2020 Craft ACT members exhibition now open
Continuing until 12 December, the 2020 Craft ACT members exhibition is now open, and will run throughout this month’s 2020 DESIGN Canberra Festival.
Craft ACT CEO and artistic director Rachael Coghlan said the theme of this year’s DESIGN Canberra explores care.
“The 2020 Craft ACT members exhibition celebrates and explores the ways that care and caring is valuable and vital for contemporary craft practitioners, artists, designers and makers,’ she said.
“In 2020, the value of care is more important than ever: for community, for creativity, for craft and for our world.”
A Craft ACT curated exhibition, current Craft ACT Accredited Professional Members and Associate Members were invited to submit proposed works for inclusion.
This year, proposals were received from 75 artists and over 80 works were selected that are shaping and securing the future of craft and design.
Highlights from the exhibition include 2020 DESIGN Canberra signature artwork, designer-in-residence Kirstie Rea’s With Care, and a wide variety of works including innovative, highly textured textile works, beautiful furniture pieces, wood carvings, jewellery and more.
In response to the theme of care, artists have created works that: forge new relationships to materials; invest time to learn and develop techniques, skills and be proactive; pay respect to craft’s tradition of exchange, mentoring and collaborations; and nourish and sustain collective wellbeing.
Floor talks will also be presented by participating artists throughout the exhibition.
Bell Debate comes to Canberra
The National Portrait Gallery will provide a stunning backdrop to Canberra’s live Bell Debate, to be held 12 November, as a line-up of prominent Canberrans debate a distinguished Shakespeare quote.
Bruce Meagher and Minister for the Arts, the Honourable Paul Fletcher MP, who participated in the original Bell Debate series in the 1990s, will take the stage alongside Virginia Haussegger AM, Amy Remeikis, Phyllida Behm and Mark Kenny.
Up for discussion will be the pertinent and timely line: “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves” from Julius Caesar.
For the Canberra event, two teams of three will debate for and against, providing a forum to demonstrate the enduring relevance of Shakespeare’s ideas and his unique ability to provoke thought and discussion about the human experience.
The Bell Debate series brings together high-profile Australians from a range of industries to debate direct quotes from Shakespeare to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary year, addressing and tackling ideas from his plays in the context of our modern world.
The event will be moderated by Bell Shakespeare board member, Lachlan Edwards, and hosted by artistic director, Peter Evans.
NAIDOC in the North
NAIDOC in the North returns this month, running 8-15 November, albeit somewhat differently than usual as has been the case with many events this year.
For the 2020 iteration, the whole of Canberra is invited to join in this celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through story, song, art dance and ceremony, from the comfort of their own loungeroom (or classroom).
A range of online performances from some of Canberra’s most accomplished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists will be released online throughout the week from the Belco Arts website: belcoarts.com.au/naidoc.
There will also be intimate in-person experiences to complement the online program, including bush tucker and weaving demonstrations on 13 November and a cultural showcase on 14 November in West Belconnen.
However, a huge part of NAIDOC in the North is the experience of community coming together.
To keep this feeling alive, an important part of the festival this year is the ‘Share your NAIDOC’ competition.
Schools, early childhood centres and after school care programs are invited to create a short video sharing the ways they are celebrating NAIDOC Week in their classrooms.
Each submission will be featured online through the NAIDOC in the North Facebook event and website, and the most creative and passionate entry will win $500 to put towards new Indigenous resources for their organisation.
