The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 53 No 2 July 2014

Australian Ceramics Triennale 2015
The Triennale theme for 2015 is 'Stepping Up ...' reflecting the need for us all to take action on a
number of fronts - to be active participants in our communities, our futures and our national conference
as arts lovers, practitioners and educators. And the ideal city for this call to action is Canberra, because
it is a city of action (even the public bus system is called Action).
Canberra is the centre of action in national government (it's where the decisions that affect us all are
actually made), and there is local action in the revitalising of a city through public policy that specifically
targeted inner city areas for development as cultural and arts precincts (Braddon and New Acton), and
town centres through the building of new Arts Centres (Bel conn en Town Centre).
It is a place of action supporting local artists through newly refurbished centres (Watson Art Centre)
and established residencies (Strathnairn Arts and the Australian National University), access studios and
artist-run spaces (Australian National Capital Artists and Gorman House), and good, easy to access
community arts organisations (Craft ACT, Craft and Design Centre, Canberra Potters' Society, Australian
National Capital Arts), and the list goes on ...
And all this has happened in a city of under 400,000 people as a result of the Territory Government's
strategic planning under the previous chief minister, Jon Stanhope and his successor Katy Gallagher,
both of whom are great supporters of community and arts access.
The venue for the main conference will be the Canberra Theatre Centre (adjacent to Craft ACT and
Civic Square), with events also at the Australian National University and the new Nishi/New Acton
complex. All these venues are within walking distance from each other so they physically represent
the Triennale partnership between Craft ACT, the Territory Government and the ANU, with the walk
between each dotted with pop-ups and other amusements (not to forget good coffee!).
The structure of the conference will be somewhat different from previous ACTs. Gone are the large
(and frustrating) panels where no one has the time to expand in depth on their topic, and no one
gets a chance to ask questions through time overruns. In their place will be a series of moderated
conversations that will maximise audience involvement through Q&A sessions following short
presentations.
The sub-themes will canvas ways in which we deal with change, whether it be by way of new
technologies, education, or economic world power shifts towards Asia . They will also address ways in
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