Woven 2023

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Cover: Old Media, 2023, designed by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, woven by Tim Gresham, Leonie Bessant, Susan Carstairs, Chris Cochius, Amy Cornall, Saffron Gordon, Pamela Joyce, David Pearce, Emma Sulzer, Cheryl Thornton and Dr Caroline Tully, wool, cotton, 4.2 x 7.2m. Photo: Tim Gresham.

Opposite: detail of Old Media, 2023. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

PATRON

Carrillo Gantner AC BOARD

Pro Vice Chancellor Su Baker AM — Chair Lisa Newcombe — Deputy Chair

AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

Australian Tapestry Workshop 262 – 266 Park Street South Melbourne Victoria 3205 Australia +613 9699 7885 contact@austapestry.com.au www.austapestry.com.au

Jefa Greenaway ( Wailwan, Kamilaroi + Dharawal ) Emeritus Professor Valerie Kirk AM Chris Malkin — Finance Director and Company Secretary Debra Morgan Nicole Newton Lynn Rainbow Reid AM Dr David Sequeira

STAFF

Sophie Travers — Director/CEO Rebecca Jobson — General Manager Jenny Newman — Office Coordinator Adriane Hayward — Public Programs and Exhibitions Coordinator ON PARENTAL LEAVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2023

Melanie Read — Public Programs and Communication Officer UNTIL AUGUST 2023

Bernadette Alibrando — Public Programs and Exhibitions Coordinator Lizzie Graham — Engagement Coordinator Erica Bawden — Book Keeper

WEAVING TEAM

Leonie Bessant Susan Carstairs Amy Cornall Chris Cochius Saffron Gordon Tim Gresham Pamela Joyce David Pearce Emma Sulzer Cheryl Thornton Dr Caroline Tully DYER

Tony Stefanovski Heather Thomas — Trainee Dyer

The ATW acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people of the Greater Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

The ATW acknowledtes that this magazine contains names and artworks of deceased First Peoples.

THIS ISSUE ———————————————————————————————— WHO WE ARE————————————————————————————— 02 COMMISSION A TAPESTRY——————————————————————— 03 FROM THE DIRECTOR/CEO——————————————————————— 04 PATRON OF THE ATW ————————————————————————— 05 OLD MEDIA EMMA BIGGS+ MATTHEW COLLINGS ———————————— 06 EARLY MORNING RAIN JOHN COBURN AM ——————————————— 10 TAPESTRY DESIGN PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTS 2023———————————— 12 PROPOSITIONS: TDPA ————————————————————————— 14 IN HOUSE: WORKS BY ATW WEAVERS ————————————————— 16

2022 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: GROUP SHOW —————————————— 17 VESSEL CLOTH AND CLOAK —————————————————————— 18 ATW X ARTBANK: WEAVING TOGETHER ————————————————— 20

LINE/LOOP/LINE ———————————————————————————— 21 THOUGHTS ON TEXTILE ART… HANNAH GARTSIDE——————————— 22 OFFSITE EXHIBITIONS ————————————————————————— 23 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE ———————————————————————— 24 ON-GOING: STUDIO BRIEDITIS AND EVANS ——————————————— 28 KNOWING FABRICS: ELOISE RAPP ——————————————————— 30 OUTREACH —————————————————————————————— 31 ON TRANSLATION: CHRIS COCHIUS —————————————————— 32 FAREWELL ANTONIA ————————————————————————— 33 VALE: JENNIFER SHARPE ——————————————————————— 34 THREADS FOR THE FUTURE —————————————————————— 35 OUR COMMUNITY: FRIENDS AND VOLUNTEERS ————————————— 36 TRANSFORMING TAPESTRY: ANNUAL APPEAL—————————————— 37 AT THE WORKSHOP—————————————————————————— 38 THANK YOU—————————————————————————————— 40

AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

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WHO WE ARE The Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) is an international leader in contemporary tapestry, collaborating with a diverse range of international and Australian artists to produce exceptional handwoven works of art.

Established in 1976, we have created over 500 tapestries in creative collaborations for nearly 50 years, promoting innovation and excellence in tapestry weaving and textile art.

Located in Melbourne, Australia, our open studio space, bespoke Dye Lab and galleries are a creative hub for engagement with tapestry, textiles and contemporary art.

Internationally renowned for their vibrancy, technical accomplishment and inventive interpretation, our tapestries are hand woven using an adaptation of the traditional Gobelin technique; by which an image is formed by tightly packing layers of weft (horizontal threads) over warps (vertical threads).

On the loom: The Royal Harvest, 2021, designed

by Naomi Hobson (Kaantju/Umpila), woven

by Pamela Joyce, Sue Batten, Tim Gresham and Jennifer Sharpe, wool, cotton, 2.05 x 2.8m.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

We use the finest Australian wool grown using environmentally sustainable and humane animal practices which is dyed onsite in our bespoke Dye Lab. With a base palette of 368 colours, this close collaborative relationship between the weavers and dyer provides limitless interpretive possibilities.

The ATW has trained and employed almost 100 tapestry weavers during this time – nurturing creative talent as they progress from trainees to master weavers who sustain long term careers with us.

ATW tapestries can be found across Australia at leading institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, National Library, Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and many other cultural institutions, as well as at prominent government locations including Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. ATW tapestries are also held in many corporate and private collections, and appear internationally, including in ten Australian embassies worldwide. ATW

From Left: Jenny Newman, Melanie Read, Bernadette Alibrando, Saffron Gordon, Chris Cochius, Pamela Joyce, Tim Gresham, Matthew Collings (Artist), Emma Biggs (Artist) David Pearce, Dr Caroline Tully, Emma Suzler, Cheryl Thornton, Rebecca Jobson, Erica Bawden, Sophie Travers.

COMMISSION A TAPESTRY The ATW invites public and private tapestry commissions to be woven in our South Melbourne studio. We thrive on working with contemporary artists who seek to challenge our weavers and dyer by providing tapestry designs in various mediums including photography, painting, watercolour, collage and digital images.

With each new tapestry comes a unique opportunity for artist and commissioner to engage with our production team and see their work realised into a large scale tactile medium.

As handwoven tapestries take months to complete, there are many opportunities for stakeholders to celebrate and share their tapestry during production. To begin with the designing artist will meet with the weavers to discuss a range of samples that experiment with different warp settings, colour relationships, scale and ways of translating the design into the medium of tapestry.

This dynamic creative exchange ultimately sets the creative direction for each tapestry. The tapestry weavers will continue to collaborate with the artist as well as amongst themselves on the loom until the tapestry is completed and cut from the loom in a special ceremony. ATW

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FROM THE DIRECTOR/CEO: SOPHIE TRAVERS NOVEMBER 2023

It is a pleasure to introduce this annual publication that summarises our activities in 2023 and provides insights into plans and projects to come.

I started in the Director role at the ATW in 2023 and must acknowledge departing Director Antonia Syme AM for her 14 years of dedicated service. Antonia left the organisation in great shape, finishing her tenure with our second-largest tapestry project ever; Parramatta, designed by Chris Kenyon. This was unveiled in Western Sydney in May 2023 after a full 18 months of creation by 13 weavers.

The weavers were already well into the next major tapestry commission, Old Media designed by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings when I arrived, flooding our airy building with wool of bright pastel shades.

Sitting side by side, day in and day out, for six months I witnessed such evident enjoyment of that vibrant project. I felt immediately welcomed by this lively group of super-skilled makers, as well as the small management team that supports them. It is no exaggeration to say that I race to work each day to enjoy the feeling of dedication and conviction that is so motivating. The legendary morning teas with cake and quizzes are a daily highlight and much missed if I am out and about in meetings.

We barely drew breath throughout 2023, with a great diversity of programming filling the calendar and bringing new people into our space or taking our weavers out into

new communities. Our biennial Tapestry Design Prize for Architects, generously supported by Metal Manufactures and Architecture Media was another runaway success, with a wonderful prize night attracting a host of design teams from across the country and as far away as Sweden. Jefa Greenaway from our Board and Kerstin Thompson AM were generous hosts of the process, and we thank the volunteer jury from across Australia sincerely for making the hard choices of the ten short-listed designs that we are now weaving into an extraordinary touring exhibition.

We hosted Artists in Residence from Sweden and Japan as well as from across Australia. These artists connected to our work through their own hand-making or textile art, and it was lovely to see their exchange with the weavers and how their practice bloomed during their residences.

I have a background of working in a range of contexts in Australia and internationally and was attracted to the ATW not just because of the beauty and quality of the artistic creation, but also due to the relationships the organisation holds. The ATW is part of the fabric of Australian cultural life, connected to so many of our institutions and artists and creative programs of ambition and scale.

I see this evidenced in the partnership programming we relished this year; with Artbank, our nation’s collecting institution; with Craft for their imaginative, inclusive Craft Contemporary festival; with the NGV for their leadership of the Australian design sector through the Melbourne Design Fair; with Open House Melbourne for their invitation to everyone in Melbourne to step over thresholds. On her visit to the ATW for the first time, a German colleague taught me a new word – ‘schockverliebt’ to describe that feeling of instantly falling in love. And she was not the only one.

I was proud to introduce many people from my networks to the ATW for the first time and AM excited to develop new relationships to support our work into the future with artists, gallerists, collectors, architects, arts workers, academics, writers, archivists and possible donors and commissioners of tapestries.

And speaking of supporters, I relished meeting the vast expanded family upon whom the ATW relies; the Friends who attend our events and bring their friends; the donors who give so generously of their support; the volunteers who contribute so importantly to the ‘green’ economy of our work by literally recycling every single thread we use. I have the privilege to work alongside a disciplined and supportive Board of Directors, all of whom also volunteer their time and energy,

PATRON OF THE AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP CARRILLO GANTNER AC

Sophie Travers in front of Old Media designed

by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

Carrillo Gantner AC in front of The Royal Harvest designed by Naomi Hobson, 2021.

Photo: John Gollings AM.

not just for our bi-monthly meetings but also for our many moments of celebration, such as our Cutting Off Ceremonies and exhibition launches. We have a wise and engaged Patron in Carrillo Gantner AC and an extraordinary Chair in Su Baker AM. We also have engaged partners in our State fundingbody, Creative Victoria and our local council City of Port Philip. And the Tapestry Foundation of Australia share our vision for tapestry to be a cherished and vibrant art form. They support us in a range of ways, not least of which is their instigation of another major hospital tapestry to commence in 2024.

2024 will be another busy year, with a major project on the looms, a new cohort of Artists in Residence, the Kate Derum and Irene Davies Awards for Small Tapestries, and some inspiring exhibitions and public programs. We are focusing on connection and communication as we raise our eyes towards the horizon of 2026 which will mark our 50th birthday and offers the opportunity not just to celebrate our past, but to launch ourselves with great power into the future. ATW

The Australian Tapestry Workshop was thrilled to announce Carrillo Gantner AC as our new Patron at the end of 2022.

Carrillo is a thespian, cultural ambassador and philanthropist and has over forty-five years working in the creative arena.

Carrillo has served as chairman of the Sidney Myer Fund, president of The Myer Foundation, chairman of Asialink at Melbourne University, and president of Arts Centre Melbourne. He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019 for services to the performing and visual arts, and to Australia–Asia cultural exchange.

He has been a long-term supporter of the ATW and has been involved on many exciting projects including The Royal Harvest designed by Naomi Hobson, Treasure Hunt designed by Guan Wei, Bush Foods designed by Sheena Wilfred, and other Embassy Tapestries (with the Tapestry Foundation of Australia). ATW

AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

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OLD MEDIA

Photograph: Tim Gresham.

DESIGNED BY EMMA BIGGS + MATTHEW COLLINGS UNITED KINGDOM

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WEAVING TEAM Tim Gresham Leonie Bessant Susan Carstairs Chris Cochius Amy Cornall Saffron Gordon Pamela Joyce David Pearce Emma Sulzer Cheryl Thornton Dr Caroline Tully Tony Stefanovski DYER

1 Cutting Off Ceremony for Old Media, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe 2 On the loom: Old Media, designed by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, 2023, wool, cotton, 4.2 x 7.2m.

3 ATW weavers working on Old Media designed by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, 2023. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

4 On the loom: detail of Old Media designed

by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

5 On the loom: detail of Old Media designed

by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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Old Media is designed by UK artists Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings using a colour palette specified by Paris architect Luis Laplace for a private residence in the UK. Led by Tim Gresham, eleven weavers translated this design into tapestry, which was completed in July 2023.

The artists wrote about their use of colour in the original design, ‘colour is important to us. We tried to choose colour that seemed translucent — an illusion of dancing light — a bit like celluloid colour to remind you of the flickering colour you see on film.

The apparent transparency of the motifs (the main shapes) is offset by opaque field colours: the blues and greys. It aims to feel uplifting, a bit like a sunset, or a dawn.

Our paintings usually have a triangle and half-triangle motif; we use it as a vehicle for a rigorously non-figurative experiment with colour and tone. It doesn’t carry meaning. It is just a shape. We felt compelled to change it here because of the place the tapestry is going to be in. The half circles we’ve used, relate to our usual half triangles, but in a vague sort of way they are also connected, in our minds, to the auditorium context. They’re semi-CD. Semi planet.

Half-moons. Semi reels of film. Semi spools.”

Project leader Tim Gresham was thrilled to be leading a project of such calibre, ‘Emma and Matthew gave us such a beautiful design to work with. Our focus is on the luminous and translucent quality of the colours. The intense colours and blends where the brush strokes meet are played up in the tapestry, which is scaled up 20 times in size from the design.

This increase in size allows for a great deal of creative input from the weaving team’.

Biggs and Collings began their collaborative practice in 2001 and are internationally renowned for their works in mosaic and abstract, oil-on-canvas paintings through which they celebrate historical notions of art, cantered upon colour, light, and perception. ATW

AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

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EARLY MORNING RAIN DESIGNED BY JOHN COBURN AM AUSTRALIA

Early Morning Rain was the second major commission for the ATW in 2023, based on an original maquette for tapestry by John Coburn AM from 1972.

WEAVING TEAM Tim Gresham Amy Cornall David Pearce Cheryl Thornton

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AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

Coburn is recognised as one of Australia’s most significant abstract artists and displayed a true affinity with the tapestry medium. He lived and worked in France in the late 1960s and early 1970s, collaborating with the renowned French workshop Aubusson. The establishment of the ATW in 1976 allowed him to shift production and commence ongoing tapestry collaboration on home soil. The ATW produced more than 25 tapestries based on Coburn’s designs, including works for Parliament House in Brisbane, National Australia Bank, Monash Medical Centre and many private and corporate collections.

Dr Sue Walker AM writes in her book Artists’ Tapestries,1 ‘the deceptive simplicity of his abstract geometric work and the sensitive use of gradated colour has tested the skill of VTW 2 weavers since 1978 and the ability to form a ‘Coburn curve’ and to finely work colour through a ‘Coburn shape’ has remained one of the marks of an accomplished weaver.’

Lola de Mar, the custodian of this maquette, purchased this work from Coburn who did not think it would ever be realised into tapestry. She writes ‘as it turned out, in 1992, twenty years after painting Early Morning Rain, in releasing it and entrusting it to me, John Coburn unknowingly set the wheels in motion for the maquette’s destiny.

His dream is at last fulfilled and an iconic piece of Australian art history has finally come into existence.’ ATW 1 Artists’ Tapestries, Dr Sue Walker AM, 2007, The Beagle Press, p84.

2 ATW was previously known as the VTW.

1 Early Morning Rain designed

by John Coburn AM in 1972, woven 2023, woven by Tim Gresham, Amy Cornall, David Pearce and Cheryl Thornton.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

2 Cutting Off Ceremony for Early Morning Rain, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

3 David Pearce and Tim Gresham weaving Early Morning Rain, designed by John Coburn AM, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

4 On the loom: detail of Early Morning Rain, designed

by John Coburn AM, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

TAPESTRY DESIGN PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTS 2023

The $10,000 Tapestry Design Prize for Architects is a unique international award that encourages innovation and visionary thinking through challenging architects to design specifically for contemporary tapestry.

FIRST PRIZE Beth George and Emerald Wise SOLSTICE PEOPLE’S CHOICE Tasmin Vivian-Williams and Tonielle Dempers THE FOX AND THE LYREBIRD HIGHLY COMMENDED 3RDRM| Glenn Russell MEZCLA Adjacency Studio COUNTERPOINT Heliotope BUNDANON TAPESTRY Ellen Kwek OLD GROWTH FIRE Multiplicity UNDER THE MILKY WAY TONIGHT… Malin Parkegren TRACES Studio Orsi| Jamileh Jahangiri ONCE UPON A TIME Yiling Shen & Yuchen Gao FATA MORGANA

This year we were delighted to receive applications in response to the rich and resonant site of Kerstin Thompson’s Bundanon Art Museum. The significance of this location, as detailed by Thompson, was treated with insight and intelligence by applicants from over 11 countries around the world.

Whilst many were able to delve into the relationship of Country to history and society, others explored the ecological aspects of the surroundings and the relationship between people and nature. As is always the case with this Prize, there was a gratifyingly broad range of responses exemplified in teams of diverse composition. The brief to design a tapestry to be woven in the Gobelin technique remains as open as ever, with a wide array of scale, materiality, perspective, and representative techniques being chosen; from the most figurative to the most abstract.

The judging panel, comprising of Chair, Jefa Greenaway (Wailwan, Kamilaroi & Dharawal), Kerstin Thompson AM, Justin Hill, Christina Na-Heon Cho, Adrian Iredale, Camilla Block and José Da Silva arrived at a shortlist of ten designs from which they delivered a High Commendation and First Prize winner. With over 700 votes from around the world, The Fox and the Lyrebird won the People’s Choice Award with 181 votes.

Tapestry Design Prize for Architects (TDPA) is generously supported by Metal Manufactures, Architecture Media, Creative Victoria, and the Envelope Group. ATW

1 TDPA 2023 award announcement.

Photo: Tom Hvala.

2 TDPA 2023 Exhibition of Finalists in situ.

Photo: Tom Hvala.

3 Solstice designed

by Beth George and Emerald Wise, 2023.

4 Mezcla designed 3RDRM | Glenn Russell, 2023.

5 The Fox and the Lyrebird designed by Tasmin Vivian-Williams and Tonielle Dempers, 2023.

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PROPOSITIONS: 2 0 2 3 T D PA F I N A L I S T Breaking with tradition, the ATW is currently weaving ten large format studies of each finalist’s design, with each weaver choosing a design that inspired or intrigued them.

Weavers will focus on a small area of the design as a study, providing a glimpse, or proposition, for the potential for each of these designs to be commissioned as a large-scale tapestry.

These designs are a snapshot into contemporary thinking on how tapestries can enhance architectural space, with the studies transporting hypothetical ideas into the realm of the tangible, expressed as handwoven tapestry.

This collaboration celebrates the artistry and technical skills of ATW weavers and highlights the possibilities of tapestry available to architects, artists, and designers. ATW

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STUDIES

1 In progress: Fata Morgana designed by Yiling Shen and Yuchen Gao, 2023, woven by Saffron Gordon. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

2 Ellen Kwek with Pamela Joyce in front of Old Growth Fire designed by Ellen Kwek, 2023, woven by Pamela Joyce. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

3 On the loom: The Fox and the Lyrebird designed by Tasmin Vivian-Williams and Tonielle Dempers, 2023, woven by Dr Caroline Tully.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

4 Chris Cochius and Jane Caught in front of Bundanon Tapestry designed by Heliotope, 2023, woven by Chris Cochius. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

5 On the loom: Once Upon a Time designed

by Jamileh Jahangiri, 2023, woven by Emma Sulzer. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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The ATW’s exhibition program positions our tapestry production within a critical survey of contemporary textile practice by local, interstate and international artists. Our exhibitions provide a platform for contemporary artists working with textiles to engage with audiences, and opportunities for our Artists in Residence, weavers and community to display their work.

IN HOUSE: WORKS BY ATW WEAVERS EXHIBITIONS

24 NOVEMBER 2022 — 24 FEBRUARY 2023 In House: Works by ATW Weavers celebrates the artistry and creativity of current and past weavers at the Australian Tapestry Workshop.

Many weavers often pursue their own diverse personal artistic practices alongside the collaborative weaving at the ATW. This exhibition showcased a multidisciplinary approach to making beyond tapestry including works on paper, woodwork, embroidery, quilting, crochet, and costume design. This reunion of former and current weavers through artistic practice was a celebration of the creativity and artistic excellence that has passed through the organisation and continues to flourish on and off the ATW studio floor. ATW 1 2

In House: Works by ATW Weavers in situ at the ATW. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

ARTISTS Leonie Bessant VIC Susan Carstairs VIC Chris Cochius VIC Cresside Collette VIC Marie Cook VIC Amy Cornall VIC Rosemary Crosthwaite VIC Tim Gresham VIC Saffron Lily Gordon VIC Owen Hammond VIC Meryn Jones VIC Valerie Kirk AM VIC Sara Lindsay VIC Robyn Mountcastle VIC David Pearce VIC Hannah Rother-Gelder VIC Jennifer Sharpe VIC Joy Smith VIC Emma Sulzer VIC Cheryl Thornton VIC

2022 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: GROUP SHOW

0 9 M A R C H — 11 M AY 2 0 2 3

Open to artists worldwide, the Artist in Residence program provides dedicated time and space for artists to work in a contemporary and dynamic studio setting in the heart of the ATW, sharing skills and knowledge.

This annual exhibition shows the artwork created by Artists in Residence from the previous year, providing these artists with a professional development opportunity as well as a moment to reflect on and celebrate their residency outcomes. ATW

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ARTISTS Victoria Manganiello USA Paula do Prado NSW Alexi Freeman VIC Kris Coad VIC Octora VIC Isabel Deakin/Kin Workshop VIC Melanie Cobham VIC Matthew Gove VIC

1 2022 Artists in Residence Group Show in situ at the ATW. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe 2 Detail of Detít Guidaí/Three Moons, 2023, Paula Do Prado, crochet, tapestry, coiling and beading on steel frame; including vintage and new wool tapestry yarns, acrylic yarns, artist’s hair, wire, paper, glass seed beads, antique glass beads, pom pom. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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EXHIBITIONS

VESSEL CLOTH AND CLOAK

ARTISTS Isabel Avendaño-Hazbún VIC Jacky Cheng WA Seth Damm/Neon Zinn USA DNJ Paper VIC Kait James WADAWURRUNG Robyn Phelan VIC

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1/2 Vessel, Cloth and Cloak in situ at the ATW. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

ATW x ADC booth at Melbourne Design Fair 2023. Photo: ATW.

Vessel, Cloth and Cloak featured artists and designers who create functional textiles that are vessels of culture, memory and identity and take the form of objects that can carry, protect, contain and cover.

In an intersection of history, aesthetics and function, Melbourne fashion designers DNJ Paper utilise washi paper in the form of streetwear. Jacky Cheng presented the form of the traditional Chinese cloak, applying handmade and hand dyed paper with sumi ink and kakishibu (persimmon tannin).

Mixed media vessels by ceramicist Robyn Phelan are both utilitarian objects and holders of meaning.

Wadawurrung artist Kait James uses razor sharp satire to subversively recreate and re-interpret Aboriginal calendar tea towels that disrupt outdated textile representations of Indigenous people and culture. In a feminist exploration of dress and adornment, couture and culture collide in intricate armour-like wearables by Isabel Avendaño-Hazbún. The meticulously hand-crafted rope body adornments by Seth Damm (Neon Zinn) are both wearable soft sculpture and designed to celebrate diverse bodies and voices.

Vessel, Cloth and Cloak was presented as part of Melbourne Design Week 2023. ATW

ATW x ADC MELBOURNE DESIGN FAIR 18 — 2 1 M AY 2 0 2 3 Presented in collaboration with the Australian Design Centre, the ATW x ADC stand presented at the Melbourne Design Fair was co-curated with Sydney based designer Rina Barnabei and featured 15 ATW tapestries and a diverse collection of hand-crafted objects created by some of Australia’s best talent and most sought-after artists and designer/makers. ATW

ATW x ARTBANK: WEAVING TOGETHER EXHIBITIONS

0 2 O C T O B E R — 17 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3

Shown across two venues, Weaving Together presented a snapshot of contemporary textile practice in Australia in the 1980s and celebrates the ongoing relationship between the two organisations.

2 1 Weaving Together in situ at Artbank.

Photo: Christian Capurro.

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2 Weaving Together in situ at the ATW. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

ARTISTS Merrill Dumbrell VIC Lesley Dumbrell VIC Rae Ganim VIC Hannah Gartside VIC Jennifer Goodman VIC Anne Graham NSW Stephen Griffin VIC Kait James WADAWURRUNG Dale Hickey VIC Max Miller SA John R. Neeson VIC Michael Shannon VIC Sera Waters SA Gosia Wlodarczak VIC

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Presented in partnership with Artbank, Weaving Together celebrates the significant number of tapestries in the Artbank Collection.

On display at ATW was a commission

by Michael Shannon from the Artbank Collection, a Lesley Dumbrell tapestry from the ATW Collection, and a Dale Hickey tapestry from the Tapestry Foundation of Australia Collection. The tapestries were contextualised by works on paper, experimental tapestry samples and work in progress photos from the ATW studio archives. The concurrent exhibition at Artbank showed a selection of ATW tapestries and works by ATW Artists in Residence from their collection.

This exhibition was presented as part of Craft Contemporary 2023.

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1 Line/Loop/Line in situ at the ATW, works clockwise from left by Britt Salt, Misako Nakahira, Theo Rooden.

2 Weaving for Yvonne, 2022, Shannon Slee, twill wool weaving from 4 shaft loom, 30 x 150cm and Painting for Weaving (iteration #2), 2023, Shannon Slee, wall painting.

Pattern, repetition, and geometry are at the core of weaving: threads that intersect – going under and over, around and through, lines that loop through other lines.

ARTISTS Donna Blackall YORTA YORTA Phong Chi Lai VIC Misako Nakahira JAPAN Malin Parkegren SWEDEN Britt Salt VIC Shannon Slee VIC Theo Rooden NETHERLANDS

LINE/LOOP/LINE

02 NOVEMBER 2023 — 02 FEBRUARY 2024 Most textiles are destined to conform to the back-and-forth lines these algorithmic constraints dictate, meaning weaving is perfectly placed to depict geometric abstraction – grids, lines, stripes. The playful interaction of shapes in a colour field, the sensory clash of colours, expressed through the tactile sensibility of woven textiles.

Line/Loop/Line exhibits the work of seven artists who explore the language of geometric abstraction in textiles through manipulating patterns, lines, stripes, shapes, repetition and colour. These artists employ cloth and coil weaving, quilting and tapestry, the handmade and machine made.

Line/Loop/Line celebrated the artistry of weaving and its potential for us to experience the magic of making and materiality. ATW

I understand life, and significant moments in it through fabric.

Cloth sees us through from birth to death. We are swaddled in it when we are born, and as we grow up (whether by concerted effort or not) we signify something of our gender/politics/ cultural affiliations and class via the wearing of different colours, fibre contents, detailing and shapes.

As a sculpture and installation artist who uses worn clothing as a medium, I believe wholeheartedly in the particular potency of textiles in art and craft. Within the broader field of contemporary art, textiles (by which I mean both work with whole cloth and fibre or yarn) have a powerful ability to convey stories, to evoke emotions, and to engage with and move a viewer.

Cloth gives and takes. Cloth protects us and also receives/absorbs us: our smells, our sweat, and memories of our bodies’ movement are caught in a fabric’s wrinkles. The term ‘memory’ has multiple meanings. In relation to fabric and clothing, ‘memory’ is a technical term that refers to the material’s physical memory (as if the fabric itself is conscious or sentient).

The creases formed and held in the elbow of a jacket after it has been worn is the sleeve’s memory, for example. Due to their implicit proximity to our bodies, textiles have a particularly powerful association with a person’s lived experiences.

THOUGHTS ON TEXTILE ART AND ITS PARTICULARITIES WITHIN CONTEMPORARY ART

HANNAH GARTSIDE Hannah Gartside with her work Bunnies in Love, Lust and Longing, 2015–2019, found leather, suede and synthetic gloves, millinery wire, thread, weighted curtain cord, fabric, dimensions variable shown as part of the ATW exhibition Leftover Love, 2021. Photo: ATW.

As the American academic Peter When you view a textile work, more Stallybrass puts it in Worn Worlds: explicitly for me than other mediums, Clothes, Mourning, and the Life of Things, what you are experiencing is the maker’s ‘The particular power of cloth... is closely commitment, focus, patience and care. associated with two almost contradictory The production hours are embedded within aspects of its materiality: its ability to be the very process. Who amongst us has permeated and transformed by the maker had the experience of adroitly handand wearer, and its ability to endure over time. sewing only to think a frustrating thought Cloth thus tends to be powerfully associated and have the thread immediately tangle? with memory. Or, to put it more strongly, Thread seems particularly responsive cloth is a kind of memory.’ 1 He wrote the to my supposition that the way you feel as you make an artwork is stored within piece in response to wearing the jacket the work itself. of a close friend, who had recently died.

When I am with a textile work that has As a side note, I see within his writing, been made with precision and diligence, and from my own experience of making I experience a deep feeling of calm and a quilt from the floral dresses of my relief. I understand that this particular Grandmother after she had died, the skerrick of the world has been appropriately possibility for textiles to support processing cared for and therefore in this moment, grief and engender feelings of comfort right here, everything is okay. That is and warmth (as much as I hold the blanket, the generosity and possibility of textilethe blanket holds me). based artworks.

Textiles are a process driven, labourintensive medium requiring time-honed skills. 1 Peter Stallybrass, ‘Worn Worlds: Clothes, Working with textile-related processes such Mourning and the Life of Things’, Yale Review, 1993, vol.81, p.35-50 as quilting, weaving, and felting ask of the maker an investment of time, not only in the Hannah Gartside works across sculpture, production of a particular piece, but in installation and video. Characteristically accruing the requisite tacit knowledge and sensual and poetic, her works transform handling skills in the first place. found fabrics and clothing to articulate experiences and sensations of longing, tenderness, care and desire.

OFFSITE EXHIBITIONS: During 2023, the ATW took part in partnership exhibitions across Australia including Woven Together with Bunjl Place and our exhibition Leftover Love was given new life in Townsville as Leftover Love: New Directions, exhibited at Pinnacles Gallery.

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1 Woven Together in situ at Bunjil Place, 2023. Photo: Christian Capurro.

2 Leftover Love: New Directions in situ at Pinnacles Gallery, 2023. Photo: Through the Looking Glass Studio.

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1. Donna Blackall (Yorta Yorta), 2023. Photo: ATW 2. Donna Blackall, Woven Shields, ‘Big Weather’ exhibition, Ian Potter gallery, 2021. Photo courtesy of the artist.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE Open to artists worldwide working in any medium and at any stage of their career, this program provides dedicated time and space for artists to work within the heart of the ATW amongst the team of weavers, sharing knowledge and skills.

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DONNA BLACKALL YORTA YORTA

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Yorta Yorta woman Donna Blackall uses a traditional blanket stitch and an open style of coil weaving to reflect personal stories and histories, and contemporary abstract art and design aesthetics. Donna’s practice pushes this traditional technique into contemporary art forms that carry deep meaning and stories.

She has been practicing and teaching the art of traditional coil basket weaving throughout Victoria for the past 12 years.

Donna first learnt to weave in this style as a child and reconnected with it in a workshop with master weaver Bronwyn Razem (Gunditjmara). Using an open style of coil weaving Donna teaches workshops to indigenous and non-indigenous people with a strong focus on process rather than the outcome. Donna’s work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Koorie Heritage Trust. While at the ATW Donna presented a coil weaving workshop.

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2023 JOANNE NETHERCOTE APA X ARTS PROJECT AUSTRALIA

Joanne Nethercote is an emerging artist working with acrylic on paper and embroidery. She has a strong interest in cats, a subject matter close to her heart.

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Joanne’s art practice is currently flourishing, with her interest in, and representation of domestic cats as her dominant subject matter, she has produced beautifully observed works across her chosen disciplines of painting and embroidery.

Joanne has worked at Arts Project Australia since 2018 and has exhibited in a number of group shows in Melbourne. While at the ATW she presented a Cat Embroidery workshop where participants were able to experiment with her signature style of stitching

JACKY CHENG WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Born in Malaysia, Jacky Cheng is an artist of Chinese diaspora who lives in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. She creates artwork using textiles and paper that explore identity through cultural activities and memories of home, country, and relationships.

5 3 Cat embroidery, Joanne Nethercote, 2023.

Photo: ATW. 4 Joanne Nethercote during her Cat Embroidery Workshop, 2023. Photo: ATW. 5 Jacky Cheng at the ATW during her residency, 2023. Photo: ATW. 6 detail of ...that awaits at the end of life, handmade paper threads, joss papers, kibiso, hair and paper pine, woven with rigid heddle loom. Photo: courtesy of the artist.

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Jacky’s practice is influenced by notions of ‘belonging’ through her diasporic identity as a Chinese descendant. To ‘make’ is to remember; weaving narratives of her experiences and cultural histories expressed through paper and fibre to reflect and document significant experiences. Jacky’s process driven practice was explored in her presentation of an Orizome and Japanese Stab Stitch Book Binding workshop.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE 2023 1

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KAIT JAMES WADAWURRUNG

Kait James is a proud Wadawurrung woman and award-winning contemporary artist based in Naarm/Melbourne.

1 I am a man, 2021, Aboriginal souvenir tea towels and embroidery. Photo: courtesy of the artist.

2 Kait James (Wadawurrung) at the ATW. Photo: ATW. 3 Cara Johnson, Hollow, 2023, found tree guard, found silage net and Wood duck II, 2020, paper, ash, silage net. Photo: courtesy of the artist.

4 Cara Johnson. Photo: ATW. 5 Misako Nakahira. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

6 Detail of Crossing, 2022, Misako akahira, wool, ramie. Photo: courtesy of the artist.

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Utilising punch needling and embroidery techniques with wool and cotton, she embroiders with kitsch found materials to explore her indigenous identity and Anglo heritage. Her current work focuses on Aboriginal souvenir tea towels from the 1970-80s that generalise and stereotype her culture. She recreates this imagery and subverts them with familiar pop-cultural references that speak to the indigenous issues of that time. Participants of her Stitch and Yarn workshop were taught the fundamentals of embroidery and stitch work and experimented with creating unique works of art on blank tea towels.

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CARA JOHNSON VICTORIA

Cara Johnson utilises a craft-based practice to interrogate narratives surrounding land use through materials, intention and invested making processes.

Informed by her environment, Cara’s practice is intertwined with her rural location in which she works in isolation surrounded by bushland and sheep paddocks.

Currently through her work she seeks to comprehend the brutality that has been (or continues to be) inflicted on land through agricultural and land clearing practices. While at the ATW and as part of Craft Contemporary 2023, Cara held a Meet the Maker event, giving participants the opportunity to engage with her practice and explore the materiality of her work.

MISAKO NAKAHIRA JAPAN

Misako Nakahira is a Japanese tapestry artist and lecturer. Misako has a Bachelor of Textiles and a Master of Mixed Media from the Kyoto University of Art and Design where she teaches.

Her practice includes paper weaving, tapestry, ikat, felting, macramé, and yarn spinning. Most recently Misako’s practice has focused on the genealogy of stripes interrogated through tapestry. In her process, Misako chooses a relatable motif from daily life to convey through tapestry, and then weaves samples to decide on materials and colours. She dyes the yarn for each project and weaves using discontinuous wefts on a horizontal Four-Harness Counter-Marche floor loom. While at the ATW Misako taught a workshop on the technique of Kami-ito, a Japanese technique that turns washi (Japanese paper) into threads.

EXHIBITIONS

ON-GOING: STUDIO BRIEDITIS AND EVANS SWEDEN

Studio Brieditis & Evans is a collaborative textile studio based in Sweden by Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans. Since their initial collaboration in 2001, Studio Brieditis & Evans have continued to push design boundaries by uniquely transforming textile waste. As part of their residency, they presented a rug making workshop and lecture on their practice and use of materials.

1 Katarina Evans and Katarina Brieditis.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

2 Katarina Briedtis with a workshop participant. Photo: ATW 3 Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans at the ATW. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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RECIPIENTS OF THE IRENE DAVIES INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY SCHOLARSHIP

ON-GOING presented a curated selection of work from Swedish design duo Studio Brieditis & Evans. Their work and broader practice questions the foundation of textile construction, consumer use and functional materiality.

With strong technical backgrounds in product and textile design, Studio Brieditis & Evans utilise post-consumer textile waste, clothing donations and deadstock fabric to challenge consumer relationships to ‘worthless’ waste materials.

Driven by the technical construction of textiles and the constraints inherent to the material they ask the question – ‘how does the choice of material and its material properties affect the techniques and final outcome.’ By pushing the material and experimenting with technique the pair push the boundaries of textiles into new sculptural forms.

This exhibition featured new work as well as three pieces from their largest project to date, Re Rag Rug (2012-2017) where they challenged themselves to make twelve rugs using twelve different techniques over twelve months, using only donated materials and without a loom.

Working with textiles offers many facets, endless challenges, surprises, and adventures… A never-ending process that is ON-GOING. This exhibition was made possible through the Irene Davies International Residency Scholarship and support from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. ATW

I believe handcrafting can be a guiding principle for living within planetary boundaries. When you immerse yourself in the intent, precision and effort required to create handcrafted items, you can’t help but consider the numerous objects in your daily life that have been constructed, either in whole or in part, by skilled hands.

Over the last hundred years or more these boundaries have been eroded to the point of our current state of crisis.

The fashion and textile industry has grown from its origin as a series of small, placebased, and regenerative local economies into a global juggernaut of extractive and unethical practices. Those desperately trying to reset the course in the face of this formidable force often find themselves disheartened and marginalised. Most often these are the people with the closest connection to the land – Indigenous communities, farmers and raw material cultivators, ecologists, and climate activists.

But it is the giants of retail who often end

They rely on human labour with minimal mechanised intervention and can’t be scaled excessively because of how they are tethered to regenerative natural cycles.

They encourage an innate circularity – when you have laboured over retted bundles of flax, cleaned, carded and spun wool by hand, or carefully balanced the chemistry of a natural dye bath, you are more likely to see a by-product as resource rather than waste. Textiles also have spiritual and familial significance – something that is deprioritised in colonial capitalist culture.

And where handcraft economies are established, they directly support communities and bolster the commons.

up dictating the narrative. Their sheer size grants them the loudest voice and the largest audience, so when they define ‘sustainable’ fashion and textiles to suit their mode of production, many of us just accept it. It cannot be overstated how urgent it is to reclaim control of this narrative.

This kind of shift in collective understanding won’t come easily. Tech, though crucial, will not save us, and neither will the heavily debunked fantasy of green growth.

The transformation can only come from recognising our inseparability from the natural world – a daunting task given our centuries-long conditioning by capitalist economics. Re-evaluating what constitutes an acceptable level of consumerism and waste generation requires a significant degree of deprogramming – especially for those of us in the Global North. I argue that to dismantle this mindset, we must question every aspect of material production with the urgent focus on restoring the health of soil, sea, sky, and species.

This is where I believe handcrafted textiles hold immense power and potential.

People were dyeing, weaving and sewing by hand for thousands of years before we mechanised and corporatized the means of production. Understanding these ways of making can help us perceive what limits to growth look like. Textile crafts are, by their very nature, ecologically limited.

At this point in time, replacing the material with the spiritual, the throwaway with the permanent, becomes an act of defiance. It requires us to reprioritise people, ecosystems, generosity, and care.

It involves rethinking the concept of luxury and discarding economies built on desire and accumulation. And in the world of textiles, it requires us to envision alternative methods of creation that decelerate production, foster social abundance, and repair our relationships with other living beings. These can be small but powerful acts, against all odds.

SLOWING DOWN, AGAINST ALL ODDS

ELOISE RAPP

Clothing, kitchenware, flooring, furniture, packaging. You observe them and wonder, how long did this take to make?

What aspects of its creation needed the support of human hands? Were they the hands of someone young, or old?

Did they choose this work? That inquiry, along with the shared knowledge of transforming raw materials into finished products, is a vital tool in comprehending the path to sustainable futures.

As both a maker and facilitator, I have my own studio practice and I work with brands and organisations to improve their sustainability strategies and processes.

Though these roles are distinct, they share a core similarity. When I embark on a new project, I’m mobilising a network, spanning farmers, primary producers, mills, dyers, recycling hubs, charitable organisations, other small businesses and makers, sometimes up to government level.

I go from being an individual operator to part of a local economy and a local ecosystem, ultimately connecting with diverse ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Depending on the nature and scale of this kind of work, you might refer to this network as a supply chain, a community, or something else.

Definitions aside, in this system my role is to work ethically and, to the best of my ability, within planetary boundaries.

Eloise Rapp is a textile maker and sustainability specialist. She currently works as a sustainability manager in fashion and the built environmentand directs her responsible textile studio, Push Pull Textiles.

Working at the intersection of craft and systems change, her projects build a visionof viable alternatives to extractive production methods.

Eloise Rapp in front of her work in Mass Reduction in situ at the ATW, 2022. Photo: ATW.

OUTREACH In 2023 we ran many workshops, tapestry weaving classes, talks and other outreach projects at the ATW as part of Open House Melbourne, Melbourne Design Week and Craft Contemporary.

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We partnered with Craft and Artbank to present talks that shared our unique story with local audiences. Many of our workshops and classes make use of our post production waste materials, including our beautiful ‘bobbin ends’. These are colourful mixed yarns leftover from tapestry production saved from the weaving floor and collected to be reused in artistic projects and craft workshops. In 2023 at MPavilion and Bunjil Place we delivered our Weaving Play program, where participants used these bobbin ends to create their own experimental weaving piece.

At the ATW we strive to improve the sustainability of our handmade process, from using wool grown using environmentally sustainable practices to the repurposing of all the leftover textile material from each tapestry project.

1 DNJ Paper presenting their workshop Creating Paper and Fabric Collages, 2023. Photo: ATW. 2 Participants of the Weaving Play workshop as part of MPavilion, 2023. Photo: ATW. 3 Tim Gresham leading a tour as part of Open House Melbourne, 2023. Photo: ATW.

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ON TRANSLATION: CHRIS COCHIUS When I first started at the Workshop, I was perhaps a little intimidated but very much inspired by weavers with much more experience than me who so seemingly effortlessly achieved such magical results. I wanted to be able to do the same and so I diligently followed their lead, happy in their shadow while I refined my technique and increased my skills. I learned from their many conversations as they discussed interpretation and noticed how each weaver looked at an artwork a little differently, responded in slightly different ways.

Chris Cochius. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

Over the years I have developed my own methodology of seeing and interpreting, learned too how to communicate my intuitive responses in the collaborative setting of the Workshop. At the same time, I have become increasingly interested in how to explain the process of translation to others, people without the experience, without the same language that we take for granted within our fairly exclusive world of production tapestry weaving, how we translate from one medium to the medium of tapestry, from one scale to another, how we discuss our ideas and thoughts fluently amongst ourselves. Where everyone learns differently and has different experiences how can I explain the process of translation as I see it.

Initially and most importantly we look closely at the artwork, an act of attentive seeing that allows us to begin the interpretive process. Sampling gives us a starting point for conversations, the collaborative discussions between weavers and artists that help distil and focus the final translation.

This is coupled with knowledge about the size the tapestry will be, the budget (and time frame for weaving) and perhaps specific knowledge about the site where the tapestry will hang, which influences the amount of detail and the warp set we choose.

These are the mechanics of our process, but how do we actually translate?

For me it is largely intuitive, of making tangible the ‘feel’ of the artwork. Looking and listening to the colour, tone, linework, contrasts, the ‘qualities’ of the artwork, whether it is abstract or realistic, whether it is a watercolour with the transparencies of that medium, whether it is ‘painterly’ full of brushstrokes that create strong movement, whether it is a print with pixels and layers of colour.

Translating is a process of thinking and making decisions, of looking at the details but never losing sight of the whole, of allowing the ‘essence’ to shine without the effort being visible. It involves trust between artist and artist weaver and requires honesty and integrity.

I used to think that the correlation between how musicians play a written piece of music was a close example of our process but while there are some similarities these seem to be more confined to the movement from one medium to another, from visual (the written notes) to aural, although performance creates another and different visual aspect. I accept that this may be simplistic and restricted to my own knowledge of music.

Recently though, I have read two interesting but quite different books 1 that look at how a written work is translated from one language to another, and I have discovered many similarities with the way we work. We often talk about the ‘essence’ of an artwork and trying to capture that, looking at the nuances, the rhythm, the gesture, looking at the artist’s other work, to be true to this, too. Reflecting this, both authors talk about ‘sense for sense’ rather than ‘word for word’ in their translation and about the shape and order of the language.

They write about how they search for the best way to express the writing of another so that the voice is the same, how to put their own voice to one side so that the translation is honest and seamless.

All art is an interpretation, no matter what form or medium it takes – it is all an interpretation of an idea. Something elusive pinned down in tangible form.

Our tapestries are translations of these. ATW 1 ‘This Little Art’ by Kate Briggs ‘Is That a Fish in Your Ear’ by David Bellos

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FAREWELL: ANTONIA After 14 years of distinguished leadership, in 2023 Antonia Syme AM retired from the ATW. Chair Professor Su Baker AM paid tribute to Ms Syme’s enduring contribution.

‘Antonia has been a ground-breaking leader,’ Professor Baker said. ‘The Board is deeply grateful for the big picture vision she has brought to the task of reshaping the ATW over almost a decade and a half. Her legacy is a vibrant, robust and contemporary organisation that is known around Australia and the world for innovation, creativity and excellence.’

Her tenure was marked by a particular focus on working with living artists and in particular Indigenous artists. This has led to significant partnerships, including those with Deborah Cheetham and Short Black Opera, particularly through the Embassy tapestries, and Deborah Cheetham’s Woven Song project.

Ms Syme said ‘The ATW is a unique and vital part of Australia’s cultural fabric that continues to evolve and innovate to meet its times. It has been a true privilege to work with the Workshop’s talented and creative staff and board. I thank them, the ATW’s donors, supporters, and colleagues for sustaining the ATW as a creative force in Australia. I AM proud to be leaving the ATW in great shape and facing a bright future.’ ATW

Antonia Syme AM inspects Catching Breath, 2014, designed by Brook Andrew (Wiradjuri), currently on loan to the Australian High Commission in Singapore. Photo: Paul Jeffers/Fairfax Media ATW Director Antonia Syme AM and Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO with The Royal Harvest, 2021, Naomi Hobson, currently on loan to the Australian Embassy in Indonesia, Jakarta.

Photo: John Gollings AM. AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

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Jennifer Sharpe weaving on The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 2018, designed by Emily Floyd, woven by Jennifer Sharpe, Chris Cochius and Pamela Joyce, wool and cotton, 3 tapestries measuring 2.0 x 1.3m. Photo: Jeremy Weihrauch.

Jennifer Sharpe with Emily Ferretti in front of Planted Together on the loom in Jennifer’s studio.

Photo: Tim Gresham.

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VALE: JENNIFER SHARPE It is with profound sadness and a deep sense of loss that we acknowledge the passing of our dear friend Jen Sharpe. A wonderful weaver and artist, Jen was full of determination, commitment, energy and generosity of spirit. Known for her joy, her laugh and sense of fun, her love of country, family and friends, Jen will be hugely missed, forever remembered.

— The Weaving Team

Jennifer Sharpe first started working at the ATW in 1986, working full time up until 1990 and then returning to the ATW on a project-by-project basis, later completing smaller works remotely from her workshop in Castlemaine.

Jennifer worked on many significant tapestries throughout her time at the ATW including: The Great Hall Tapestry designed

by Arthur Boyd, 1987, Rising Sun designed

by John Olsen AO OBE, 1987, The Family Trust designed by Gareth Sansom, 1990, Perspectives on a Flat Surface designed

by John Wardle, 2016, and Morning Star designed by Lyndell Brown & Charles Green, 2017 among many others.

Jennifer was the lead weaver on The Declaration of the Rights of the Child designed by Emily Floyd, 2018.

From her home studio in Castlemaine, Jennifer wove two sections of Yorta Yorta, Mutti Mutti and Boon Wurrung artist Lee Darroch’s Lyrebird Songline possum skin cloak in 2021; and in 2022 worked with Emily Ferretti to translate Emily’s work Planted Together as part of the Weaving Futures program. ATW

Supported by

THREADS FOR THE FUTURE

The successful Threads for the Future program – supported by the Tapestry Foundation of Australia – continues to grow creative capacity and ensure the continuity of highly trained tapestry talent for the ATW. Encompassing a unique ‘hands on’ training approach Threads for the Future focuses on the development of both technical mastery and the skills required to produce nuanced, high-quality artworks in a collaborative, commercial production environment.

In 2023 the ATW broadened the scope of this training to include a Dye Lab intern.

In September Heather Thomas joined the ATW for a 12-week internship working one-on-one with the ATW master dyer Tony Stefanovski. Throughout the training period Heather has undertaken a broad range of practical training exercises covering colour fastness, pre and post dye treatments for conservation, dye recipes, bespoke colour matching for special projects, chemical handling, and small batch dyeing for tapestry production.

Weaver training in 2023 focused on the consolidation and development of the skills of junior weavers Saffron Gordon and David Pearce through loom based, oneon-one mentoring, peer led learning through collective endeavour, and individual interpretive studies.

Heather Thomas has run her textile studio specialising in natural fibres and the extraction of colour from plants for more than two decades. She brings new opportunities to the ATW through her capacity to offer commercial clients new creative possibilities through sustainable colour production.

Heather received a Churchill Fellowship in 2020 for her research into commercial production of plant dyed fibres and travelled to Japan and North America to investigate the small-scale natural dye industry. She has a degree in the Arts/Indonesian language and an Advanced Diploma of Arts in Studio Textiles (RMIT 2011). Heather was also awarded first place in the Dreamweaver Design Award sponsored by Warwick Fabrics in 2008. She regularly shares her specialist knowledge and expertise through workshops, symposiums, and consultations within the textile industry.

Saffron Gordon is a recent graduate of the ATW Trainee Program, and a recipient of the ATW’s Baillieu Myer AC Scholarship.

Saffron was employed full time as a junior weaver in January 2023 after completing two years of specialised training and has been mentored at the loom by senior weavers during production of the major commission Old Media. During 2023 Saffron has focused on both interpretive and technical skills and she is currently weaving her first solo project for the ATW based on TDPA23 finalist design Fata Morgana by Melbourne based architect Yiling Shen and Yuchen Gao. David Pearce is a recent graduate of the ATW Trainee Program and recipient of the ATW’s Sarah Myer Scholarship. David was employed full time as a junior weaver in January 2023 after completing two years of specialised training. David’s mentoring at the loom continued while weaving major project Old Media, and most recently on Early Morning Rain, designed John Coburn AM. During 2023 David has furthered his interest in project planning while consolidating his technical skills and is currently weaving his first solo project for the ATW based on TDPA23 finalist design Traces by Stockholm based architect and textile designer Malin Parkegren.

Heather Thomas in the ATW Dye Lab, 2023.

Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe

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OUR COMMUNITY FRIENDS AND VOLUNTEERS ATW volunteers contribute hundreds

of hours working on a range of essential tasks, leading guided tours, and working on tasks otherwise not achievable by the staff in the day-today running of the ATW

The Friends of the Australian Tapestry Workshop was established in 1996 to support and promote the ATW. The volunteer Friends Committee facilitate the operations of Friends activities. Becoming a Friend supports the ATW to continue its work as an international centre of excellence for the creation of contemporary tapestries.

1 1 Members of the ATW Friends Committee, Caroline Johnson OAM (Convenor) with Angela Vary and Kerry Biram, 2023. Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

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2 Matthew Collings, Emma Biggs, Sophie Travers, Tim Gresham and Chris Cochius speaking at the Old Media Friends of the ATW event, 2023. Photo: ATW.

YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE FRIENDS’ CRESSIDE COLLETTE

Whenever I have introduced a friend to the ATW they have been transported as they walk through the doors and are met by the atmosphere permeated with the intensity of light and colour, the sweeping proportions of the production floor and the immense dedication and talent of the skilled weavers evident on the looms.

I imagine they have an urge to be connected in some way to the wonder that is the Australian Tapestry Workshop. And if they do go on to become an official ‘Friend’, by making a small subscription each year to support this amazing enterprise, they will be more than rewarded in becoming an active part of the events and opportunities that the ATW offers.

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‘The Friends of the Tapestry Workshop’ was launched in 1996, convened by Fiona Caro, an active Board member and dedicated supporter to this day. It was envisioned as a way that an interested group of people could keep close contact with the progress of the then Victorian Tapestry Workshop and participate in its success, as well as gaining an appreciation of the vibrant art form that is contemporary tapestry.

Programs offered over the years have included talks by artist/designers and weavers that have provided special insights into both private practice and collaborations on important projects. Emerging from the constraints of lockdown, significant events covered the design and production of the Parramatta tapestry, and, most recently, a fascinating afternoon discussion between the British designers of the latest large ATW project Old Media, Matthew Collings and Emma Biggs, and weavers Tim Gresham and Chris Cochius.

The Friends Committee is actively seeking new members of all ages to join our may long-standing members and participate in ATW events and is looking for ways to identify new and interesting events to attract their participation and support. The ATW has always been innovative in its aesthetic choices, Artist in Residence programs and exhibitions, and welcomes ideas for fresh initiatives.

To find out more about the Friends of the ATW program and benefits visit:

www.austapestry.com.au

TRANSFORMING TAPESTRY ANNUAL APPEAL Help us secure, develop and transform the Australian Tapestry Workshop.

Detail of Old Media, 2023 Photo: Marie-Luise Skibbe.

Your fully tax-deductible donation will enable our weavers and trainee dyer to keep making inspired contemporary tapestries in creative partnerships with leading artists and architects and support our exciting artist in residence program.

As Australia’s only dedicated tapestry workshop, we offer a diverse range of enriching public programs and exhibitions.

From bringing new tapestries to our looms, sharing engaging programs and celebrating contemporary textiles – donations provide countless opportunities for weavers, artists and public to discover and enjoy contemporary tapestry.

Our Transforming Tapestry Annual Appeal offers you the opportunity to support our work as an international centre of excellence through a full tax-deductible donation.

HOW TO DONATE ONLINE www.austapestry.com.au

BY PHONE +61 3 9699 7885 Call the ATW during business hours and one of our friendly staff members will assist you.

We can receive donations by cheque or direct deposit. Please contact us on +61 3 9699 7885 or email contact@austapestry.com.au to make arrangements.

Donations to the Australian Tapestry Workshop Fund of $2 and over are tax-deductible.

Want to find out more? Call us on +613 9699 7885 or send an email to:

contact@austapestry.com.au AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

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ROW A 1 Antonia Syme AM Carrillo Gantner AC 2 Hannah Gartside Amy Cornall Sophie Travers Zoë Rodriguez Dr Sue Walker 3 Charles Lai Antonia Syme AM Dr Rebecca Coates 4 John Wardle Cameron Bruhn Jefa Greenaway ROW B 1 Dr Markus Matthews Ty Bukewitsch Ian Fowler 2 Simone Slee Britt Salt Shannon Slee 3 Paul Duboc Misako Nakahira Elaine Chia Katherine Lindsay 4 Caitlin Condon Tara Sydney Justine Anderson ROW C 1 Matthew Lucas Cara Johnson Georgie Brunmayr Sophie Travers Nadia Hernández 2 Sophie Travers Jacinta Reedy Georgia Birks 3 Yuchen Gao Yiling Shen 4 Will Bennie Alessia Latina Dia Le Alison van den Berg Jane Caught Liwen Lian ROW D 1 Katelin Butler Georgia Birks Jefa Greenaway 2 Malin Parkegren David Pearce Pamela Joyce Sara Lindsay Tim Gresham 3 Pro Vice Chancellor Su Baker AM Jefa Greenaway 4 Cr Christina Sirakoff COPP Mayor, Cr Heather Consulo Sophie Travers

A

B

C

D

AT THE 38

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WORKSHOP

PRINCIPAL SUPPORTER

ACCUMULATIVE GIFTS OVER $100,000 — $499,000

AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION ARCHITECTURE MEDIA THE CALVERT-JONES FOUNDATION GINA & TIM FAIRFAX AC CARRILLO GANTNER AC & ZIYIN GANTNER NEILMA GANTNER GEOFF & HELEN HANDBURY FOUNDATION HOTEL & LEISURE MANAGEMENT PTY LTD THE JACK KENNEDY FUND MAJORIE M. KINGSTON CHARITABLE TRUST THE NORMA MAVIS & GRAEME WATERS CHARITABLE TRUST HELEN MCPHERSON SMITH TRUST METAL MANUFACTURES LIMITED THE MYER FOUNDATION THE SARAH & BAILLIEU MYER AC FAMILY FUND THE SIDNEY MYER FUND LADY MARIGOLD SOUTHEY AC TAPESTRY FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA WINDERMERE FOUNDATION LTD THE YULGILBAR FOUNDATION

BAILLIEU MYER AC SCHOLARSHIP & SARAH MYER SCHOLARSHIP

BAILLIEU MYER AC & SARAH MYER

TAPESTRY DESIGN PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTS

ARCHITECTURE MEDIA CREATIVE VICTORIA CITY OF PORT PHILLIP ENVELOPE GROUP METAL MANUFACTURES LIMITED

ARCHITECTURE MEDIA PETER BANCROFT OAM & MARLYN BANCROFT AMY BOYD & STEPHEN REBIKOFF MICHAEL BUTCHER DR FIONA CARO ROBYN & TONY CASS LOUISE GOURLAY AM LESLEY GRIFFIN JOHN HARRISON AM CBE & SUE HARRISON LYNNE HAULTAIN CAROLINE JOHNSTON OAM DEBRA MORGAN DIANA MORGAN AM LISA NEWCOMBE NICOLE NEWTON ROSEMARY & RICHARD RAW LOUISE STINSON

$1,000 — $4,999

BOWNESS FAMILY FOUNDATION JANET CALVERT-JONES AO & JOHN CALVERT-JONES AM ANN COLE MAVOURNEEN COWEN TIM FAIRFAX AC & GINA FAIRFAX AC CARRILLO GANTNER AC & ZIYIN GANTNER MUTUAL TRUST FOUNDATION ALLAN MYERS AC QC & MARIA MYERS AC LYNN RAINBOW-REID AM & JOHN B REID AO

DONORS $5000+

TRANSFORMING TAPESTRY ANNUAL APPEAL

THE TRANSFORMING TRANSFORMING TAPESTRY ANNUAL APPEAL DONOR ROLL ACKNOWLEDGES SUPPORTERS WHO HAVE DONATED $200+ WITHIN THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 — 30 SEPTEMBER 2023

TAPESTRY FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA

ALLENS-LINKLATERS (ARTHUR ROBINSON & HEDDERWICKS) ANNAMILA PTY LTD THE ARANDAY FOUNDATION JOANNE BAEVSKI BESEN FAMILY FOUNDATION BHP BILLITON WILLIAM BOWNESS AO BOWNESS FAMILY FOUNDATION DIANA BROWNE TRUST AMY BOYD & STEPHEN REBIKOFF MICHAEL BUTCHER DR FIONA CARO ROBYN & TONY CASS CHASAM FOUNDATION ANN COLE JOHN & CHRIS COLLINGWOOD MAVOURNEEN COWEN CRA JO CROSBY & CAREY LYON CUA GORDON DARLING FOUNDATION

ACCUMULATIVE SUPPORT $10,000 — $99,000

MAJOR SUPPORT

ACCUMULATIVE SUPPORT $1,000,000 + JANET CALVERT-JONES AO & JOHN CALVERT-JONES AM DAME ELISABETH MURDOCH AC DBE BAILLIEU MYER AC & SARAH MYER

CARRILLO GANTNER AC

THREADS FOR THE FUTURE GRANT

PRINCIPAL BENEFACTOR

PATRON

DEBORAH BURDETT JOHN AND CHRIS COLLINGWOOD P. ANTHONY PRESTON JAN WALLAGE HONORARY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LIZ WILLIAMSON

BEQUEST NOMINATIONS

WILL & DOROTHY BAILEY BEQUEST BEVERLY DEAN IN MEMORY OF RUTH WARREN ESTATE OF DR PHILLIP LAW AC CBE THE ESTATE OF DAME ELISABETH MURDOCH AC DBE ANGUS TRUMBLE IN MEMORY OF HELEN TRUMBLE MEG WARREN IN MEMORY OF RUTH WARREN

BEQUESTS & ESTATES

WE ACKNOWLEDGE WITH GRATITUDE THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE ABOVE IN ACQUIRING THE BUILDING FOR THE ATW IN 1999 THUS PROVIDING A SECURE HOME FOR THIS UNIQUE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTION

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY SUPPORT FUND DAME ELISABETH MURDOCH AC DBE HELEN M SCHUTT TRUST THE IAN POTTER FOUNDATION

BUILDING FUND

OUR DONOR ROLL ACKNOWLEDGES THOSE WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN 2023.

FUNDING PARTNERS

THE AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP ACKNOWLEDGES WITH GRATITUDE THE LONGSTANDING GENEROSITY OF THE TAPESTRY FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA

ALAYNE DAVIES & ALAN DAVIES IN MEMORY OF IRENE DAVIES DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS & TRADE DEUTSCHE BANK TIMOTHY FAIRFAX FOUNDATION FENDER KATSALIDIS PAULA FOX AO JIANGUO PTY LTD REG & LAURA GREGORY LESLEY GRIFFIN HELEN K GROVES MRS G F HAGGER J. ARNOLD HANCOCK OBE AND PAT HANCOCK HERALD & WEEKLY TIMES CAROLINE JOHNSTON OAM JOHN KERR TUTTON CHARITABLE TRUST ROBERT & MEM KIRBY FOUNDATION ESTATE OF THE LATE MISS MARGARET LITTLEDALE TUTTON MACQUARIE BANK MORANDI INVESTMENTS P/L THE HON SUSAN MORGAN ELISABETH MURDOCH TRUST MARTYN MYER AO & LOUISE MYER NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK THE ORLOFF FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST HAZEL PEAT CHARITABLE TRUST PLAYKING FOUNDATION IAN POTTER FOUNDATION THE PRATT FOUNDATION LYNN RAINBOW REID AM & JOHN REID AO RICHARD & ROSEMARY RAW JOHN T REID CHARITABLE TRUST ANNE & MARK ROBERTSON OAM ARTHUR ROBINSON & HEDDERWICKS MARGARET ROSS AM & DR IAN ROSS JEAN ELISABETH RYAN CHARITABLE TRUST BRENDA SHANAHAN CHARITABLE TRUST JENNIFER SHARPE ANTONIA SYME AM UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE TERESA WARDELL TRUST THE HUGH D T WILLIAMSON FOUNDATION PETER WILLIAMS AM & JUDY WILLIAMS ARTBANK BUNJIL PLACE – CITY OF CASEY CRAFT VICTORIA – FOR CRAFT CONTEMPORARY 2023 MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK – PRESENTED BY NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA AND CREATIVE VICTORIA MPAVILION – AN INITIATIVE OF THE NAOMI MILGROM FOUNDATION OPEN HOUSE MELBOURNE

PROGRAM PARTNERS

ELIZABETH VAN HERK

GENERAL VOLUNTEERS

JANE ANNABLE HELEN BAIN STEPHANIE COOTE SUZANE HAYMES GERALDINE SHERIDAN JANE SHERIDAN LEE WALLACE HELEN WASHINGTON ELIZABETH WATSON

BUSY BEES

JAN WALLAGE DOROTHY BENNETT CHRIS CONLIN MARION HARRIS JANET LILLEY ESSIE MARENDY PHILLIP NORRIS

GUIDES

CAROLINE JOHNSTON OAM (CONVENOR) CRESSIDE COLLETTE MONICA CURRO ELIZABETH VAN HERK ANGELA VARY KERRY BIRAM

FRIENDS COMMITTEE

VOLUNTEERS

WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE OUR MOST SINCERE THANKS TO EVERYONE ON OUR HONOUR ROLL. THE ATW COULD NOT HAVE ACHIEVED ALL THAT WE HAVE WITHOUT THE GENEROSITY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNITY OF CLIENTS, DONORS, SUPPORTERS, FRIENDS, AND VOLUNTEERS.

DONATIONS THAT ACCUMULATE TO $10,000 AND OVER ARE ACKNOWLEDGED IN PERPETUITY

54 DONORS

$2 — $199

BARBARA ANDERSON JULIAN BICKERSTETH JANET BOLITHO ROBYN CAMPBELL CHARLOTTE CLEMENS ROSANNE CUNNINGHAM SUZANNE DAVIES FLEUR GIBBS GAYE & BILL GODDARD JENNIFER GOODMAN ELISABETH GUINNESS SUE HARLOW SUE HERRERA RICHARD HILTON DR IRENE IRVINE BECK JOBSON LISA MOLVIG DENISE NERI PAUL & GAY ROSEN GRAEME SINCLAIR ANTONIA SYME AM ROBIN SYME AM & ROSEMARY SYME OAM JAN WALLAGE HADLEY WESTWOOD SUE WESTWOOD ANONYMOUS (2)

$200 — $499

THE J. PERMSEW FOUNDATION THE ORLOFF FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST THE TRUSTEE FOR THE MARMEL FOUNDATION CHRISTINA TURNER ROSLYN WEBSTER ANONYMOUS (1) JANE EDMANSON OAM MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE BARBARA INGLIS BARBARA A JACOB THE HON MARGARET LUSINK AM RALPH & RUTH RENARD JAMES & ANNE SYME NOEL & JENNY TURNBULL HELEN WASHINGTON LYN WILLIAMS AM HONORARY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LIZ WILLIAMSON PATRICIA ZEPPEL OBE ANONYMOUS (4) IN-KIND PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNER

JOHN GOLLINGS PHOTOGRAPHY

AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP