Designer, Australian Design Honouree (and ADC Board member), Andrew Simpson has been awarded a 2018 Churchill Fellowship.
Andrew will investigate glass mold making for art, craft and industrial design production in Japan, Mexico, Denmark and Sweden.
"For my 2019 Churchill fellowship, I will be travelling to three continents to study glass production, particularly medium volume production, an area that has been waxing, as Australian studios struggled to keep pace with cheap imports. My research will look at the intersection between mold making, machinery, and labor in the glass studio. If I do my job well the knowledge I gain will benefit Australia’s artists, designers, and glassblowers allowing them to be more competitive and ambitious, and in this way giving back to a community that has given a lot to me." said Andrew Simpson.
ADC’s former Creative Strategy Manager, Jo Higgins has also been awarded a fellowship to investigate different models of youth led engagement in arts organisations in the USA and Canada.
"I’m travelling to North America for eight weeks, visiting visual arts organisations including the Museum of Modern Art, NY; the Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis; and MCA Denver. I’ll be investigating different models of informal and peer-to-peer learning programs for young people 12-25. These kinds of art and museum-based programs, which are similar to the ones I run at MCA Australia, put the ideas and experiences of young people at their centre and they’ve been proven to have significant long-term impact for participants, including improved mental health, increased empathy and creative and critical thinking skills, as well as developing lifelong connections to the arts. But these learnings are not just for the benefit of young people - for the arts sector too, it’s vital we find ways to support and engage this audience because they’re our future makers, designers, artists, curators and ambassadors!" said Jo Higgins.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established in 1965 to give opportunities to everyday Australians to gain new knowledge and share ideas and insights. The 2018 Churchill Fellowships are worth more than $3.1M and fund international travel for up to eight weeks in 2019.
The annual Churchill Fellowships recognise experts seeking to make a positive impact across their professional fields offering once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit other countries to investigate inspiring practice that will benefit Australian communities.
Find out more about Churchill Fellowships here.
Read about Andrew Simpson as part of the Australian Design Honours here.
Return to ADC news here.
Image: courtesy of Andrew Simpson