Say No To Naff

Stop! Don't reach for the socks, soaps or satin boxers this Christmas. UNICEF Australia is encouraging all Australians to "Say No to Naff" and instead give a gift that will make a real difference for children in need.

UNICEF has launched the "Say No to Naff" campaign, to reduce the amount of 'naff', unwanted Christmas gifts and to make this festive season count for all kids through UNICEF's Inspired Gifts.

You can foster fitness and fun with a football ($32), turn on the tap to a whole community with a water pump ($503), or help students sharpen up for a new year of learning with pencils ($10 for 500 pencils) or choose from one of the extensive range of gifts at unicef.org.au/saynotonaff

Your loved one will receive a personalised gift card from UNICEF with a description of the gift you have purchased and how it will help someone from the over 150 countries and territories UNICEF operates in.

Your UNICEF inspired gift will be despatched to support communities in need.

ANU Textiles Graduating Exhibition

Christmas Twilight Market at BAC - 26 November

Undercurrent Design Market at the National Portrait Gallery

Portrait Gallery Store Presents

UNDERCURRENT Design Market

Friday November 25, 5pm-9pm

Saturday November 26, 10am-4pm

Over 40 artists/exhibitors showcasing an array of original, fresh and contemporarydesigns across all mediums and work practices from ceramics, jewlery, textiles to design co-op's. Ideally timed four weeks before Christmas and coinciding with Last Friday Drinks.

76 Rose Street - Exhibtion for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

The YWCA of Canberra proudly presents 76 Rose Street, an exhibition to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the YWCA's "Week Without Violence" activities. 76 Rose Street is an interactive exhibition that provides a unique opportunity to visualise domestic violence through a simple recreation of an ordinary apartment .This one week exhibition aims to raise awareness of domestic violence and advocate for safer homes for women and girls. We will also be launching our interactive tool profiling domestic violence that can be accessed on our website.

When:Official opening, 10am Friday 25 November

Where: ACT Legislative Assembly Exhibition Room

RSVP essential: canberra@ywca-canberra.org.au OR 6175 9900 by 22 November

You are invited to come along and experience this exhibition and help us;

-       Make domestic violence visible

-       Break the silence on crime

-       Emphasise the extent of domestic violence

-       Inform victims about help and strategies

-       Create concerted action through information

-       Create public awareness

-       Increase the pressure for better government legislation.

For further information please contact the YWCA of Canberra on 6175 9900.

Christmas at Bilk

Canberra Craft Bookbinders' Guild Exhibition

 

CCBG Exhibition 2011 - 1 to 30 November - Civic Library

Members of the public are invited to attend the Canberra Craft Bookbinders’ Guild exhibition of both traditional and non traditional bindings by members of the Guild.  You will find the books and their bindings of interest from an art and craft perspective and many of the books are innovative in their bindings.  Many members of the Guild have exhibited successfully overseas and interstate.

The exhibition is open at the library during the following times:

Monday: 10.00am – 8.00pm    Tuesday – Saturday:  10.00am – 5.30pm

Sunday closed

180 London Circuit,  Canberra City, ACT

 Click to download pdf file 806 KB CCBG Exhibition Catalogue 2011 

If you are interested in finding out more about bookbinding activities such as meetings and workshops in Canberra you can go to http://www.canberrabookbinders.org.au/news/ or email admin@bookbinders.org.au

Robyn Kinsela at Form Studio and Gallery

West of Wilcannia

7 - 28 November

Robyn Kinsela is a very accomplished artist working predominantly with painting. In her work she investigates the relationship between the self and an emotional connection to the landscape. Deliberate simplified mark making is often used to express a celebration of Australia’s iconic landscape. While an artist can experience the sounds, textures, smells, patterns and spaces that make up the landscape, the artistic response can be very individual and, at times, somewhat intangible.  Each of her paintings takes on a life of its own, and satisfaction is achieved by creating a painting which expresses interest, beauty and artistic inquiry. 

Robyn Kinsela is concerned with seeking an honesty of expression in the work – perhaps defined by her own experiences and background.  In this exhibition, she is painting the landscape West of Wilcannia as she feels it, not as others would necessarily see it.  The approach is therefore abstract and challenges normal visual observations of that landscape.  In doing so, the viewer may be disarmed, by transcending the obvious features of this amazing landscape and creating a deeper beauty - a beauty reliant upon experience and memory that comes from within.  Sometimes this beauty can be exquisite sometimes unforgiving, harsh and demanding and, for an artist, always challenging. I hope you enjoy this West of Wilcannia exhibition - Robyn Kinsela’s artistic response to what is an amazing Australian landscape.

 1/30 Aurora Avenue Queanbeyan

Exhibition hours Monday - Saturday 10 am - 3 pm, Sunday 11 am - 3 pm

Ruth Hadlow - Summer Masterclass

Canberra, February 6-10 - Content & Form 

The 2012 Summer Masterclass with Ruth Hadlow,  Content & Form, will explore relationships between books, ideas and practice. Umberto Eco proposes that we are formed and informed by the ‘background books’ which have been part of our upbringing and education, which have shaped our ways of comprehending and perceiving the world. In response to this, the masterclass will focus on conventions
and forms derived from literature and the world of books to re/consider and investigate ideas pertinent to individual practice.  Content & Form will be structured as a series of one-day projects, aimed at exploring a wide array of possibilities and generating beginnings for a set of new projects.  Working in the creative space
between literature, art and artists books, this summer’s masterclass will take a hands-on approach and focus on the act of making as an active strategy for instigating ideas, as a form of logic with its own particular nature.

[We] travel and explore the world, carrying with us some ‘background books’. These need not accompany us physically; the point is that we travel with preconceived notions of the world,  derived from our cultural
tradition. In a very curious sense we travel knowing in advance what we are on the verge of discovering,
because past reading has told us what we are supposed to discover. In other words, the influence of these
background books is  such that, irrespective of what travellers discover and see, they will interpret and
explain everything in terms of these books.

The aim of the Masterclass is to encourage critical engagement with ideas, objects, texts and the surrounding world for the  purpose of developing individual practices. The Masterclass provides a supportive environment of fellow artists, project structures to enable focused exploration and investigation, discussions, readings and a wealth of reference material. There is a research element which must be carried out as preparation in advance of the Masterclass, which will provide subject material and references for the project work and discussions. As with previous Masterclasses by  Ruth Hadlow, the program aims to stimulate and challenge, to enable debate and innovation, to extend notions of practice, and above all to provide a space for the development of ideas.

The 5-day residential format enables an intensive program of projects, readings and discussions, with individual guidance from this innovative and inspiring teacher. The 2012 Masterclass will once again be held at a private residence in Yarralumla, Canberra, close to the National Gallery of Australia for excursions and Lake Burley Griffin for early morning walks. Following on from last year, the Masterclass will accept a small number of non-residential participants who may attend on a daily basis. Participant numbers are limited to enable maximum benefit through individual attention.

COST 
Residential fee:     $625   full tuition, accommodation and meals (Sunday dinner to Saturday breakfast)
Non-residential fee:   $450   full tuition, morning & afternoon tea, lunch & dinner (Sunday dinner to Friday dinner)

NB. Materials are not included but can be sourced by participants at low cost.

DATES 
Residential dates:  Sunday 5 February – Saturday 11 January, 2012
Masterclass:  Monday 6 February – Friday 10 February, 2012 (9am-6pm)

BOOKINGS 
To express your interest for the 2012 Masterclass complete the registration form and return it by email to ruthhadlow@yahoo.com.au  Early enrolments are encouraged.  Your registration will be confirmed by email by Saturday 10 December, 2011.

FURTHER INFORMATION 
A full information pack will be provided to  participants on confirmation of their registration. This covers all research, material and other requirements; directions to the Masterclass venue in Canberra; and any other information you need to make the most of the 2012 Masterclass.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Ruth Hadlow if you have any questions:  ruthhadlow@yahoo.com.au

The Tin Shed Art Group at Watson Arts Centre

5th Weavers' Summer School @ ANU School of Art Textiles Workshop

The ANU Textiles Workshop is offering its fifth Weavers’ Summer School. This is an opportunity for intermediate and advanced weavers to use the workshop looms for a personal project. This can be for a finished piece or to engage in weave experimentation. Applicants will need to have completed basic introduction to 4 shaft weave structures. 

The Weavers’ Summer School offers:

• 3 counter-march 8-10 shaft treadle looms, all with double back beam
• 5 computer dobby looms (16-24 shaft), all with double back beam
• Weaving equipment ie warping mill, shuttles, bobbin winder, threaders, temples etc
• Assistance with calculations and set up of projects
• Instruction and assistance with use of computer design program and looms
• Informal show-and-tell and exchange by participants and tutor 

Participants are required to contact the tutor to organise materials before the summer school starts. Previous projects have included complex weave scarves, large throws, table runner sets, decorative wall pieces, lengths of material, floor rugs.

Dates:

21 Jan through to Saturday 28 Jan 2012 (except Thursday Australia Day)

9.00 - 12.00 and 13.00 - 16.00 each day

Costs: $680

For enrolment phone (02) 6125 2892 or visit the Visual Arts Acces website: 

www.anu.edu.au/cce/vaacourses/index.php

Tutor: 

Monique van Nieuwland 

Please contact the tutor to discuss your project:

monique.van.nieuwland@gmail.com 

Monique has been a weaver for more than 30 years. She teaches weave classes in the Visual Arts Access program at the ANU, Fibre Forum and Sturt Craft Centre. She exhibits her work regularly and is an Accredited Professional Member of Craft ACT. 

Craft Australia Petition

SIGN OUR PETITION Dear friends and supporters of Craft Australia, Since we were notified on 12 October that the organisation will not receive any more program funding from the Visual Arts board of the Australia Council beyond the end of December 2011, we have had overwhelming response in support for Craft Australia. We thank you for this amazing show of strength for craft and design practice.  Responses have come from our readers and supporters from all over the world. We are sending you this update to keep you informed of the developments in our campaign to save Craft Australia and how you can continue to help us.   WHAT YOU CAN DO Make your voice heard in support for craft and design. Spread the word, pass this notice on to your friends and networks, get them to do the same. Sign our online petition. The more people that sign, the stronger our argument for the importance of a national craft and design organisation. Write a comment on our blog, tell us how this will impact on you. Write a letter to the Visual Arts Board and tell them what you think, please send us a copy as well so we are all on the same page Write a letter to the Arts Minister, the Hon. Simon Crean MP Write a letter to your local government member With your help we can show that craft and design matters. Again, thank you for your ongoing support; we will keep you informed of our progress. Catrina Vignando General Manager

For more information please contact: Catrina Vignando, General Manager - catrina.vignando [at] craftaustralia.org.au.au - (02) 6273 0088

Out of the Square

EFTAG

Eurobodalla Fibre and Textile Artists Group

presents

“OUT OF THE SQUARE”

An exhibition of textile and related media

The Mechanics Institute

Page Street

Moruya

12^th – 20^th November 2011

10am – 4pm

To be opened Friday 11^th November at 6pm

by

Barbara Romalis

ALL WELCOME

Enquiries: MischiWest  44738982

Craft Australia Defunded

On Thursday, 12 October, Craft Australia was officially notified that it has been ‘defunded’: it will receive no more triennial funding from the Australia Council for the Arts beyond the end of 2011.

While Craft Australia and the broad constituencies it represents and supports would dispute this decision, the result effectively means the organisation has no funds to operate beyond 31 December 2011. This decision comes at a point when the sector is poised to make some significant developments in relation to craft, design, innovation and the creative industries, and in which Craft Australia has played and would have continued to play a significant role.

And to show the value of their work Craft Australia has been posting Musing on a sustainable practice on the Craft Australia blog. http://craftaustralia.blogspot.com/

This is a very bad decision for all Australian Craftworkers.

Straithnairn Members Exhibition opens 28 October

Belconnen Arts Centre Christmas Twilight Markets - 26 November

Christmas Twilight Markets

Saturday 26 November > 4:00–8:00pm

Enjoy a beautiful Christmas Shopping experience at the Art and Design Christmas Twilight Markets, overlooking the sparkling lake at sunset.  A diverse and festive array of local products and produce from local artisans will tempt you, delicious snacks will entice you, and some local musicians will entertain you! 

Cost; Free!
More information; info@belconnenartscentre.com.au or02 6173 3300