UNSW Art & Design, in partnership with Australian Design Centre, JamFactory and Design Tasmania, have been awarded an Australian Research Council linkage grant to investigate sustainable design using a transformative repair model. 

The project will generate new knowledge in design-based repair and reuse of consumer products to develop a new community of craft and design practitioners, audience and clientele, in collaboration with leading Australian design and craft organisations.

It responds to the pressing cultural and environmental burden of product obsolescence and consumer waste through innovation in transformative repair – a designed reworking of broken or discarded consumer objects that transforms their aesthetic appeal and cultural value. It applies transition design theory to develop localised progressions of the transformative repair model to foster knowledge exchange between partner organisation while contributing to a sustainable design economy in Australia.

ADC’s CEO Lisa Cahill is looking forward to working with Dr Guy Keulemans, Dr Trent Jansen (UNSW Art & Design), Brian Parkes (JamFactory) and Claire Beale (Design Tasmania) to develop this project.

To read all the grant recipients and projects click here

Watch films about transformative repair projects here

Image:  Guy Keulemans, Archaeologic (detail) ceramic objects repaired with photoluminescent pigmented glue. Courtesy of Guy Keulemans.

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