Crumbling Ecologies Opens at Craft
Crumbling Ecologies
@ CRAFT 27th April - 9th June 2012.
Crumbling Ecologies was a project that fundamentally changed the way I approached my arts practice and shifted my awareness on the broader issues impacting the arts industry.
Crumbling Ecologies interrogates the impact of the economic climate on both environmental conservation and arts education in Melbourne. In times of economic crisis both art and conservation funding is cut, raising questions on their value to culture and society. A response to the ongoing threatened closure of many media specific courses across Victoria, the works examine the relevancy of these materials within contemporary arts practice and the impact the loss of educators will have on Melbourne’s artistic culture.
The central work in the exhibition Crumbling Ecology, features thousands of hand made geranium leaves that on closer inspection appear on the brink of crumbling, embodying the story of their makers- the artists directly impacted. Geraniums signify the economic impact on the ecological equilibrium and the importance of preserving craft as a diverse form of contemporary arts practice within Victoria.
The collaborative installation of over 35,000 hand-cast porcelain geraniums has been made by practicing artist and teachers who wish to comment on how the closure of Melbourne’s craft studios will impact their future careers and the status of Australian made, hand crafted ceramics on a national scale. Currently over 100 artists have been involved in the project from Melbourne, Regional Victoria and NSW...
For further information on the Crumbling Ecologies Project please click on the links below:
Works
Individual Texts:
Crumbling Ecologies by Debbie Pryor, Curator CRAFT
Porcelain Persuasions by Miriam McGarry
Collaboration, Continuity, Community by Alicia Renew, Curator MUMA (Monash University Museum of Art)
Crumbling Ecologies exhibition opening at Craft
Crumbling Ecologies exhibition opening at Craft