Education Kits

SIXTY The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962-2022

The SIXTY The Journal of Australian Ceramics 60th Anniversary 1962-2022 Education Kit resource is designed for students of all ages and abilities. Themes have been expanded for their relatability. Activities can be adapted to suit a range of different educational environments and are not limited to students studying ceramics.

The Education Kit takes key themes from The JAC publishing story and the work of exhibitors in the SIXTY exhibition and unpacks them via a diverse range of engaging activities. Every artist in this exhibition has featured across the sixty years of The JAC is a storyteller with their own distinctive narratives. The things that inspire them and drive their practices are a consequence of their individual histories, environment and experiences, their relationships with other artists are also part of what informs them.

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Made/Worn: Australian Contemporary Jewellery

Jewellery is an act of art, craft and design that also lives and breathes on the bodies of those who wear it. This ADC On Tour exhibition, curated by Australian Design Centre, includes the work of 22 artists working in contemporary jewellery in Australia today.

The Made / Worn: Australian Contemporary Jewellery education kit is designed for students of all ages and abilities. Selected themes have been expanded and draw on the work of all artists in the exhibition.
Activities can be adapted to suit a range of different educational environments and are not limited to students studying jewellery. This education kit was created by Melinda Young for Australian Design Centre.

Download education kit here. 

Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft \ Prue Venables 

Acclaimed ceramicist Prue Venables is the ninth artist in the Australian Design Centres series Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft. Prue's sculptural artwork possess clarity, luminosity and a quiet beauty.  The exhibition is an ADC On Tour national touring exhibition opening at fourteen locations across Australia from 2019 to 2022.

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Obsessed: Compelled to make

Obsessed: Compelled to make presents the work of 14 artists from across Australia, delving beyond the finished object, beyond the personality of the maker, into the fundamental conceptual framework of their creations. We look at the complexities of their materials and processes, the realities of their day-to-day studio routine and unravel what compels each maker to create over the course of their personal career – Why this technique or material? Why that concept? How does the mind of a maker work?

This education resource presents an overview of each makers practice and their work for the exhibition, discussing some of the ideas, materials and concepts behind the work. 

Download the education kit here. 

Clay Intersections 

This education kit explores the inspiration, influences, techniques and aesthetic concerns behind the work of some of Australia’s leading ceramic artists.

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Object Therapy

Object Therapy is an exhibition and project that explores creative transformation and notions of value and repair. This education resource is designed to support learning outcomes and teaching programs associated with viewing Object Therapy. 

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Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future

What if 3D printing gave you the ability to design your own life? This resource has been developed to support the Year 7-10 Design and Technology syllabus outcomes and can be also adapted for use by Visual Arts and Visual Design teachers. Image: Ryan Pennings.

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Future Nature: The Evolution Will Not Be Televised

Explores possible futures through the eyes of artists, designers and architects inspired by biology and the natural world as they map the collisions of the art, science and design worlds simultaneously. Image: Vincent Buret.

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Cloth: From Seeds to Bloom

Drawing inspiration from the Australian bush, British-born Paterson's stunning fabrics are a riot of colour, floral forms, and patterns which can be found on furniture, lights, and soft furnishings. This resources details the artist's creative process through a corresponding set of videos and activities. Image: Vincent Buret.

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Resolved: Journeys in Australian Design

Bringing to life the stories that a completed product does not reveal, Resolved's education kit explores the inspiration and processes of the twelve contemporary Australian designers. Image: Chris Hardy.

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Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels

This education kit has been developed for primary students and their teachers. It aims to convey the importance of Aboriginal cultural practices; in this case, the craft of shell stringing to make necklaces. this practice relies on a deep understanding and connection with the local environment, and the makers hold intricate knowledge of the shells and their habitat.

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CUSP: Designing into the Next Decade

Twelve Australian designers use design as a way to answer human issues that will affect our lives into the next decade. This resource is suitable for students in stages five and six. Image: Leah Heiss.

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Building Connections

Building Connections is a multi layered resource aimed at supporting the teaching of architecture units as part of the Visual Arts Syllabus stage six. It is divided into three parts – the frames, conceptual framework and practice, and focuses on the connections between architecture and other art forms, investigating ideas and themes through images, text, and art-making activities. Image: Alexis Doyen.

Download part one, part two, and part three of education kits.

Stories in Form

This education resource explores product design by Australian and international designers that reveal the way stories can create a bond between the product and end user. Image: Geoff Boccalatte.

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Hyperclay: Contemporary Ceramics

Hyperclay investigates the field of ceramics by focusing on new attitudes, techniques and technologies that are being embraced by artists in the 21st Century. Image: Paul Wood.

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Now and When

Architects have always been interested in visions of the future. Now And When: Australian Urbanism explores the vision of Australian cities now and in 2050 and beyond. Photographer John Gollings’ stereoscopic photographs and the visualisations by 17 architecture firms are explained. Also included are Future Cities of the Past including the work of Sant Elia and Googie architecture. Image: Jamie Williams.

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In Good Company

Design often calls for creative collaborations with mates, mentors, makers, marketers – a complex network of skilled and passionate individuals. In Good Company is a unique exhibition that draws back the curtain to reveal what happens behind the scenes of Sydney’s creative community.

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Robert Baines: Metal

By researching ancient metal techniques and studying museum collections, influential Australian jeweller and goldsmith, Baines is able to recognise fakes and forgeries. This has informed much of his work and has resulted in pieces that delight audiences with their wry humour and technical brilliance. Image: Robert Baines.

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Liz Williamson:Textiles

Liz Williamson: Textiles tells the story of this influential womens search to understand textile traditions in relation top her own life and interests and then interpret those experiences through her woven cloth and new ideas and forms. 

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Blue

Nine artists explore the colour blue in a variety of media. Their interpretations present audiences with a mixture of traditional themes and innovative ideas. Image: University of Wollongong Creative Arts Students blog.

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Mind And Matter

This education kit aims to explore the concepts around abstract minimalism and how glass artists, architects and sculptors have worked with these ideas. The kit was developed around Mind and Matter, an exhibition of works by eight innovative Australian glass artists who share an interest in the minimalist aesthetic. Image: Robert Little.

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Sustainability + Design

Author Nathan Shedroff puts it simply with, "Don’t do things today that make tomorrow worse." The Sustainability and Design education kit explores issues around the meaning of sustainability and investigates the work of four design studios that have sustainable practices. Image: Marcus Christensen.

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Design Now! 2010

This resource presents a selection of works by nine of the 20 outstanding university graduates across applied arts and design courses nationwide. Find out about their ideas and inspiration. Image: Rhian Birrel.

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Jeff Minchim: Ceramics

Jeff Mincham is one of Australia’s most prominent and influential ceramic artists with a career spanning more than 30 years.

Mincham is an artist in his creative prime and his most recent work showcases the unique results of his passionate research and experimentation with surface textures and firing techniques. With a reputation for monumental vessels, Mincham draws on his connection with and passion for the South Australian countryside where he lives and works. The surfaces of his large elliptical forms reflect his direct experience with the patterns and colours of the landscape – the Coorong, Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills

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Marian Hosking: Jewellery

Marian Hosking’s career as a silversmith spans several decades and throughout it she has translated her passion for the individuality and essence of the Australian landscape into jewellery. Her love of the natural environment started very early – during numerous childhood outings led by her mother, a keen conservationist, ‘in search of wildflowers and diverse ecosystems, along roads that often bogged the car.

Download education kit here.