CO: LAB

EXHIBITION FOREWORDS
JENNNY EDWARDS
CO:LAB provides a rare opportunity for artists to learn about design collaboration in a real-life application – it
was born in 2021. As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, Craft ACT invited contemporary craft
practitioners to apply for a new and unique professional development opportunity to create lighting for a
freshly, architecturally designed, residential project in Canberra. Craft ACT received a high number of
outstanding applications, demonstrating a real thirst for commercial opportunities for artists, and a genuine
interest in collaboration with other design disciplines.
If successful, the plan was to make CO:LAB an annual program to support Canberra’s thriving craft and
design community. I am delighted that here we are again celebrating the second year of CO:LAB. In 2022,
the calibre of applicants was just as high and the selected artists were renowned glass artist, Lisa Cahill, and
talented and versatile timber artist, Peter Bollington of Curious Tales.
The architecture practice involved in both the first and second years of CO:LAB was Light House
Architecture and Science. The design and sustainability principles of Light House were discussed with the
artists as they explored the spaces of the home, initially on paper and then physically, during construction.
This background information and experience of the architectural spaces provided the initial seeds of
stimulus for the artists’ designs. This exhibition is a celebration of the seeds that have blossomed during the
year that was CO:LAB round two.
The CO:LAB initiative is funded in full by the new Craft ACT Circle of Hands donor circle, a group of likeminded
individuals who are committed to sustaining Australia’s high-quality studio practices. Members of the
Craft ACT donors circle contribute $5000 each year to the project. It's members fundamentally believe that
for Australia to have a healthy visual arts ecosystem, it needs a sustainable craft sector and a thriving
independent studio practice. The 2021 Craft ACT donor circle consists of: Jenny Edwards, environmental
scientist, Light House Architecture & Science; Peta Furnell, craft supporter; Graham Humphries, acclaimed
architect, Cox Architecture; Paul Kerr, respected builder, Preferred Builders;, Bob Fenderson, Designcraft
Jenny Edwards | Craft ACT Board Deputy President Director + Scientist, Light House Architecture & Science
Jenny is sole owner and director of the award-winning company Light House Architecture & Science. She
has a masters degree in science and communication and is an ACT licensed Building Energy Efficiency
Assessor. In 2019, the ACT branch of the Institute of Architects awarded Jenny the Clem Cummings prize for
“outstanding contribution to architecture and the built environment.” In her spare time, Jenny is a passionate
supporter of local artists, designer and makers and she is gradually (and enthusiastically) expanding her
personal collection of local work. Nothing excites her more than meeting the artists and learning about the
process of making each piece