The Familiar in the Foreign

12 March to 17 April 2025

Australian Design Centre (ADC) is an independent, not for profit contemporary craft and design organisation based in Sydney on the lands of the Gadigal People. ADC’s role is a nexus between developing excellence and awareness of the creative industries and encouraging community participation and creative fulfilment through making and engaging in craft practices.

In 2024, ADC’s Lisa Cahill and international artist Helen Britton were invited by the Director of Galerie Handwerk in Munich to curate work by Australian artists for an exhibition to be held during Munich Jewellery Week 2025.

The Galerie Handwerk is the cultural institution of the Chamber of Crafts. It is located on Ottostrasse/corner of Max-Joseph-Strasse, in the immediate vicinity of the museums on Königsplatz and the Pinakotheken. As a showcase for Bavarian crafts, the Galerie Handwerk's task is to convey to the public the high-quality and cultural achievements of crafts.

The exhibition, The Familiar in the Foreign, will be held at Galerie Handwerk from 12 March to 17 April 2025.

This opportunity to exhibit Australian artists in Munich, alongside work of artists from New Zealand curated by the Dowse Museum, has enabled ADC to once again focus on what makes Australian work foreign yet familiar in this international context.

Artists were selected for this exhibition from the East and West of Australia. Many of the artists are Indigenous Australians whose ancestors have called this place home for more than 60,000 years. Others have followed a European model of contemporary studio practice with a focus on place and materiality that makes their work unique.

ADC has a long history of exhibiting contemporary jewellery and through these exhibitions has charted the development of a particularly Australian aesthetic. Showing the exceptional craft practice, innovative use of materials, sense of place and sources of inspiration for Australian artists.

Virginia Keft, Carly Takari Dodd, David Doyle, Lisa Waup, Dominic White, Nicole Monks with Jenine Boeree and Yarra Monks, Lucy Simpson and Lola Greeno are all Indigenous artists telling unique stories of their cultural connections to Country. The materials they use in their work are integral to the important statements they make about their responsibilities to Country and tradition in a contemporary world. Responsibility that transfers to the wearers to carry these messages into the world creating understanding and care.

The Australian artists who are not Indigenous (Bic Tieu, Carlier Makigawa, Helen Britton with Justine McKnight, John Parkes, Liam Benson, Melissa Cameron, Oliver Smith, Rox De Luca, Sarah Elson, Zoe Veness) are also variously drawn to issues of caring for the environment, commenting on historical and contemporary social and political issues, material concerns and personal journeys of identity.

All the artists in this exhibition are interested in stories, making work to tell stories about Country, about urban living and about responses to global concerns.