Participation + Exchange, the 15th Biennial Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia Conference, will be held over 3 days, 12-14 July 2013 in Brisbane. The Satellite program of exhibitions, master classes will run from 6 – 21 July.
Conference Registrations and Master Class Enrolments are open now.

Participation + Exchange creates an opportunity to draw together the conceptually and geographically diverse community of jewellers and metalsmiths for an intense program of formal and informal events. The conference theme has been chosen to reflect the nature of contemporary practice, particularly collective participation and crossing boundaries. It will bring together contemporary artists, educators, collectors, critics and curators for three days of discussion, debate, interaction and the exchange of ideas. The JMGA conference plays an important role in contributing to the vitality of this field of contemporary practice in Australia; it provides a focus, inspiration and a record.

You don’t need to be attending the conference to enroll in a Master Class, though conference delegates do get a discount on Master Class rates.

VISIT WEBSITE

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This conference and satellite program is hosted by JMGA Qld Chapter Inc.

Exhibition proposals can now be submitted on an ongoing basis, with another formal call for applications scheduled for later this year. Download the application form here.

Upcoming Ivory Street exhibitions:

Bench: Works from a collective workspace

21 June – 3 August 2013

Bench is the collective workspace for local emerging jewellers Andrew Lowrie, Shanna Muston, Clare Poppi and Katie Stormonth. This exhibition will coincide with the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia 2013 Conference in Brisbane, and showcase some of Queensland’s up and coming talents.

Cook’s Toolbox by Backwoods Original

9 – 31 August 2013

Son of a stonemason, grandson of a carpenter and great grandson of a blacksmith, you could say working with his hands is in local designer Aaron Barton’s blood. In response to his own desire for better functionality in the kitchen, Barton designed the Cook’s Toolbox, a series of bench organisation products. Each Toolbox is hand made from re-milled salvaged hardwood and industry leather offcuts and finished with food grade Tung oil. This will be the Brisbane launch of the first product line produced by Barton’s brand Backwoods Original, which until now has specialised in one off commissions.

Ella Mobbs

6 September – 19 October 2013

Ella Mobbs is a local graphic designer and illustrator, who is fast building a name for herself with her vintage bone china cups and saucers that have been upcycled with her slightly twisted illustrations. Think skulls mixed with kittens, bows and cupcakes, with a few disturbing details thrown into the mix.

Lesley Kendall

25 October – 30 November 2013

Ivory St will be turned into a kaleidoscope of colour in this exhibition of fused glass spoons and platters. Kendall is one of only a few artisans working with glass in Queensland and her functional items explore colour, shape and pattern.

Welcome to the online home of Static Biota, an exhibition by Carly Kotynski and Emma Lindsay currently running at the private BCM Crucible Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Miriam Carter, the current recipient of BCM and artisan’s Emerging Curator Mentorship. If you are interested in buying any of the pieces or would like to arrange a viewing, please contact artisan at info@artisan.org.au or (07) 3215 0800.

About the BCM Crucible Gallery

Artisan formed a partnership with BCM in 2011 which involves the curation of a number of exhibitions in the Crucible Gallery space within the BCM office to showcase the best of Queensland craft and design artists, as well as an Emerging Curator program.

The Emerging Curator program develops the talents of an emerging arts curator under the guidance of the artisan team, and the program was recognised in the 2012 Australia Council’s Young and Emerging Artists category of the AbaF Queensland Awards. The artisan/BCM partnership is helping to develop future arts leaders, support Queensland’s craft and design community, and also provides exhibition opportunities for Queensland’s talented artists.

About Static Biota

Our interactions with the landscape have changed dramatically over the years. Urbanisation has vastly changed the land on which we live, and the way in which we come to understand our biota – the flora and fauna of our region. Where we would once easily encounter local plants and animals, Australia’s increasing rates of urbanisation (currently 88.7% of the population live in urban areas compared to 36% in 1901) has meant these interactions are progressively static – more likely to occur in the form of museum displays or data accessed online.

Looking back into Australia’s colonial history, artistic endeavours clearly document the arrival of Europeans and the way in which they sought to understand this new land. Scientific and botanical illustrations from this period produced a plethora of diagrams which were sent back to Europe along with specimens. Stored in museums, these objects were a source of fascination and wonder – collected for the purpose of further study and exhibition, yet ironically far removed from their original context.

Brisbane based artists Carly Kotynski and Emma Lindsay are two artists who respond to these themes through examining museum based specimens of Australia’s flora and fauna. Within this realm both artists have chosen to focus on those species currently listed as endangered.

Kotynski’s fine copper wire works depict native plants endemic to Queensland. The series Conservation status (2013) utilises the aesthetics of museum specimens by re-creating the botanical drawings of endangered plants in three dimensional forms. The fragility of these plants is further suggested by Kotynski’s act of setting some of these specimens in resin.  Concerned with the high percentage of plants that have had their conservation status altered from rare to endangered over the past few years, Kotynski seemingly shrouds her work as a way of alluding to the potential future of these plants existing solely as museum specimens.

As a painter, Emma Lindsay is interested in representing the reality of endangerment and extinction. At the core of her practice is Lindsay’s desire to reveal ornithological specimens of Australia held in museum collections across the world. Her paintings depict the specimens as posed in-situ on museum trays. Consequently the feathers of these taxidermied birds are often ruffled or out of place – poignantly commenting on the disjunction from habitat that has occurred for these now endangered species.

Both Lindsay and Kotynski seek to draw attention to our changing biota through their works – ultimately questioning whether we choose to experience a static biota inside a museum, or work towards greater sustainability of the living exhibit outside.

Breitenstein said, “A major goal of the exhibition is to educate the wider community, not just designers, about the value, diversity and appreciation of design, as well as giving students a view into the world of practicing designers. We invite – in fact we encourage the general public, students and professionals to come in and engage with design on any level.”

The ‘Made Here Now’ designers.

Made Here Now will not just be an exhibition, but an immersive, behind the scenes design experience.

Artisan curator Simone Jones said, “At artisan we like to actively seek out and support the next generation of designers.  Made Here Now will be firmly positioned at the forefront of the production process, and by breaking down the traditional exhibition format we are also inviting the community to engage with the processes and practitioners behind everyday objects. Ultimately, it is our hope that people will walk away from the Made Here Now exhibition with a new understanding and appreciation of design and designers.”

You can follow the progress of the designers at their Tumblr page, which is documenting the lead-up to the exhibition. The official launch night will be held on Thursday the 9th of May, so stay tuned for more information!

Artisan invites practitioners, groups, curators and organisations to submit exhibition proposals for the Ivory Street exhibition program. We are looking for fresh ideas an an innovative approach to this high profile exhibition space artisan. Exhibitions must pertain to craft and design or explore the intersection between art, craft and design.

Ivory Street exhibitions are scheduled to run for 4-10 weeks in artisan’s Ivory Street window on the corner of Ivory Street and Brunswick Street. Applications for the 2013 Ivory Street exhibition program can be submitted at any time.

Download an application form HERE.

Submit Applications to:

Post:
IVORY ST EOI
artisan
381 Brunswick Street
Fortitude Valley Q 4006

Email:
proposals@artisan.org.au

Floorplans

Ivory Street Plan – Front:

Ivory Street Plan – Rear:

Ivory Street Plan – Top:

Ivory Street Plan – Side

Biennial Jewellery Award & Exhibition

Entries are currently being accepted for Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery’s Contemporary Wearables ’13 Biennial Jewellery Award and Exhibition.

Established in 1989 and now in its thirteenth year, this respected award exhibition is open to all Australian and New Zealand artists and jewellers.

Available prize money awarded at the Judge’s discretion includes a First Prize of $5000 along with a Second Prize of $3000 and a Student Prize of $1500.

The Awards are non- acquisitive, however up to $7000 is available for acquisitions of suitable works for the Toowoomba City Collection.

Following the exhibition at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery (14 September to 27 October 2013), Contemporary Wearables ’13 is available for tour to galleries across Australia. In previous years Contemporary Wearables has been exhibited in regional art galleries, university museums and relevant institutions nationally.

“The Toowoomba Contemporary Wearables Award and Exhibition has grown into a very important event on the calendar for Australia’s and New Zealand’s jewellery makers, not only for emerging practitioners but also for established artists and galleries,” said Johannes Kuhnen, Judge of Contemporary Wearables ’09, Introduction in Contemporary Wearables’11  exhibition catalogue, August 2011.

Entries for Contemporary Wearables ’13 close 3 May 2013

Entry Conditions and an Application Form can be downloaded here. For more information regarding the competition or subsequent tour please contact Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.

In 2012 we saw a bit of everything – from cogs and corsets, to shoes with eyes, to banned record covers and ruthless ocean killers. Thanks to everybody who supported artisan over the year – we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. See the slideshow recap of our year below.

Opening Night ‘Emaki-Modern’ by Shin Koyama
BCM Crucible Gallery
4 October 2012

BCM recently welcomed guests to the Opening Night of the latest exhibition in Crucible Gallery.

Crucible Gallery is a unique gallery space, come meeting room housed within the offices of Brisbane-based advertising agency BCM.

Artisan formed a partnership with BCM in 2011 which involves the curation of a number of exhibitions in the Crucible Gallery space to showcase the best of Queensland craft and design artists, as well as an Emerging Curator program.

The Emerging Curator program develops the talents of an emerging arts curator under the guidance of the artisan team, and the program was recently recognised in the Australia Council’s Young and Emerging Artists category of the AbaF Queensland Awards. The program will now compete in the AbaF National Awards later this month.

The artisan/BCM partnership is helping to develop future arts leaders, support Queensland’s craft and design community, and also provides exhibition opportunities for Queensland’s talented artists.

Miriam Carter recently took up the role of BCM Emerging Curator and ‘Emaki-Modern’ is the first of the exhibitions that she has curated in Crucible Gallery on behalf of artisan.

Drawing on the Japanese traditions of ‘Emaki-Mono’ (picture scrolls), ‘Shunga’ (erotic woodblock prints), ‘Manga’ (comic animation), and themes of historical events, cultures and people, Japanese born, Brisbane-based artist Shin Koyama transforms these art forms into distinctive and dynamic artworks for contemporary times. The collection of ceramics, scrolls, paintings and print work on show in Crucible uniquely showcase the artist’s cheeky sense of humour and mischief.

Dr Craig Douglas of QCA and the artist provided BCM’s Opening Night guests with an entertaining insight into the many themes and inspirations behind Shin’s vibrant and uniquely individual artworks.

Visitors to BCM, their clients and agency staff will be enjoying the ‘Emaki-Modern’ exhibition over the next month.

All works on display are courtesy of Shin Koyama and Jan Manton Art.

Crucible Gallery hours are by appointment.

The Antipodean Steampunk Show, our final exhibition of 2012, will be opening on 26 October. However, we can’t quite wait that long, so we are excited to announce that we will be presenting a preview of the exhibition at the 2012 Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair!

Running from 17-21 October, the Craft and Quilt Fair will be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre. We will be presenting a selection of fantastical pieces from The Antipodean Steampunk Show, including jewellery, shoes, lamps, ray guns and tea bag jigglers.

Tickets to the Craft and Quilt Fair can be purchased at the door during the fair or from the website, and discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

We can’t wait to reveal the world of Steampunk to the circa 40,000 expected attendees, so if you plan to attend the fair, please drop by our stall to say hi!

The very next week, The Antipodean Steampunk Show will huff and puff its way into the artisan gallery, where it will remain until 15 December, 2012. Stay tuned for more info…

We are excited to announce that on Tuesday night, artisan in partnership with BCM won the Australia Council Young and Emerging Artists category at the Queensland AbaF Awards!

The Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) annual awards night gives businesses the chance to showcase innovation in their support of the arts.

The Australia Council Young and Emerging Artists award was given to artisan and BCM in recognition of the Emerging Curator Mentorship Program created by the partnership.

Established in 2011, the Emerging Curator Mentorship Program aims to support the development of future leaders within the arts. With financial support from BCM, artisan’s Gallery team is responsible for selecting an emerging curator and providing guidance throughout the mentorship. The Emerging Curator is responsible for curating three exhibitions per year within BCM’s Crucible Gallery and presenting curator talks at each exhibition opening.

The program has been a fantastic initiative and we are proud to have received recognition from AbaF. Thank you to our wonderful partner BCM and the great team here at artisan, particularly our dedicated Gallery team.

We will now go on to be finalists at the national AbaF awards in Melbourne this October.

Read more about all of the AbaF Queensland winners here.