Articles - 26 September 2005
on Location: making stories
12th Biennial Conference of the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia
Sydney 27 - 29 January, 2006
Location 1: Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo
Location 2: Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle
Location 3: University of Sydney, Camperdown
12th Biennial Conference website
Rosa Scissa - 2004 (brooch)
basalt, paint, silver (925)
81x85x9mm
Margaret West
on Location: making stories is a broad theme about the place of jewellery and objects in our culture. It aims to address different points along the journey of an object from the maker's imagination to its inception and its placement in the cultural community - through the eyes and words of the various people that make its life possible. These are the practitioners who make the objects, the curators who place them on exhibition, the collectors who gather and wear them and the writers who talk about them. The words "siting, citing, sighting" are taken as guides leading through the various 'locations' of the conference theme.
Alongside the presentations given during the three day conference are a range of exhibitions, national and international, and workshops.
The workshops are an opportunity for conference attendees to engage in a practical exchange with colleagues and to refresh ideas and skills, or develop new ones. It is a chance to slip out of the routine patterns we establish in our making of ideas and objects and try something different.
This time six workshops will be offered, three to be held before the conference and three after, ranging from 2 days duration to an intensive five days. The artists presenting the workshops are experts in their fields and three of them, Ruudt Peters, Rian de Jong and Caroline Gore are involved in the conference as presenters and /or exhibitors.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with these artists, most of who are coming to Australia for the first time.
The workshops are being held in the very well equipped studios of Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle or the Design Centre, Enmore. The conference committee thanks both of these organisations for making their facilities available.
A description of the conference workshops
- Now Emu with Ruudt Peters (the Netherlands)
Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle & Taronga Zoo; 5 days Pre-conference - Transportation with Rian de Jong (the Netherlands)
Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle; 5 days Pre-conference - Cell to Structure facilitated by Sean O'Connell
Venue: Design Centre Enmore; 5 days, Pre-conference - Textile Techniques in Metal with Erika Leitner (Austria)
Design Centre Enmore, 5 days Post-conference - Vessels and Containment with Darlys Ewoldt (USA)
Sydney College of the Arts, 3 days, Post-conference - Where does sculpture end and adornment begin? with Caroline Gore (USA)
Sydney College of the Arts, 2 days, Post-conference
Each workshop has minimum and maximum participant numbers and once registration is opened places can be held with a 50% deposit. The conference website will be carrying more details, including fees over the coming weeks. For further information email jmgaconference2006@pyrmontstudios.org.au.
As well as these workshops in Sydney the Gold and Silversmithing studios of both RMIT, Melbourne and ANU, Canberra will be offering satellite workshops. For more information about these please email Beatrice Schlabowsky - RMIT and Sally Mussett - ANU.
Karin Findeis
Conference Convenor
Email: jmgaconference2006@pyrmontstudios.org.au
Telephone: 02 9351 1072
Conference workshops
