of the 2007 Australia Council Mentorship Grant, emerging fashion designer Jaimi Kark and mentor Susan Taylor proprietor of local women's boutique Department of the Exterior, share their experience of the mentorship process and the resulting exhibition.
Play audio

ANU Artfourm: New Zealand based curator and historian Dr Damien Skinner discusses the politics of identity in the work of four leading jewellers from Aotearoa; Warwick Freeman, Peter McKay, Lisa Walker and Jason Hall.
Play audio

1839 Exchanges: Jewellery by Jason Hall New Zealand curator and historian Dr Damien Skinner shares a curators perspective of the work created by Jason Hall and the theoretical undercurrents of the exhibition 1839 Exchanges: Jewellery by Jason Hall.
Play audio

Our nation's capital and the powers that be are in a slow melodious buzz about Canberra's centenary celebration in 2013, making grand plans for the big event.

With barely five years to go there is much to do, say, and think about this meticulously planned city. Are we not the very epitome, the zenith even, of the Great Australian Dream? Is our social fabric not the quintessential warp and weft of middle-class aspiration? Are we not model citizens in the model city? How do we define ourselves, and what are the defining arty-facts of our uber-suburban bush-bound life?

Seizing the initiative, Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre has pitched its intrepid team into the fray to plumb the depths of Canberra's cultural lifestyle. Because beyond the manicure and visual constraint of this measured environment beats the creative heart of a robust and diverse artistic community, accessible through Canberra's enlightened network of grass-roots arts organisations - of which Craft ACT is proud to be one. It is time to assert our artistic expression and imagination remains the clear pathway to a prosperous future beyond the political maze.

SKETCHING is a line-up of events and exhibitions devised by Craft ACT to stimulate unfettered artistic expression and debate.

» Read more about SKETCHING - designing a capital crafting a city.

SKETCHING EVENTS

Download a PDF of the SKETCHING program [578 kB].

The Studio Tour

10am - 3pm Saturday 23 August

In association with CLAW (Canberra Living Artists Week) 08, Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre invites the Canberra community on a studio crawl - The Studio Tour. For one Saturday only, four Accredited Professional Members - Avi Amesbury (ceramics), Nancy Tingey (textiles), Kaye Pemberton (ceramics) and Valerie Kirk (textiles) will open their studios, offering a glimpse into the birth place of art - the artist's studio.

Tickets: $20 (includes travel to all venues, pick up and drop-off from Craft ACT and lunch).
Bookings are essential. Contact Craft ACT (02) 6262 9333.

Shifting Perspectives: Round 2

Craft ACT Gallery 1 & 2
26 August - 1 September. Closing party from 5pm Monday 1 September

Shifting Perspectives: Round 2 is a deregulated exhibition showcasing craftily honed artistic statements of an unapologetically socio-political nature. An open exhibition for artists to have their say about Canberra while investigating what makes the Heart of the Nation tick?

A week long exhibition event, Shifting Perspectives: Round 2 invites contemporary craft artists and designers to explore the concept of 'objects of power'. Let your creative and political juices run free and participate in this one-off exhibition.

Works accepted and added throughout the exhibition period.

Public Debate There isn't a Canberra culture, only an Australian culture

Performance Space in the Drama Centre, Canberra Girls' Grammar School, Melbourne Avenue, DEAKIN
6pm - 8pm Tuesday 26 August

Is Canberra still teetering on the edge of the bland-zone, or will the next generation step up to re-vamp its cultural 'street cred'? To find a resolution on this polemic topic students of the CGGS1 team take on the Arts Mafia Team - Deb Clark, Curator of Visual Arts Canberra Museum and Gallery, David Broker, Director of Canberra Contemporary Art Space and Erica Seccombe, national artist. The Canberra Girls' Grammar School Debate Team proposes that Canberra is developing a youth based culture - passionate and creative. The Arts Mafia Team counter, arguing that Canberra should give up on the idea of having its own culture and focus on maintaining its position as the 'display village' of Australian culture. Join host Genevieve Jacobs, radio journalist with 666 ABC Canberra, and prepare yourself for a night of light hearted humour, opinion and good old fashion hot-headed competitiveness.

Entry: Gold coin donation. Bookings are essential. Contact Craft ACT (02) 6262 9333.

Local Innovations

Craft ACT Gallery 1 & 2
Opening 6pm Thursday 4 September, on display until 4pm Friday 5 September

Craft ACT presents an evening of innovative design by established and emerging local artists. Celebrating the dynamic craft and design scene that shapes this city's culture, the evening focuses on discovering the 'new'. For a limited time only Craft ACT presents….

Catherine Reid: Craft ACT Accredited Professional Member, Catherine Reid launches her new range of sophisticated porcelain lights. Offering a gentle glow which highlights the exterior surface pattern, Reid has drawn inspiration from the landscape to create a unique lighting range available for sale as pendant lights and lamps.

drawing with light: Craft ACT launches drawing with light - the annual Canberra Institute of Technology Fashion Department's experimental fashion night, presenting a collaboration between fashion design, photography and sound that celebrates innovation. Responding to Catherine Reid's product launch of porcelain lights the fashions explore ideas of light.

city of design talkfest: creativity - design - innovation

Craft ACT Gallery 1 & 2 6pm Friday 5 September

We invite you to talk, chat and yak about what makes Canberra tick. What is grand about this capital? To draw out more answers (or questions) Craft ACT has teamed up with Craft Australia to host city of design talkfest - a series of informal talks examining Canberra and the impact and influence of contemporary craft and design on this fair city of ours.

We start the conversation with a quote from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd given at the closing address of the 2020 conference in April this year.

"This false divide between the arts and science, between the arts and industry, between the arts and the economy: we've actually got to put that to bed. As if creativity is somehow this thing which only applies to the arts, and innovation is this thing over here which applies uniquely to the sciences, or technology, or to design. This is actually again a false dichotomy: it's just not like that.

"Our ambition should be to create and to foster a creative imaginative Australia because so much of the economy of the twenty-first century is going to require that central faculty."

Source: Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

city of design talkfest dives deep into the vital but sometimes tenuous links between craft and industry. Join Barbara McConchie, Executive Director of Craft ACT and Catrina Vignando, General Manager of Craft Australia along with leading Canberra professionals as the discuss the questions "Does craft and design have a place in the innovation revolution?" and "How can we drive this change in Canberra?"

Bring your ideas, questions and feedback and enjoy a drink amongst innovative craft and design served up at Craft ACT.
Bookings are essential. Contact Craft ACT (02) 6262 9333.

The Wrap - Craft ACT Bingo Extravaganza

Craft ACT Gallery 1 & 2 6pm till late Saturday 6 September

Craft ACT's fundraiser for the year - the Craft ACT Bingo Extravaganza! A night of Legs 11, 2 Little Ducks, 66 Clickety Clicks and 1 Fat Lady will tempt all stamping fanatics to come and try their luck. Bingo and lucky door prizes will all be up for grabs at Craft ACT's Bingo Extravaganza!

Entry: $2 / open to all Craft ACT members, friends and general public.
Bookings are essential. Contact Craft ACT (02) 6262 9333.

 

To make these events happen Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre acknowledges the support of:

 

BASELINES: COLONISATION AND CONSERVATION is a one day forum that will provide an opportunity to explore the possibilities that art and artists can bring to expand and enhance our experiences of unique environments and their conservation.

The forum complements the exhibition Baseline: Remnant Grasslands at Weereewa/Lake George, an exhibition of panoramic format paintings by Christine James and sculptural constructions by Beth Hatton at Craft ACT Gallery 1. This project touches on issues of art and the environment. The artists’ work responds to the processes of colonisation which changed the landscape and celebrates the resilience of the indigenous grassland and ecosystems which have prevailed. The exhibition and forum provide a contemporary interpretation of environmental land practices and the role of art as an agent for social discourse.

BASELINES: COLONISATION AND CONSERVATION brings together environment and the arts in a unique collaborative project, providing cross fertilisation and the sharing of stories to uncover new ways to understand our environment in a post colonial framework.

Registrations were closed at 5pm, Wednesday 23 July.

FORUM PROGRAM

SESSION 1: A Changing Face

From colonial to contemporary, the land, its management and the practice of conservation are brought into focus. This session examines issues of sustainability and conservation of our precious environment, focusing on the Weereewa landscape.

Welcome and introduction
Barbara McConchie Executive Director, Craft ACT

George Gundry
The True Business Of Agriculture
On the shore of Lake George, George Gundry operates Willeroo a 2000ha family property since 1894, raising Merino sheep, and of late, Angus cattle. George sees his primary role as one developing an intimate feel for natural processes to heal and rejuvenate the land. Following an enormous life changing paradigm shift, his new management regime attempts to balance the needs of the land and the needs of people whilst achieving financial security.
George is a certified Holistic Management Educator, working to assist farm families and rural enterprises in their quest for quality of life, sustainable living and a confident decision making framework. Everyone’s existence is inextricably linked to the land and in these worrisome times of global warming George will present refreshing insight and understanding which can assist us all to protect and regenerate our lives and landscapes.

Ruth Corrigan
Ruth Corrigan has had a lifelong interest in natural history processes; in 1987 she moved from Canberra to the present property, Gilead in Taylor's Creek Road which led her to develop a passion for grasslands and grassland plants. Grassland Field Guide in hand, Ruth studied the land until she could identify most of the plants she found; and over time, plant communities and associations became apparent to her. Twenty years later, with the land fenced from stock, and grazed moderately by kangaroos, the grassland has developed a great diversity of plant species, which have continued to thrive through the seasons. Ruth will discuss the changes to the vegetation in this land.

Frances Ingram
Raised in the Southern Monaro, Frances Ingram relocated to Adelaide in 1980 for university education and has since returned to the ACT. Her qualifications include an Advanced Diploma in Western Herbal Medicine. Through extensive research, trust, and sensitive consultation with Aboriginal elders, Frances has created Australian Medicinal Plants of Arid and Temperate Regions. The research established Frances' credentials to accurately and wisely represent traditional healing methods as an ancient and respected art in Australia. Frances will discuss Indigenous history and plant use in the Lake George area, the impact of colonisation and European farming practices and touch upon intellectual and cultural property rights relating to traditional Aboriginal foodstuffs.

SESSION 2: Opening Doors

Art can be a focus and a cultural tool to express a comment to a diverse audience. This session reflects upon art as a medium for exchange of dialogue and an expression of new ideas.

Christine James and Beth Hatton
Making Connections
Christine James and Beth Hatton are artists from different disciplines but share the same concerns. They will discuss their collaboration for the exhibition Baseline which involved contemplation of the environmental history of Weereewa/Lake George.
Christine James has been researching, walking and painting Weereewa/Lake George country for over a sixteen years. Her Weereewa works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has been a recipient of environmental art awards and artist residencies. Her current works in Baseline have moved from a critique of Colonial inappropriate usage of Weereewa's lake bed and catchment land to works that document the resilience of its remnant (remaining) vegetation.
Beth Hatton is a textile artist whose rugs, using recycled fabrics and more recently kangaroo skin off cuts, have been exhibited across Australia and internationally. She has received many awards, and in 2006 was named Master of Australian Craft. In 2003 Hatton began to construct forms from native and introduced plant materials using an Aboriginal stitching technique and this is the medium used for her works in the exhibition Baseline.

Paull McKee Artist
Common Sense Common Ground
What interests me at present is the relationships between heritage, environment and the arts, the values these areas share and how contemporary art practices are well placed to open dialogues between these sectors. Through our art practices we are able to find creative ways of interpreting and making visible these shared values of empathy, concern, generosity, curiosity, enjoyment and hope.
McKee will discuss how bringing these areas together can build relationships and grow future endeavors, referencing the 2005 project Memories in Place: Art in High Country Huts, a joint venture between Craft ACT and the Namadgi National Park.

Jennifer Lamb
Former Director of Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 1983 to 2007.
Environment as context for art
On the premise that many artists have a deep concern for the natural environment, the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery curated exhibitions that had the environment as the subject for art research and making. Beginning in the late 1990s these exhibitions initially involved school students working with regional artists. From 2001 the focus was on regional artists researching and making works about local environmental concerns.
Jennifer will discuss the effectiveness of the processes and outcomes of these projects.

 

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