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APRIL 2010
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Craft Cubed festival
Craft Victoria's annual festival Craft Cubed is fast approaching and we want your content for a number of festival components relating to the 2010 theme of Childhood...
WHITEBOX is an experimental online portal showcasing projects, conjecture and commentary on craft and design from Australia and around the world. Expressions of Interest are sought from practitioners who use online and new media resources as a component of their craft and design practice, particularly those working within the realm of stop motion animation. Read more here
Images above: Love Letters by Victoria Mason, who will have a stall at April's Craft Hatch market |
GALLERY
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Adele Varcoe
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Kate James
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Nicholas Jones & Warren Harrison
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This season, fashion is being taken to a whole new level of fleshiness, as iFOLD takes the fashion world by storm. It's the skin we’re already wearing that’s making millions of people across the globe feel dressed.
iFOLD is a new mode of dressing, inviting individuals to make a garment for themselves using a technique called Skin Folding.
Last season iFOLD presented their 2011 spring/ summer collection during the Paris Fashion Festival. The show drove the Fash Pack into a frenzy and has been said to be one of the most controversial trends since Walter Van Bierendonck’s stick on Lumps and Bumps.
iFOLD is encouraging people to reconsider the concept of clothing, and may well be the next big thing to revolutionise what it means to feel dressed.
Artist Adele Varcoe will be guiding visitors through the installation from 11am - 3pm on the following dates:
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A common feature of anxiety is its incessant and ruminative quality whereby thoughts, images or actions are repeated over and over. This theme is reflected in Kate James’s work through the employment of craft processes relying upon intense, monotonous and repetitive movements: horsehair hitching, tapestry, hand spinning, knitting, hairwork and rope-making.
Stemming from her personal experience with anxiety and empathy for the anxious animal, James’s work aims to highlight the universality of anxiety, revealing it to be an experience common to human and animal alike. By exploring the various psychological, physiological and behavioural components of anxiety, James aims to share the private world of anxiety with the viewer.
Join artist Kate James as she speaks about her exhibition and her practice more generally.
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Without Bias presents a series of collaborative works from book sculptor Nicholas Jones (Bibliopath) and emerging fashion designer Warren Harrison (Made by Warren). For this new body of work, Jones and Harrison explore the technique of binding as a cross-over point in their respective practices.
Harrison has incorporated basic book-binding techniques to create simple, yet elegant garments with a distinctively bookish twist. Jones has created a series of sculptures made from books about textiles, garment construction and fashion design and which take their inspiration from the tools of the fashion trade (scissors, needles, thread). This exhibition aims to bring together two distinctive practices and to explore the processes behind the creation of art and fashion.
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enCOUNTER [24/7 window]
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Vikki Kassioras, Concrete Pearls. Concrete, silver, silk |
Vikki Kassioras
Vikki Kassioras fuses modern technologies and materials such as concrete with ancient motifs and traditional materials like silver into beautifully challenging yet wearable outcomes. This exhibition will showcase a selection of jewellery ‘offerings’ that explore new connections between classical mythology and the modern world.
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Mainichi Design
Mainichi recycles leather, felt, wood, fabric, bamboo, rubber, plastic and many more everyday and interesting materials into wearable pieces of art. Mainichi is handmade in Melbourne, Australia.
"My forefathers were skilled labourers, crafting items for consumption with their hands, aware of the value of materials, mindful of their origins and end use. Frugal, ingenious and appreciative of what little they might have had; to re-appropriate, recycle and reuse was an everyday practice for them. This body of work celebrates their skills and their appreciation of the value of materials; and it asks – in our modern world how often do we consider the labour that is embodied in the products we consume, and wonder at the origin and end-use of the materials that surround us?” |
COUNTER
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 Kate James, horsehair neckpiece |
A new season sees a new look in COUNTER. Teapots, beakers, bowls and plates from Claystone Pottery, hand drawn bottles by Sophie Milne, etched porcelain by Rosalyn Sachsse and a great collection of earthy stoneware plates and platters by Kathleen Wratten. New stationery and cards from Elly Oak, Peeps, Helen Nicholson and Words and Pictures. Trans-seasonal textiles to keep out the morning chill include beautiful hand knits from Primoeza, recycled circle knit scarves from Bodyparts, hand-woven pieces from Plush! Luxury Fabrics and Design, and the new range of fingerless gloves by Penelope Durston. For the home, we have a range of new glass works from Holly Grace, porcelain lamps by Catherine Reid and Betty Jo Designs recycled lino wall clocks. Also instore, new jewellery ranges from Meredith Turnbull, Katheryn Leopoldseder, Joanne McMahon, Tara Lofhelm, Emma Sher and Kirsten Perry. And, for a limited time only, striking one-off silver and horsehair neckpieces by Melbourne artist Kate James, to coincide with her current exhibition at Craft Victoria, The Work of Worry is Never Done.
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Sunday Morning Designs, Mushroom print kids t-shirt $39 |
Online shop
As a special Easter present, COUNTER is offering a 10% discount on all online sales for the month of April! Simply quote the discount code APRIL. Take advantage of this offer to buy some of the new products instore: hand printed kids t-shirts by Sunday Morning Designs and hand-knitted horsey toys by Loope. Back on the book shelves, just in time to make the most of the post Fashion Festival excitement are My Wonderful World of Fashion, Patterns: new Surface Design and the ultimate DIY textile manual Printing by Hand. |
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CRAFT HATCH
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 Work by Dawn Tan |
This month Craft Hatch returns to doing what we do best – showcasing the very freshest of emerging talent by some of Melbourne’s yet-to-be-discovered design geniuses! Featuring several designers familiar to Craft Hatch all laden with brand spanking new work, we can’t wait to share their goodies with you!
Featuring: Adelle Frittitta & Lisa Wang, Belinda Crossley, Dawn Tan, Gemma Johnson, Kylie Bickerdike, Little Harvest, Mae Finlayson, students from NMIT’s Gold & Silversmithing course, Okt-ober dee (Lauren Ferry), Sharon Russell and Victoria Mason.
Date: Saturday 10 April, 11am-4pm
Call for stallholders
The Craft Hatch market is held on the second Saturday of every month at the City Library. It’s an excellent opportunity to make your first step into the design world. The registration deadline for the May, June and July markets has been extended to Monday 12 April. Click here to register
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CRAFTBASE
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 Madeleine Stamer, Bird Cluster Mobile |
Craftbase, our online imagebank, continues to attract new Professional Members. Last month's new designer/makers are:
Shabana Jacobson, Jewellery
Craft Victoria encourages all Professional Members to get involved and showcase their work to an international craft and design audience. For more details, download the Craftbase Userguide or contact Craft Victoria.
View Craftbase online |
CRAFT VICTORIA NEWS
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Craft to Consumer
Repeated due to popular demand! This information session outlines the basics of selling your work at a market, through a retailer and online. Speakers include Carmel McKie, Retail Manager, Craft Victoria; Kim Brockett, Market Coordinator, Craft Hatch, and Pip Carroll, Market Development Coordinator, Craft Victoria.
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Craft Word
Craft Word is a commissioned series of four essays celebrating Craft Victoria's 40th anniversary. The first essayist, Anthea van Kopplen launched the project in February with 010110: The End of an Age of Excess? Anthea selected recent RMIT Fashion graduate Crystal Dunn as the second writer for Craft Word. Crystal, who was a 2008 Fresh! exhibitor, currently works at Melbourne fashion label MATERIALBYPRODUCT. Craft as Gesture is her contribution to the project.
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Craft Culture reborn!
The Craft Culture database of critical writing is once again available on Craft Victoria's fabulous new website, designed by Anika Cook. Recent articles include Finding Words for Poitiers by Penny Webb, along with a treasure trove of over 250 essays on contemporary craft. Articles may be may submitted at any time to Joe Pascoe, CEO & Artistic Director.
email: jpascoe@craftvic.org.au
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Seeking alcohol partner
Craft Victoria is currently seeking out a partnership with a boutique winery or brewer for the supply of alcohol to our events in exchange for promotion throughout the year. Benefits include logo recognition on all event materials, distribution of collateral from Craft Victoria, VIP invitation to events, acknowledgement during speeches and other cross promotional activities. For more information, contact Pip Carroll, Market Development Coordinator.
email: pcarroll@craftvic.org.au
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OTHER EVENTS
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Fashioning the Mana
Samoan artist and Craft Victoria Member Maryann Talia Pau presents an installation of contemporary Pacific adornment, the first by a Pacific woman at the National Gallery of Victoria. Also on display is Samoan artist Rosanna Raymond's H'nard K'nore G'nang G'near outfit. Both works look at shifting identities, purpose and location for Pacific people living in Australia today.
Dates: until 5 April
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JamFactory
David Neale uses techniques from graphics, painting, collage and line-work to make signs for the body and to tell wearable stories. These jewellery works reveal a considered play of opposites such as flat vs. deep, austere vs. ostentatious, rough vs. refined, precious vs. poor, shiny vs. sfumato, gravel vs. gold and some vs. none.
Dates: 10 April – 16 May
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2010 marks the 20th year of agIdeas. This design industry event is a series of professional development activities for designers who are seeking inspiration, for designers emerging in the industry to explore the possibilities of international careers in design and for companies looking to embrace design as an economic driver.
Dates: 26 – 29 April
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National Wool Museum
The 2010 Scarf Festival will be held at the National Wool Museum, Geelong, from 18 June – 25 July. This year's theme is Reflections. Scarf-makers are encouraged to delve into their roots and inspirations to create a scarf that reflects their heritage and identity. The registration kit is now available online. Closing date: Monday 24 May
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INDUSTRY EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES [PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS' ONLY INFO]
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CRAFT VICTORIA MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES
Christopher Sanders Photography
Christopher Sanders Photography is a service for artists, collectors and arts-related industries. With a background as a photographer, ceramic artist and tertiary level lecturer, Christopher understands that good photographic images are the key communication tool for arts and retail activities at most levels. He photographs most art media, producing publication and web quality images. Black and white is available, as well as a range of print options for folio requirements. There is a 20% discount for Craft Victoria Members.
phone: 03 9481 3067 email: cbs3@ozemail.com.au |
Wilding Wilding (bespoke interiors, Melbourne) would like to hear from craftspeople who are interested in developing designs for commercially-made wallpapers and interiors. It is envisaged that the designs would be developed in accordance with the terms and conditions of Craft Victoria's New Craft Made in Victoria project, and be supported by two information sessions ('ideas' and 'production'), held in May 2010. Finalized designs may feature on the Craft Victoria online shop in 2011, and be exhibited in Milan and Berlin. Contact William Wilding for more details.
phone: 03 9347 9884
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EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES
Craft ACT
Closing date: 26/04/2010
Craft ACT is calling for exhibition proposals for the 2011 program. Applicants are encouraged to discuss exhibition ideas with Diana Hare, Curator/ Exhibition Manager, prior to submission. Proposal guidelines available online
phone: 02 6262 9333
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Gallery of Australian Design
Closing date: 30/04/2010
The Gallery of Australian Design aims to promote Australian Design in all its forms by staging exhibitions and events of national significance as well as hosting international design exhibitions for Australian audiences. Contact Jas Hugonnet for more details. Proposal guidelines available online
phone: 0417 235 916
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Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces
Closing date: 3/05/2010
Contemporary artists working professionally in any visual arts medium are eligible to apply for exhibitions at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces. Applications are accepted from individual artists, collaborations between two or more artists and artist groups with or without a curator. Proposal guidelines available online
phone: 03 9419 3406
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Wangaratta exhibitions Gallery
Closing date: 14/05/2010
Artists working in textiles and fibre are invited to submit proposals for up to three small scale artwork to be included in the exhibition PETITE Miniature TEXTILES to be shown in the Gallery workshop space. Works must not exceed 30x30x30cm in size. Contact Rita Lazauskas, Exhibitions Officer, for more details.
phone: 03 5722 0761
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RETAIL AND MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Life Instyle Melbourne entries
Closing date: 30/04/2010
This boutique trade event will be held at Flemington Racecourse Grandstand 10-13 August, and includes a curated exhibition showcasing emerging designers with unique products. Applications are sought in the areas of homewares, jewellery, textiles, stationery, ceramics and kids products. This is an opportunity for emerging designers to gain trade fair experience and increase stockists nationally. Contact Sue Flockart for more details.
phone: 03 9584 7711 email: sue@lifeinstyle.com.au
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Melbourne Design Market
Closing date: 31/05/2010
The Melbourne Design Market will be held on 11 July at Federation Square undercover car park. Stallholders have the opportunity to launch new products and ideas to over 10,000 visitors, including the public and those from business and industry. The Market will also be developing a new online product and profile series that will keep the exposure going after the market. Contact Elizabeth Collins for more details.
email: info@melbournedesignmarket.com.au
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State of Design
Applications assessed in order of receipt
This trade fair held has been created for designers seeking business opportunities with manufacturers, retailers, architects, building and interiors industry specifiers and local and international buyers. Designers are invited to apply from fields including furniture, industrial, textiles, fashion, custom and hand-made objects. Application form available online. Contact Rebecca Pooley for more details.
phone: 03 9654 7773
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Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery
Ongoing
Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery is seeking locally made giftware for the gallery shop. Small, practical items are preferred, including ceramic or glass beakers, mugs and bowls. Suppliers must be prepared to provide goods on consignment. Contact Lorri Lambert, Shop Manager, for more details.
phone: 03 5036 2430
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AWARDS AND PRIZES
Montana New Zealand
Closing date: 1/05/2010
WOW offers the opportunity for designers to experiment with materials and new methods, to push boundaries and think outside the square without commercial expectations or the limits of everyday fashion. Total prize pool more than $100,000. Entry kit available online
email: heather@worldofwearableart.co.nz
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rex-livingston art dealer
Closing date: 17/05/2010
This award is open to emerging and professional artists working across painting, sculpture and new media. Entrants have the chance to win first prize of $8000 and have their artwork featured on a wine label for a limited edition wine blend by Mount Eyre Vineyards. Entry forms available via email.
phone: 02 9357 5988
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Ranamok
Closing date: 15/06/2010
This is an annual $15,000 acquisitive award for glass artists who are resident in Australia and New Zealand. Entries are expected to be a major effort in the artist's personal body of work. The work should be innovative, displaying excellence and imagination in quality of idea and execution in contemporary practice. Entry form available online
phone: 02 9114 8998
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Creative Clunes Inc
Closing date: 23/07/2010
Ceramic artists are invited to participate in this inaugural, acquisitive award with a cash prize of $5000 and a People’s Choice Award of $1000. The winner's work will become part of the Art Gallery of Ballarat collection. 50 finalists will be exhibited in the historic town of Clunes at a variety of venues. More details available online
email: artaward@clunes.org
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WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS AND EVENTS
Design Victoria
Event date: 20/04/2010, 8.30am-12.30pm
This free workshop will introduce design strategies that assist to reduce the environmental impact of the use phase of the product. The tools and strategies presented will be discussed and applied to participants’ field of interest. Bookings essential.
phone: 03 9925 4195
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Victorian Tapestry Workshop
Event date: 3/05/2010, 9.30am-4.30pm
This workshop explores the potential of French knitting. Design and make your own jewellery. Combining techniques and materials to embellish – from pom poms to gold thread, embroidery to found objects... and don't forget to turkey (stitch).
phone: 03 9699 7885
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The Johnston Collection
Event date: 8/05/2010, 10.15-11.45am
In the mid 19th century the French Empress Eugénie took advantage of newly developed steel underskirts to expand the crinoline to extraordinary proportions. This move had repercussions not only on woman’s health and her status as a decorative ornament, but on the design of furniture, the décor of rooms and the interior layout of the new mansions.
phone: 03 9416 2515
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Melbourne Museum
Event date: 15/05/2010, 11am-12pm
This free event is held in conjunction with the Top Designs exhibition at Melbourne Museum. Kate Vandermeer of iSpyStyle discusses career options within the fashion industry, and provides work experience tips and insider advice. Kate has 15 years experience as an accessory designer, visual merchandiser, stylist and brand manager. Bookings essential.
phone: 13 11 02
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GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Australia Council
Closing date: various in April, check website for details
Available to both Established and Emerging practitioners, these grants support the creation of new work by craftspeople, designers, media artists, visual artists and arts writers. Proposals can be submitted for costs related to making or researching new work or with the development of work for an exhibition, production and/or publication.
phone: 02 9215 9000
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The Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT)
Closing date: 23/04/2010
Australian artists and science and research organisations are encouraged develop a collaborative project concept, then apply for one of two 16-week Australian-based residencies or one 12-week international residency. Successful applicants (artists) receive a fee of $800 per week, as well as accommodation and living expenses. Contact Vicki Sowry for more details.
phone: 08 8231 9037
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NAVA
Closing date: 15/05/2010
This grant provides assistance towards the costs of public presentation of visual arts, craft and design. This can include, but is not limited to, framing, media releases, media photographs, advertising, space rental, installation costs, promotional printing, mail outs, documentation, freight, travel, equipment rental, insurance, technical assistance and opening costs.
phone: 02 9368 1900
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ISS Institute
Closing date: 28/06/2010
This overseas fellowship awards a maximum of $10,000 towards costs such as airfares, living allowance, accommodation and/or course fees, enabling trades people and artisans aged 35 years and under to further develop their skills, knowledge and experience. Entry form available online
phone: 03 9882 0055
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Splendour in the Grass Splendid 2010
Closing date: 6/04/2010
Splendid is open to emerging artists who work in the visual arts, design, installation, architecture, digital media, sound, text and community arts. The program includes a residential Arts Lab, mentorship and opportunities to promote your work to major festival audiences in Australia and internationally. Splendid 2010 begins with a 2 week residential Arts Lab in Lismore, NSW and at Splendour in the Grass festival at Woodford, QLD.
email: info@splendid.org.au
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Holmesglen Institute of TAFE
Closing date: 12/04/2010
Far from being a ‘lost’ art, stained glass and leadlight is adapting to new architecture and new technology to suit twenty-first century buildings. This three year course provides a comprehensive range of skills in design, construction and installation cover traditional methods of leadlight and glass-painting as well as new kiln-forming techniques and contemporary design. Contact Liz Coleman, Course Coordinator for more details.
email: lizco@holmesglen.net.edu.au
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Arte Association
Closing date: 30/04/2010
New media artists working in the intersection of new technologies and contemporary art are invited to apply for one to three months residencies on the Southwest Finland coast in the city of Turku. Artists are provided with a free studio and accommodation. Contact Paula Väinämö for more details.
email: sumu@arte.fi |
Craft Australia
Closing date: 30/06/2010
craft + design enquiry is a new, open access, peer-reviewed, online journal. Issue 3 will feature academic papers documenting research that contributes to an understanding of sustainability as a context for craft and design. Contact Dr Kevin Murray, Guest Editor, for more details.
email: kevin@craftunbound.net
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| DISCLAIMER:
The information in the Craft Almanac is subject to change. Although we attempt to ensure that the content at the time of publication is correct, we do not guarantee its accuracy or currency. Craft Victoria accepts no responsibility to you or anyone else arising from any use or reliance on the information contained in the Craft Almanac or any inaccuracy in the information. |
| Craft Victoria is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria, and through the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Government. |