Sydney Craft Week is a flagship event of the Australian Design Centre (ADC), and will return from 10-19 October for its 9th edition. ‘It’s all about meeting the makers, connecting to creative communities and having a go at making yourself,’ says ADC Director Lisa Cahill.
Discussing this year’s theme of Material Intelligence, Cahill adds: ‘In many ways it is a counterpoint to our lives increasingly lived online, with artificial intelligence rapidly taking on what we once considered human skills.
‘Making is a fundamental human skill that requires thinking at each stage of the process about concepts, techniques, tools and materials. Craft practitioners have a deep respect for their materials … They often reuse and reinvent materials with an emphasis on sustainability, which in turn is the theme of many SCW events.’
ADC has been in the news of late, struggling with stripped funding and yet, remains committed to delivering 240 events for Sydney Craft Week (SCW), alongside the second edition of the national MAKE Award, Australia’s richest non-acquisitive craft and design award.
Here are ArtsHub’s favourites from the SCW program, which highlight sustainable craft practice and thinking:
ArtsHub’s top 10 picks:
Remade-Reloved jewellery rehash
This ongoing project – where artists create contemporary jewellery from discarded components – is a sure highlight. Attend a floor talk with the curator and artists, or join the Costume Jewellery Rehash workshop at ADC, and be guided through the process of upcycling and repurposing old costume jewellery pieces.
Details: Jewellery Rehash Workshop: Saturday 18 October, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, $35pp. To book.
Talk: Saturday 18 October, 11.30am – 12.30pm, free. Exhibition Tours: Thursdays, 12.30pm – 1pm.
Zero Waste ceramic glazes workshop
An easy one to participate in, this two-hour online workshop offers a unique opportunity to learn how to make environmentally and socially conscious ceramic glazes and pigments using only repurposed materials.
You don’t have to be an established craftsperson – this workshop will step you through how to source and process a wide range of local ‘waste’ materials as well as how to make your own triaxial glaze tests to develop recipes. This workshop is part webinar by Claire Ellis Ceramics, and part tutorial ending with a Q&A.
Details: Sunday, 12 October. Don’t miss out – register.
Creative reuse at Reverse Garbage
Everyone loves a thrift store – better still, dive into reverse garbage. This Marrickville institution is offering several workshops including sashiko workshops for mindful sewing and repair, creative reuse for kids with fabulous florals, and a special wearables and fashion focussed talk and tour with Reverse Garbage CEO and artist/maker, Kirsten Junor. What a winner.
Details: Saturday 11 October, Sashiko Workshop with Yoshi – Mindful Sewing & Repair $60pp; Monday 13 October, three Sessions Creative Reuse for Kids – Fabulous Florals $15 pp; and Saturday 18 October for Japanese ‘Tsumami’ Flower Accessory Workshop $60pp. To book.
Tour/Talk: Friday 10 October, 6pm – 8pm Behind-the-scenes tour of Reverse Garbage with CEO Kirsten Junor, $25pp.
Sustainable Textiles Symposium
The varied medium of textiles is really pushing the boundaries today, offering exciting creative avenues for both makers and enthusiasts. The Blue Mountains collective MTNS MADE present the inaugural Sustainable Textiles Symposium on Saturday 10 October in Rozelle. Join the conversation in how we can build a more ethical, sustainable textile and fashion industry, alongside sector leaders.
Details: Saturday 18 October. Talk: 10am – 11:30am; Q&A: 12pm – 1pm; Live Demonstration, Workshop: 1.30pm – 3pm, Popup and Stitch: 11am – 3pm. Presented at Fourth Weed Studio, Rozelle.
Repair Café and Open Studio & Kintsugi workshop
KINTSUGI and SASHIKO are Japanese practices of mending ceramics and textiles respectively. They emphasise respecting resources, minimising waste and honouring an artifact’s history, celebrating its fractures and tears. It is repair as an act of material intelligence.
This is an opportunity bring your special ceramic, glass and textile objects along, so Fourth Weed Studio can give them a second life.
Details: Sunday 19 October, 1pm – 5pm, drop-ins welcome but bookings preferred.
MAKE: Australia’s richest prize for craft
Celebrating material by the top makers across the Australian design and craft community is MAKE, a biennial award presented by ADC. The 36 finalists (selected from 197 entries) demonstrate the incredible skill and material intelligence, from Jane There’s astonishing vessel woven from horsehair, inspired by the aftermath of bushfires, to a sofa made from discarded golf balls by Jake Rollins, and Roseanne Bartley’s masterful alphabet of rings in Mulga wood to Scott Chaseling’s funky pots that look like candy but are technically rich.
Exhibition: Friday 10 October – Wednesday 19 November; Talk Saturday 11 October, 11.30am – 12.30pm; Exhibition Tours Thursdays 12.30pm – 1pm. The $35,000 Award winner will be announced 10 October.
Read: Rethinking craft: 5 question with international craft platform Homo Faber
Sydney Ceramics Market
Our final suggested highlight is the return of the annual Sydney Ceramics Market, which features more than 130+ ceramicists from across NSW and ACT over two days. Meet the makers, catch live wheel-throwing demonstrations, pick up some new tools or just go shopping. Presented at Sydney’s Carriageworks.
Details: Saturday 18 October and Sunday 19 October, 10am – 5pm, free.
Bags from salvaged textiles
Bring along a salvaged piece of fabric, a cherished tapestry or handed down linen to be made into a useful bag. Walk away with a handy tote or discuss something more bespoke that can be made together or that Kate can craft for you. This is also an open studio where repurposed bags and items made from train and bus moquette can be purchased.
Open Studio, Workshops: Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October 11am – 3pm, Wednesday 15 October 11am – 4pm, Friday 17 and Saturday 18 October 11am – 3pm, free. Please book workshop sessions.
Artisans in the Gardens
Experience Australia’s finest established and emerging artists and craftspeople, with over 3,000 works on display, including sculpture, ceramics, hand-blown glass, jewellery, and textiles set within the Sydney Botanic Gardens. A perfect way to celebrate sustainable practices, and in anenvironmental setting.
Details: Saturday 25 October – Sunday 2 November, 10am – 4pm.
Woodfest’s deep dive into material intelligence
Woodfest is a festival that embodies Sydney Craft Week’s theme ‘material intelligence’, enabling the community to witness the responsible stewardship of timber. Head to Wollongong for this grassroots event, where people can enjoy hands-on experiences with wood artisans through workshops and demonstrations.
Details: Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 October, free.
