Spice up your calendar with craft and design this month
October is a bumper month for craft and design nationally. Over the next 30 days, key dates align with the 2023 Craft Contemporary (Vic), Geelong Design Week (Vic), Sydney Craft Week (NSW), the inaugural MAKE Design Awards (NSW), Open Studios in Canberra and craft markets in Brisbane.
Craft Contemporary is back with over 150 art experiences, including a month-long festival of exhibitions, talks, demonstrations, workshops and open studios, while in Sydney, the 7th edition of Sydney Craft Week Festival (6-15 October) will involve 320 participating artists, as well as 57 participating groups, across 37 Sydney suburbs with 152 events. It is an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and buy from local artists. And that’s just the start….
To help you navigate their offerings – and not miss out on connecting with makers this month – we have made it easy for you with this list.
6 markets to support and collect
This year’s Sydney Ceramics Market 2023 will allow you to buy directly from over 90 ceramic artists and makers from NSW. The event was created by friends Melody Brunton of Emi Ceramics, and freelance photographer Samee Lapham, who noticed a gap in Sydney’s celebration of ceramics and access to studio artists. And that gap has been filled with gusto!Dates: Saturday 7 October, 10am – 5pmWhere: Carriageworks, Everleigh (NSW)$5 entry, tickets on the door
Makers Frontyard is a grassroots makers’ market trail with a neighbourly, community feel. It offers everyone the opportunity to meet local creatives in their frontyards and buy handmade goods directly from the makers themselves – all made in Sydney’s inner west.Dates: Saturday 7 October, 10am – 4pmWhere: @makersfrontyard (NSW)Free
Hazelhurst Arts Centre’s annual Made by Hand market will showcase emerging and established artists, designers and makers this weekend. Enjoy live music and delicious food at this curated and diverse market.Dates: Sunday 8 October, 10am – 3pmWhere: Hazelhurst Arts Centre 782 Kingsway Gymea (NSW)Free
Queensland craft fans will not miss out this month, with the Craft & Quilt Fair returning to Brisbane for four days. Described as the place to visit, it will have more than 600 quilts on show, hands-on workshops, craft supplies and handmade products.Dates: 11-14 OctoberWhere: Brisbane Exhibition Centre (Qld)Tickets from $20
Browse over 50 stalls of jewellery, vintage clothes, crafts and more from local designers in Collingwood Yards’ leafy courtyard for the Stay Soft Market. There’s even a pop-up tattoo studio for those feeling spontaneous. Stay Soft Studio is an artists’ co-working space.When: 21 October, 2pm – 9pmWhere: The courtyard at Collingwood Yards, 30 Perry Street, Collingwood (Vic)Free
Melbourne Ceramic Fair will be presented over three days, to coincide with Craft Contemporary and in partnership with Keane Ceramics. The Fair boasts a refined and curated ceramic line-up of potters, sculptors and ceramicists and makers from all over Victoria and interstate.Dates: 28-29 October, 10am – 4pmWhere: Brunswick Town Hall, 10/233 Sydney Road (Vic)Free
Exhibitions to inspire
TEXTILES: Artbank has partnered with the Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) to present Weaving Together – Tapestries from the Artbank Collection, an exhibition of tapestries alongside preparatory studies by each artist, who have participated in the ATW’s Artist in Residence program.When: until 17 NovemberWhere: 18-24 Down Street, Collingwood (Vic)Free
MIXED: The MAKE Award: Biennial Prize for Innovation in Australian Craft and Design is a new $35,000 national award celebrating innovation in contemporary craft and design. The 30 finalists are currently on show at Australian Design Centre. ‘Australia has a wealth of creative talent and this new award aims to give an elevated platform to that talent… There is no other award like it in Australia,’ says Lisa Cahill, CEO and Artistic Director of Australian Design Centre.When: until 22 NovemberWhere: Australian Design Centre, 101–115 William Street, Darlinghurst (NSW)Free
RECYCLED: Deep Material Energy II has been curated by Heather Galbraith, Professor of Fine Arts, College of Creative Arts Toi Rauwhārangi, with artists from Australia and Aotearoa invited to interrogate the physical, historical, political, cultural and intangible resonances of the recycled materials they use. When: 5 October – 22 November Where: Australian Design Centre, 101-115 William Street Darlinghurst (NSW)Free
Local Designers Showcase in Geelong Customs House features the work of local jewellery designers, wallpaper designer Maree Wilding and local furniture provider K5.When: 19-29 OctoberWhere: Customs House Level 2, 57/59 Brougham Street, Geelong (entry via Brougham Street) (Vic)Free
TEXTILES: On-site at Craft Victoria’s gallery, the exhibition Occupying Space will consider contemporary approaches to textile practice by five women artists, who take on three-dimensionality in a series of fibre-based sculptural installations.When: until 4 NovemberWhere: Craft Victoria is located at Watson Place (off Flinders Lane), Naarm/Melbourne (Vic)Free
CERAMICS: Sabbia Gallery, Sydney is presenting a major exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pukatja Ceramics at Ernabella Art, located in the heart of the APY Lands. The exhibition, Nganampa Tjukurpa Nganampa Ara: Our Story Our Way, includes new works by both senior and emerging artists, and is presented in collaboration with the JamFactory Adelaide’s Ernabella exhibition and book launch as part of Tarnanthi.When: until 28 OctoberWhere: 609 Elizabeth Street, Redfern (NSW)
CERAMICS: Meanwhile, Ernabella Arts: Ceramic Warka Wiṟu 20 Years-kutu (20 Years of Creating Ceramics) is showing at the JamFactory. Founded in 1948, Ernabella Arts is Australia’s oldest continuously running First Nations art centre and is an important part of the lives of the Aṉangu people of Pukatja community. The Ceramics Studio was set up in 2003. Presented as part of the 2023 Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art.When: until 3 DecemberWhere: JamFactory, Adelaide (SA)Free
TEXTILES: N’Zassa: Making Things Work is an exhibition by Peter T McCarthy using patchwork textiles and zippers to explore identity, power and prestige.When: until 21 OctoberWhere: Craft + Design Canberra, Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra (ACT)Free
JEWELLERY: Island Welcome is a group exhibition of contemporary jewellery that seeks to bring attention to asylum seeker issues via traditional welcome garlands, and to extend the dialogue beyond art and craft audiences via expressions of Australian values through craft practice.When: until 21 OctoberWhere: Craft + Design Canberra, Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra (ACT)Free
CERAMICS: Ceramic vessels by 21 of Australia’s freshest ceramicists join painter Kim Shannon in an explosion of colour and blooms at Sturt Gallery & Studios, with the exhibition Florescence.When: until 12 NovemberWhere: Corner Range Road and Waverley Parade, Mittagong, Southern Highlands (NSW)Free
Kwangho Lee, Cutting Lines exhibition, 2023. Photo: Courtesy the artist.
DESIGN: The celebrated South Korean designer Kwangho Lee delves into the world of 3D printing for the exhibition Cutting Lines, pushing the boundaries of traditional craftsmanship and transforming everyday objects into mesmerising pieces of art.When: until 10 NovemberWhere: Korean Cultural Centre Australia, Ground Floor, 255 Elizabeth Street, Sydney (NSW)Event: open late for Craft Up Late, Tuesday 10 October 6pm – 8pmFree
Embracing the vibe
Looking for something fun and different for a social night out? Sydney Craft Week presents Craft Up Late, a chance to explore some of the best of handmade Sydney via galleries, shops, artists’ studios and more after dark.Inner city suburbs: Tuesday 10 October, 6pm – 8pmEastern and Northern Sydney: Wednesday 11 October 6pm – 8pmInner West: Thursday 12 October, 6pm – 8pmLearn more and plot your journey
Comedian and architecture enthusiast Tim Ross is bringing his acclaimed ABC TV series to Geelong in a new show titled Designing a Legacy Live 2023. For the first time in 160 years, Customs House will be open to the general public for this event. For one night only, Ross will share architecture knowledge and design stories about Customs House, combining elements of slideshow, stand-up comedy and architecture discussion.When: Thursday 26 October, 7pm – 8pmWhere: Customs House, Level 2, 57/59 Brougham Street, Geelong (Vic)Tickets $65, bookings
5 workshops and experience to “have a go”
SquarePeg Studios presents workshops and interactive events from its Marrickville studio exploring jewellery making as a context for valuing the handmade, including a one-day Material Happiness workshop presented by Margarita Sampson (6 October); a two-day Carve a Silver Ring workshop (7-8 October); Make a Ring in a Day with Melanie Ihnen (14 October) and a teens jewellery experience (15 October).When: multiple datesWhere: SquarePeg Studios, 10 Junction Street, Marrickville (NSW)Details on prices and to book
Ceramic Glaze Colour Workshop. Presented by Slow Clay Centre and Amelia Black, this is an immersive hands-on specialist ceramics workshop where attendees will explore the art of colour blending and creating their very own triaxial colour blend tests using the “gold standard” volumetric blending method. When: Over two Sundays, 15 and 22 October, 1pm – 5pmWhere: 13 Keele Street, Collingwood, Melbourne (Vic)Cost $325, register
Upcycling workshop. Join Gamilaraay artist Juanita McLauchlan as she inspires you to experiment and create in this one-day workshop of printmaking and sewing to create a necklace or upcycled clothing piece.When: Saturday 28 October, 10am – 2pmWhere: Wagga Wagga Art Gallery (NSW)$40, register
Among the Trees is a reclaimed timber shop in Marrickville, hosting fun, sustainable and interactive woodworking classes, including making picture frames, spatulas, bangles, mallets, chopping boards and chopsticks.Workshops: Friday 6 October, Picture Framing 6pm – 9pm; Saturday 7 October Make your own Spatula, 9am – 12pm, Make your own Bangle 1-4pm; Sunday 8 October Wooden Mallet making 9am – 4pm; Friday 13 October Picture Framing 6pm – 9pm; Saturday 14 October Hand Plane Chopping Board 9am – 3pm; Sunday 15 October Make your own chopsticks 10am – 1pm.Where: 27 Sydney Street, Marrickville (NSW)Bookings
Dive into the trend of visible mending. Learn the art of visible mending to save precious garments from landfill. Presented by Boroondara Arts and Living for our Future teams as a part of the ‘Make, Mend, Do: Crafting a circular economy’ program.When: 26 October, 10am – 12.30pmWhere: Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn (Vic)$40, register
8 talks and forums to dive deeper
TALK: Remade-Reloved: Craft-Up-Late Conversation is a Sydney Craft Week Festival event, led by curator Bridget Kennedy and contemporary jewellery artists Kirsten Junor and Melinda Young, who will talk about how they remade broken and discarded costume jewellery into new wearable works.When: Tuesday 10 October, 6pm – 8pmWhere: Australian Design Centre, Sydney (NSW)Free event, bookings essential
TALK: ‘Taking Time: Creating Crafting Communities and Crafting with Community’ is a panel discussion of creatives, including Jane Theau, founder of Textiles Sydney, multidisciplinary artist and a committed facilitator of arts projects with refugee groups; Bridget Kennedy, contemporary jeweller; and paper artist and bookbinder Jean Kropper, owner of Paper and Pixel studio.Date: Wednesday 11 October, 6pm – 7.30pmWhere: Ros Crichton Pavillion, Ted Mack Civic Park, 200 Miller Street North Sydney (NSW)Bookings
TALK: In 2019, Kokatha and Nukunu woman, Yhonnie Scarce, and Melbourne architecture studio, Edition Office, came together to create their monumental collaboration as the fifth NGV Architecture Commission. Four years on, Craft has teamed up with RMIT Culture to bring the creative team behind the commission back together again to reflect on the project through a live conversation at The Capitol, led by Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the National Gallery of Victoria. When: Thursday, 12 October, 6pm – 7pmWhere: The Capitol, 113 Swanston Street, Melbourne (Vic)$10, register
TALK: Talking Threads. For this panel discussion, Craft and the Australian Tapestry Workshop have come together to invite three contemporary artists, who approach textile materials, practices and processes in different ways, to discuss the poetic and political potential and power of the medium.When: Saturday 14 October, 3pm – 5pmWhere: 262-266 Park Street, South Melbourne (Vic)Free
TALK: Evolving Extractive Practices: Craft, Design and Architecture features a panel of craft, design and architecture practitioners discussing the future of material and mineral-heavy practices. Panellists include Ben Edwards, Claire Ellis, Dr Gyungju Chyon and Shimroth John Thomas. Mediator Maitiú Ward will facilitate a cross-disciplinary conversation traversing sustainability and social responsibility, material locality, embracing failure, “waste” and by-product transformation, mycelium, living with less, circular craft, phycoforms and bio-architecture. Hosted by Robin Boyd Foundation.When: 18 October, 6.30pm – 8pmWhere: 290 Walsh Street, South Yarra, Melbourne (Vic)$30, bookings
TALK: Is user a bad word? Re-centring the Human into Human-Centred Design. A panel discussion featuring practising designers exploring how we can place the human at the centre of the design process.When: Friday 20 October, 12pm – 1pmWhere: Deakin University, Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library, Sally Walker Building, corner Western Beach Rd and Cunningham Street, Geelong (Vic)Free, but register
PANEL: Designing with First Nations Communities. Hear from a range of First Nations creatives and homewares company Kip & Co, who will provide different perspectives and discuss best practice for working with First nations creatives and commissioning designs. Moderated by Patricia Adjei, Director of First Nations Arts & Culture, Creative Australia.When: Monday, 23 October, 1pm – 2.30pmWhere: Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct, 137-149 Mercer Street, Wadawurrung Country, Geelong (Vic)Free
STUDENT FORUM: We the Makers: Creative Practice Forum for Students. Are you interested in a career in the creative industries? In this half-day forum, students (Year 10 – Tertiary) will meet and learn from finalists in We the Makers: Sustainable Fashion Prize, with workshops and Q&A sessions. Presented by the National Wool Museum & We the Makers.When: 24 October, 10.30am – 1.30pmWhere: National Wool Museum, 26 Moorabool Street, Geelong (Vic)$20
TALK: Crafting Tomorrow: Unleashing the Dynamic Synergy of AI x Human Intelligence to help the futurecraft era flourish. Get ready to dive into the fascinating world of futurecraft jewellery, where the power of AI meets human creativity. Presented by Ash Pickford, founder of contemporary jewellery brand Recall-Ci*.When: 26 October, 6.30pm – 8pmWhere: Boyd Community Hub, 207 City Road, Southbank (Vic)Free
2023 Canberra Craft Design Open Studios. Image: Supplied. 4 demos and open studios
DEMO: Renowned glass artist Ruth Allen will perform a glass-blowing demonstration in her Coburg studio – a 430-square metre warehouse and extensive ceramic and hot glass studio. The experience will start with a talk, giving background and insight to Allen’s experience as a glass maker and her journey to managing a buoyant business and workshop programsWhen: 21 October, 2pm – 3pmWhere: 10 Hossack Avenue, Coburg North (Vic)Free; learn more
OPEN STUDIO: Stitchers at Work – tatting, knotting, knitting, pin-tucking, crocheting, pinking, stitching, stuffing, embroidering… Museums of History NSW Soft Furnishings volunteers converge at Elizabeth Bay House for a drop-in and see session and spot talks by coordinator Joanna Nicholas.When: Monday 9 October, 10.30am – 2.30pmWhere: Elizabeth Bay House 7 Onslow Avenue Elizabeth Bay (NSW)Free
DEMO: How do you make hats? is a one-hour demonstration by milliner Louise Macdonald, allowing you step into the enchanting world of making hats.When: 28 October 11am – 12pmWhere: Studio 803, Level 8, Room 3, Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne (Vic)$10, register
OPEN STUDIOS: Make your way to Canberra for the annual Craft + Design Open Studios with dozens of makers inviting you into their workspaces for a creative weekend.When: 28-29 OctoberFree
