Artist Opportunities
Design Fringe: First Nations Commission
We congratulate leading First Nations artist Nicole Monks who was recently announced as the recipient of the Design Fringe: First Nations Commission. Monks is a multidisciplinary artist of Yamaji Wajarri, Dutch and English heritage. She is an award-winning design practitioner with a conceptual approach to her creative practice that involves furniture and objects, textiles, video, installation and performance. Through these modalities, Monks explores her Aboriginal culture and heritage and cross-cultural identity. She draws inspiration from Aboriginal philosophies of sustainability, innovation and collaboration. For this commission, Monks will create a large-scale installation of her winning work birli nganmanha (eating together), which will include crockery and cutlery made from natural materials found on Yamaji Country: grass tree resin, kangaroo teeth and skatt, driftwood, river reed, shell, acacia, and charcoal and echidna quill (wiradjuri), and will be presented as a floor-based artwork on red and white sand and charcoal.
‘Whilst on Country, I have been considering the complex stories behind these traditional materials that were transformed into everyday cultural belongings over such a long time. These natural materials connect us to nature and each other; the rituals surrounding their manufacturing; the collecting and foraging; the seasonal relocation to particular regions of home; the cultural burns; the grinding; and learning and knowledge transfer in the creation of a thriving lifestyle and connected community,’ Monks shares. birli nganmanha (eating together) will form the centrepiece for the ‘Design Fringe’ exhibition at Linden New Art in St Kilda from 4 September to 21 November, as part of Melbourne Fringe. lindenarts.org melbournefringe.com.au
DESIGN Canberra Festival designer-in-residence
We also applaud the 2021 DESIGN Canberra Festival designer-in-residence recipient, Scottish-born Canberra-based sculptor and educator Lucy Irvine. During the residency, Irvine will create a new sculptural work that will respond to
