ISLAND WELCOME
8 September – 21 October 2023
Curator | Belinda Newick
Artists | Jane Bowden | Melissa Cameron | Laura Deakin | Bin Dixon-Ward | Sarah Elson | Kath Inglis | Pennie Jagiello | Inari Kiuru | Kelly McDonald | Alice Whish | Sharyn Egan
Island Welcome is a nationally touring group exhibition exploring the use of contemporary jewellery as a gesture of welcome. Curated by Belinda Newick, the exhibition seeks to bring attention to asylum seeker issues and to extend the dialogue beyond art and craft audiences via expressions of Australian values through craft practice.
With reference to welcome garlands gifted in many traditional islander cultures, each artist has made a neckpiece, lei, or garland interpreting the theme of welcome whilst considering current Australian immigration policies. The artists use the narrative and material potential of each distinct garland to encapsulate a complex visual language and to express the emotions felt by the maker during the process.
Craft + Design Canberra’s Humanitix page
If you’re able to be in Canberra to celebrate the opening of Island Welcome, and the other exhibition opening at Craft + Design Canberra on the same night, N’Zassa: Making Things Work, you can snag a ticket to the event here. Having seen the show in Perth last year, I can say it is equally sensitive and beautiful, so I encourage you to check it out.