2022 Craft ACT's Annual Report

gained an understanding of the
geological history of Namadgi
National Park which represents
a timeframe of millions of years
in the context of significant
recent radical transformation. The
resultant exhibition, CONFLUENCE,
was presented at Craft ACT,
featuring glass, textiles, and
mixed media work. This exhibition
demonstrated the effects of
having access to a cultural
institution and time and space
to experiment has on a visual
practice. Both artists stepped
out of their comfort zone and
mobilised, their rather immobile
practices, to explore the Namadgi
National Park landscape with a
deeper understanding of what
lies beneath. The displacement
of their practices paved way for
new methods to experiment
and engage in the landscape
without their usual tools at hand.
This resulted in a multifaceted
approach to creating work in situ
and returning to their studios for
further exploration.
Craft ACT’s CO:LAB professional
development program was run
for the second time in 2022. This
program is aimed at enhancing or
transforming a craft practitioner’s
practice through research and
was supported by the generous
donations from Craft ACT's Circle
of Hands donor circle. Two Craft
ACT members, Lisa Cahill and
Peter Bollington, were selected to
conduct practice-based research
with architecture firm Light
House Architecture & Science
and their clients to develop new
lighting for a residential project in
Canberra. This project encouraged
the artists to embrace a spirit
of collaboration, work across
disciplines and gain exposure to
commercial environments with
other designers and clients.
Craft ACT actively supports
practitioners in their pursuit of
practice-led research facilitating
collaboration, experimentation,
and showcasing the result of their
artistic brilliance. These exhibitions
evoke viewers to ask themselves
to consider their surrounds on
the surface as well as in the
depths. They conjured questions
of the physical and cultural
significance we have with fire in
Australia, despite the destruction,
pain, and apprehension we
experienced during the 2019 fire
season. Practice-led research
also extended practitioners to
explore and experiment, producing
work that has undergone rigours
analysis and interrogation. The
foundation of all these successful
projects is the generous support
of our research partners and
sponsors, whose vision and
encouragement continues to
inspire us. Craft ACT and DESIGN
Canberra are grateful for support
from the following institutions in
2022:
• ACT Parks & Conservation
• Geoscience Australia
• Light House Architecture &
Science
• SKEEHAN Studios
• Miko Design
• Design Craft
• National Museum of Australia
• School of Art and Design,
Australian National University
• Faculty of Arts and Design,
University of Canberra
• The JamFactory
Residencies
Craft ACT continued its partnership
with ACT Parks and Conservation
Service and established a
research partnership with National
Library of Australia for the 2022
interaction of our annual Artists-in-
Residence program. The selected
artists, Bev Hogg (Ceramics),
Mel Robson (Ceramics) and Julie
Ryder (Textiles) spent March and
April researching at the National
Library of Australia and living and
making at Gudgenby Ready-Cut
Cottage in Namadgi National Park.
An exhibition of the artists’ work
generated though the residency
project will be held in the Craft
ACT Gallery from 23 March to 13
May 2023.
On Saturday May 7, we held a
public open day program as
part of the residency project at
Gudgenby Ready-Cut Cottage in
Namadgi National Park with 2021
artists Bev Hogg, Mel Robson,
and Julie Ryder. The open day
included artist demonstrations,
workshops and talks, and a park
Mel Robson, Artist-in-Residence, National Library of Australia, 2022. Photography 5foot
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