Lori Kirk's "disturbing tourist artefacts"

Current Gallery 3 exhibitor Lori Kirk was recently featured in an article published on Artabase.

Click here to read it!



Handcrafted Homogeneity is on at Gallery 3 until Saturday 12 June.


Fantastic photography: Lily Feng

Craft Hatch in the news

We've been getting so much attention from numerous magazines, journals, blogs and even the ABC for our current Chicks on Speed exhibition Viva La Craft, but nothing warms the cockles of our heart like seeing our special project Craft Hatch have its fair share of attention.

The Craft Hatch market is a capsule market designed to showcase the work of the best and brightest emerging designers in Melbourne (and sometimes Tasmania!). With up to twelve stallholders participating every month, each market is a lovingly curated event that features a mix of fresh talent and old favourites from previous Craft Hatch markets.

The market has been steadily gaining momentum since its inception in November 2008. The next market, our sixth, will be on Saturday 9 May. Keep reading CLOG for more information on the fabulous participants!

In the previous April market, we were so proud to be featured in The Age's Domain section (which is published every Saturday). Myf Kemp's adorable bear and lion blankies (softies made from recycled blankets) were featured in the snippet - hooray for Myf!


In the same week, Elena Lo's superb dino necklace was the focus image for The Leader's fresh section. Hooray again!


And just when we thought it couldn't get any better, May's Craft Hatch was plugged in The Age's Epicure pullout last week. The very talented Ms. Jules Musgrove's crocheted banana necklace was featured, so do drop by the market in May to say hi. PS, a little bird told us to expect more cute goodies from Jules like whale softies and more crocheted cuteness!

Also featured in the same page is a beautiful vase by COUNTER stockist Wendy Jagger, whom CLOG interviewed in an edition of Introducing... sometime last year.

The next Craft Hatch market will be on Saturday 9 May, write it in your diary!

PS. Don't squint, click the images to enlarge them for easier reading.

Openings and launches...

Tomorrow evening will be the opening night of three very important occasions: it will be the launch of our first two exhibitions of the year as well as the launch of Notions of Space, a publication jointly produced by Craft Victoria and the School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University. What a way to kick off 2009!

In galleries 1 & 2 will be the work of jeweller Lisa Walker. Curated by Damien Skinner, the exhibition entitled Unwearable will consist of work completed by Lisa over the past fifteen years. Monumental indeed!

Complementary to Lisa's Unwearable exhibition are the highly wearable, and not to mention visually edible, objects by Melinda Young in gallery 3. Take a Ball of Thread... saw Melinda use an industrial spool of cotton candy pink thread to create a multitude of fantastic objects under a series of limitations: the product must be wearable and the project must end when the thread runs out.

In addition to these two exhibitions, tomorrow will also be the official launch of the Notions of Space publication. It follows on from RMIT's School of Architecture and Design exhibition last year entitled Urban Interior Occupation as well as the Notions of Space exhibition. Like the best things in life, copies of this excellent journal are free and hard-copies are available at Craft Victoria. Alternatively, you can also access the publication in PDF form by clicking here.

Loose threads project

Craft Victoria past board member and exhibitor, Roseanne Bartley, is seeking material for a new project, loose threads:

Loose threads are one of life’s little problems.

Left unattended our buttons fall off,
our seams unravel,
our pants fall down.

Loose threads symbolise all that is unfinished in the world - that which has come undone.

I want to do something about it and I need your help

Send me a loose thread, textile is best - it can be extracted or found

I will tie it up, along with others, crafting a collective solution to an old problem.

Feel free to send this request on to your family, a friend, an acquaintance, or friends of friends.

Contribute by sending your loose thread to

PO BOX 741, Newlands Estate LPO, Coburg, Victoria 3058 Australia
By May 29th 2008

Include an email contact address if you wish to be kept informed.

Roseanne most recently exhibited at Craft Victoria in 2007 as part of the touring exhibition curated by Kate Rhodes, Solutions for Better Living.

Adélia Borges takes us to Rio and beyond

Brazilian craft and design writer Adélia Borges delivered the Craft Victoria Annual Lecture at the National Gallery of Victoria last Wednesday. She spoke about the new wave of craft and design collaborations that is sweeping through Latin America. The story was greatly appreciated by the strong crowd:

• 'Her talk was quite inspirational and it was wonderful to see the way the traditional craft work was being integrated into more contemporary forms.' (Jane Gilmore)
• 'Very informative, interesting and inspiring' (Stephanie Yaksa-Ladyzhynsky)
• 'I did enjoy Adelia Borges presentation, her humbling manner and soft toned warm voice. I am sure that the intention to develop cross cultural art links is a very positive step in improving understanding between cultures and there diverse way of working in the crafts world.' (Christopher Plumridge)
• 'I found her very inspiring and wonderfully fresh. The exhibitions she has organised sound incredible and I love her attention to the entirety of what craft can be - or become. I enjoyed speaking to her briefly over a drink last night about the parallels between what she's doing and what the Mingei movement did in Japan which I'm so familiar with. It gave me a new way of seeing and appreciating it.' (Jane Sawyer)
• 'Adélia Borges is a woman of acute sensibilities to, and perceptions of, design and culture in Latin America. For me, Adélia’s presentation was a potent and timely reminder that design relies less on economic and industrial capacities and more on history, traditions and ideas.' (Kathy Demos, National Design Centre)
• 'With a journey in my work for People, Culture and Form Adelia's Lecture slotted my wide thinking and research together, for which I am very grateful.' (Titania Henderson)
• 'Listening to our guest from Brazil was a privilege and a pleasure. We have so much in common. Adelia's ideas and expression have given me another way to think about my work infect all our work. inparticular the challenges of colonialisation, of cultural assertion and justice and how those issues resonate through craft and design. We have a lot to learn from the efforts fellow countries of the south have gone to to assert their independence in the face of the hegemony of the Nt. For someone who makes furniture to think about the social and political economy of posture is a delight. 'Form follows emotion' couldn't agree more. These are our neighbors. We should talk more often. Thank you for this great opportunity.' (Damien Wright)
• 'I especially enjoyed her exhibition of the seat/chair and her exploration into how people from different cultures/traditions sit. It is always valuable to learn about the context in which craft is made, and invaluable to learn about how other cultural environments approach ideas about craft. Continued international exchange – such as this lecture – nourishes craft, and benefits the on-going debate about how craft is placed in current cultural climate.' (Susan Cohn)
  

Adélia's talk will be up on Craft Culture soon.

Brazil meets Canberra

Adelia Borges visited Canberra on Tuesday and meet the capital's craft establishment, including Craft Australia's Catrina Vignando and here she is with Barbara McConchie. She is showing Adelia some dolls made by local artist Lex Sorrento. These Carmen Miranda-style Baiana figures aren't exactly the kind of Brazilian craft that Adelia will be talking about in Melbourne. But their 'I go to Rio' theme is an interesting example of the kind of simple image of Brazil that Adelia's presence will hopefully complicate for us.

Sydney ring-ins

	Friday night saw the opening of Marian Hosking's exhibtion Jewellery, as part of the Living Treasures series produced by Object Gallery in Sydney. The key element was the Tall Tree ring, cast from the girth of a Gippsland tree.
	The show gives viewers the opportunity to take the wide and detailed perspective on Marian's work. It will be touring for two years and come to Craft Victoria in August 2008.
	Also just arrived in Sydney is Adelia Borges, the Brazilian craft and design writer who is delivering our Annual Lecture on Wednesday 14 November. Here she is having just discovered shoes by the Campana Brothers, the notorious design team that she first put into the public eye.

Spring comes to Flinders Lane

One of the recent improvements to Flinders Lane has been the planting of these sprightly Queensland trees. Craft Victoria sits at the top of the city's major gallery strip. The widened paths and shady trees will make the stroll down Flinders Lane even more pleasurable. Give it a try!

Good news for craft in South Africa

The South Project had its fourth gathering recently in Johannesburg. A number of Victorians went over, including local designer makers Emma Davies and Sara Thorn. While there will be more details and images forthcoming on the South Project website, from a craft perspective the event seemed very fruitful.

We were joined by a large number of 'crafters' (as they are called in South Africa) from a range of backgrounds, including township residents, specialist makers, visual artists and arts workers. There were two specialist craft workshops. Fibre artists from our north and west (Thisbe Purich, Ivy Hopkins, Ina Scales, Jo Foster and Nalda Searles) ran a fodder workshop which was very successful. And simultaneously, there was a workshop on sustainability, which focused on strategies for increasing the value of craft by exhibiting it in galleries.

Exhibiting craft is something we take for granted (relatively) in Australia. But in South Africa, the idea of putting crafted works in the gallery is quite radical. This is despite the enormous strength of the craft sector in the country (it is the third largest source of employment). While Apartheid officially ended when Mandela came to power in 1994, the construction of a truly democratic society remains an ongoing challenge. Opening galleries to the work of crafters seems an important new frontier for democracy. But it needs to be done in a way that is not tokenistic. A major theme from the workshop was the need to bring the standards of work up to the level of exhibition -- going for one-off quality rather than mass production. It's a long road ahead, but the interest and willingness seemed there. It was particularly encouraging to have the Craft Council of South Africa as such as willing partner in the process.

So what does a organisation like Craft Victoria have to gain from being part of a project that occurs on the other side of the world? It's a good question that we have to confront honestly. There's a great danger that these kind of events become purely symbolic exercises that create a bubble of good will that subsides once reality reemerges.

It is probably too early to judge the real benefits of this event. There's certainly a strong sense of solidarity that was developed between craft practitioners in both countries. It's not that we in Australia face the same kind of economic challenges that a telephone wire weaver in a South African village confronts in getting food onto her table, but both our societies share a colonial legacy which privileges the individual painterly gaze above objects emerging from local traditions and materials. We can embolden each other.

But at the least, we can say that the 'water is safe'. The Australian visitors were made to feel very welcome in Soweto and none of us had any problems with crime or violence. It seemed in many ways more friendly than most Australian suburbs (I kept a journal on my private blog for more details). And we certainly weren't made to feel like neo-colonists.

So let's hope that this is the beginning. There's certainly willingness from the South African end to engage with Australian craft -- to learn from the way we have developed 'contemporary craft' and to share their own techniques and traditions. And I would certainly recommend the experience for any Australian makers who are interested in learning at first hand from the rich and vibrant craft practices in South Africa.

Members of Craft Victoria can feel proud that their organisation was able to take a risk and forge this new link. Our state has a very proud record of multiculturalism, and craft is a natural language of cultural exchange. And when it comes down to it, organisations like Craft Victoria are largely about creating links between people. We're a space where individual makers can feel part of a greater whole -- part of a scene, part of a culture and part of a humanity.

Kevin Murray

Kevin Murray leaving Craft Victoria to pursue writing interests

The Board of Craft Victoria today announced that the Executive Director, Dr Kevin Murray, will shortly leave Craft Victoria to pursue his own writing interests.

Prue Venables, President of Craft Victoria, thanked Kevin Murray for his exceptional leadership of the organisation over the last eight years, a period which has seen considerable development of Craft Victoria’s national and international profile.

“On behalf of the Board, members and staff of Craft Victoria, I offer our sincerest thanks to Kevin Murray for his dedicated and innovative contribution to Craft Victoria. During his time here,  Kevin Murray has developed and led many important initiatives including the South Project, an ambitious program of cultural exchange for the southern hemisphere. Kevin Murray has overseen an exciting program of ongoing exhibitions, including Fresh!, Craft Victoria’s annual survey of the work of Victorian craft and design graduates. He has also curated a number of successful exhibitions while at Craft Victoria, developed the Scarf Festival, and published widely during his time. A particular initiative has been the on-line Craft Culture magazine and regular newsletters. Not least, Kevin Murray has also seen a vibrant and financially successful retail presence in Flinders Lane.”

Kevin Murray said that he was leaving Craft Victoria with some personal regret but confident that this was the right time for him to pursue his own interests. “Managing an organisation like Craft Victoria is fulfilling and engaging, but leaves you little time to pursue intellectual interests and contribute to wider debates on craft and design both here and internationally. Now the organisation is in such a strong position, I feel confident in returning to my long-standing research and writing interests.”

“Craft Victoria is blessed with a hard-working staff, a highly engaged membership, a dedicated Board and supportive funding bodies and donors. The success of Craft Victoria is a result of this remarkable team.”

Kevin Murray’s last day with Craft Victoria will be 7 December. Ms Venables said that future management arrangements at Craft Victoria would be announced in due course. Esther Anatolitis continues as Craft Victoria’s General Manager.

Ivan Englund passes on

Venerable Australian potter Ivan Englund has recently passed away. Englund worked with fellow potters Mollie Douglas, Peter Rushforth, and (the late) Ivan McMeekin in the early 1960s to talk about pottery. They developed the first publication of Pottery in Australia in 1962.

According to Englund: "We wanted to make pottery our life work and career".

The Journal of Australian Ceramics will feature a tribute to Ivan in the first issue of 2008.

Craftbase crash

Craftbase has proven a wonderful way for members to promote their work, and for visitors to experience the wonders of what gets hand made today. Unfortunately, technology has not been too kind to the system and the web hosts computers crashed recently, taking the site down with them. They are getting their computers off and repaired at the moment and will be back to us when it is up and running.

Usually you can find Craftbase at craftbase.craftvic.asn.au.

Ironically, this is happening just as we have crashed our own galleries -- this time deliberately so that we can subject the floors to some long-overdue cleaning and repairing. The next exhibition opening on Thursday will be our major Melbourne Festival show, including Best in Show. A good opportunity therefore to show off the best of ourselves.

From Turkey to North Africa - craft connects

	On Thursday, Craft Victoria was visited by representatives of the Australian Turkish Cultural Platform, eager to connect their own community's craft skills to the broader craft scene. Here's a prodigious local maker with the President Hilkat Özgün.
	And on Sunday at the Queen Victoria Women's Centre, there was the opening of an exhibition Entwine that featured craft work by a local group of north African women.
	Here is one of their leaders Halima Sha, with collaborators Sara Bice and Naomi Ngo. There's is a remarkable combination of stories and objects that promises great things to come.

Our living craft treasures for 2008-2010

Object in collaboration with Craft Australia have just announced the three craft practitioners who will be our 'living treasures' for 2008-2010. Here's the text of the media release:

Object is proud to announce that the next three artists in its annual Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft exhibition series are Liz Williamson (2008), Kevin Perkins (2009) and Robert Baines (2010).

As with Object's past Living Treasures artists, Williamson, Perkins and Baines each have careers spanning more than 30 years, maintain a national and international exhibition profile and have all made major contributions to the craft sector both nationally and internationally. They are all currently making some of the most confident work of their careers and Object will present a significant body of new work from each of these influential artists over the next three years.

Expect a showcase of Williamson's exquisite textiles, Perkins' accomplished fine timber furniture and Baines' masterful gold and silversmithing in their respective Living Treasures exhibitions. Nominations for this current series were accepted from across the country through the national network of craft and design organisations. From the field of nominations 10 Masters of Australian Craft were selected by an independent seven juror panel - made up of nationally respected experts in the fields of craft and design.

From these 10 Masters of Australian Craft the three Living Treasures were ultimately selected by the jury. Object's Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft annual exhibition series began in 2005 with Les Blakebrough: Ceramics, continued in 2006 with Klaus Moje: Glass and awaits 2007's Marian Hosking: Jewellery. The exhibition series celebrates the most respected figures in the Australian crafts movement through a magnificent full colour monograph and a nationally touring exhibition.

The 10 Masters of Australian Craft: Robert Baines (gold and silversmithing, VIC), Pippin Drysdale (ceramics, WA), Beth Hatton (textiles, NSW), Brian Hirst (glass, NSW), Jeff Mincham (ceramics, SA), Milton Moon (ceramics, SA), Kevin Perkins (wood, TAS), Catherine Truman (jewellery and objects, SA), Margaret West (jewellery and objects, NSW), Liz Williamson (textiles, NSW)

Living Treasures jurors: Ted Snell, Professor of Contemporary Art, Curtin University, WA; Margot Osborne, independent curator and writer, SA; Catrina Vignando, General Manager, Craft Australia, ACT; Grace Cochrane, independent curator and writer and former Senior Curator, Australian Decorative Arts and Design, Powerhouse Museum, NSW; Chetana Andary, Executive Director, Craft Queensland, QLD; Brian Parkes, Associate Director, Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design; Kevin Murray, Director, Craft Victoria, VIC.

From a parochial perspective, it is interesting both series of selections have included a Victorian jeweller. Marian Hosking and Robert Baines seem to represent strong artistic and professional leadership in the jewellery sector, reflecting the strength of the medium in Victoria. Both are quite different in style - Marian's care for nature versus Robert's baroque excess - though both reflect a pitch of skill and creative intensity that others can aspire to.

We just wish there were more accolades for all the other treasures in Victoria that illuminate its contemporary craft.

Talente selections

Selections have been made for the prestigious Talente in Munich, featuring new craft talent around the world. Eight successful Australians include six from Victoria - a strong showing. Talente selections was managed by JamFactory Centre for Craft & Design. The successful ones are Ruth Andell (Vic), Lucy Blackmore (Vic), Cobi Cockburn (NSW), Kim Goldsmith (NSW), Danielle Lott (Vic), Mardi Nowack (Vic), Nina Oikawa (Vic) and Michelle Taylor (Vic).

And from the other end of the career span, there's a recent monograph on master potter Milton Moon, The Zen Master The Potter and The Poet. The book is available from Axiom Publishing and is priced at $39.95 plus $10.00 postage and handling. Those wishing to purchase a copy of the book can call Axiom on (08) 8362 7052 or email denise@axiomdist.com.au