The cultures of six Indian Ocean countries — India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, South Africa and Australia — are coming to WA, through crafts.
The 2024 Indian Ocean Craft Triennial, from August 1 through to October, will give us an international smorgasbord of jewellery, woodwork, ceramics and textiles.
More than that, it will be a genuine cultural confluence.
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At its core is an international exhibition featuring more than 30 artists, but there will also be a three-day international conference, Futuring Craft, providing a platform for artists and craftspeople to exchange ideas and form new collaborations. Experts, academics and practitioners will converge physically and digitally to discuss and debate the shifting landscape of craft, art and culture.
As part of IOTA24, there will be a Statewide satellite festival — a series of about 70 community exhibitions featuring more than 300 local artists and arts organisations in 30 towns and cities from Esperance to Broome.
While national and international artists include Dias Prabu (Indonesia), Pinuka Yai Yai (Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Pitjantjatjara, Australia), Chang Yoong Chia (Malaysia) and Ishan Khosla (India), the venues include Fremantle Arts Centre, John Curtin Gallery, Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, Albany Town Hall and Geraldton Regional Art Gallery.
ART & CRAFT
Is the debate over what constitutes craft and what could be considered art still even valid? Some people think so, with distinctions drawn between form and function and between technique and originality.
Others are happy to use the terms interchangeably and shift the conversation along to the richness and diversity of art/craft as cultural expression.
Not to mention the pure delight taken in enjoying the creativity of one’s fellow human beings — surely a more important topic than ever given the near ubiquity of AI-generated “art”.
For an example of art, craft and delight, take the work of South African-based ceramicist and sculptor Madoda Fani. Drawing on his Xhosa heritage, Fani’s unique style blends traditional southern African ceramics with contemporary techniques. His voluminous, if not voluptuous, large-scale vessels feature smooth surfaces broken up by complex, shell-and-carapace-like organic patterns.
This is Fani’s first visit to Australia, where he’ll exhibit at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery and undertake a residency at Denmark Arts.
