Jodie Cunningham, Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre CEO and Artistic Director, and Dr Brenda L. Croft, artist and Associate Professor, Indigenous Art History and Curatorship at the Australian National University, will discuss the exhibition, ‘hand/made/held/ground’ and the Made in Australia II series. Join them to learn more about what inspired the creation of the work, the patrilinear and matrilinear stories Croft’s work celebrates, and the meaning and research underpinning the exhibition. 

Croft and Cunningham will delve into their shared personal and professional history in Canberra, particularly its cultural sector and reflect on the significance of ACT Arts Facilities in the development of artists in Canberra. Works in the mixed media installation, ‘hand/made/held/ground’ were created at Canberra Glassworks, with assistance from a number of Canberra artists/artisans, supported by Arts ACT. 

About the speakers 

Brenda L. Croft 

‘hand/made/held/ground’ is a major body of recent work by Brenda L. Croft, a Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra woman whose background also includes Australian/Chinese/English/German/Irish heritage. Croft’s series Made in Australia II, 2018, is part of the CMAG collection. Croft’s multi-disciplinary practice as an academic, artist, curator, educator and researcher spans three and a half decades. Brenda L. Croft is Associate Professor, Indigenous Art History and Curatorship, at the Centre for Art History and Art Theory, School of Art and Design, Australian National University. She feels privileged to live and work on Ngambri, Ngunnawal Country.   

Jodie Cunningham 

Jodie Cunningham is CEO and Artistic Director of Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, one of Australia’s leading creative centres for the development of visual art, craft and design. Cunningham is a highly creative arts leader, visual artist and educator with extensive experience in developing and delivering innovative exhibitions, public programs in museums, galleries and art contexts. Cunningham advocates for the power of creativity, the arts and cultural activity to provide hope to our communities, strengthen our local and national cultural identities, and facilitate social change. 

Image: 
Dr Brenda L Croft with Kurrwa (stone axeheads) (detail) from hand-made/held-ground installation at Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 19 November – 14 December 2019. 
Photographer © James Henry. Image courtesy Brenda L Croft and Niagara Galleries.