One of the larger touring projects I managed for The National Centre for Craft & Design was “Transplantation: a sense of place and culture”, conceived of and curated by jeweller Norman Cherry and focusing on stories of movement and migration. It featured six UK based and six Australian based makers and toured to 15 venues across both countries. The accompanying catalogue, with essays by Grace Cochrane, Elizabeth Goring and Kevin Murray, is reviewed here on Art Jewelry Forum.
When Norman approached NCCD he had around 5-6 venues interested but the timeline was somewhat indefinite. (As so often happens, dependency on putting funding in place can delay project starts.) It was my challenge to firm up the timetable, research venues and get their commitment (without yet being able to share images of all completed artworks) and manage the installations across England. There was excellent work in this show and while the project took up a lot more time than we originally anticipated it was worthwhile for the relationships built with partners, artists, venues and audiences.
The artists were: Jivan Astfalck (UK/Germany), Roseanne Bartley (Australia/New Zealand), Nicholas Bastin (Australia), Norman Cherry (UK), Lin Cheung (UK), Jack Cunningham (UK/France), Anna Davern (Australia), Joung-Mee Do (Australia/South Korea), Jo Pond (UK), Sheridan Kennedy (Australia), Bridie Lander (UK/Australia), Laura Potter (UK).
Exhibition venues in England: The National Centre for Craft & Design, Sleaford; Bluecoat Design Centre, Liverpool; The Collection, Lincoln; Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey; Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey; Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton.
Exhibition venues in Australia: Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, NSW; Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW; Webb Gallery QCA/Griffith University QLD; Macquarie University Art Gallery, NSW; Craft ACT, Canberra ACT; Craft Victoria, Melbourne, VIC; Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery; Cowra Regional Gallery, WA; Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, WA.
Liz Cooper 