Media Release

Centenary craft and design competition launched

Minister for the Arts, Joy Burch MLA today launched a competition to design high quality items to be sold as memorabilia for the city’s centenary in 2013.

“Centenary of Canberra – a legacy of good design is asking residents of the Canberra region to design unique, high quality items that recognise and celebrate 100 years of Canberra as Australia’s national capital,” Ms Burch said.

“The winning designs will be produced and sold as a limited range of memorabilia items for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013.

“Craft practitioners and designers within the ACT enjoy a well deserved reputation for excellence in diverse fields such as glass, gold and silver smithing, textiles, furniture making and ceramics. This competition provides the opportunity for a wider audience to appreciate the uniqueness of their skills and to gain new perspectives about 100 years of Canberra through a different lens,” Ms Burch said.

Also speaking at the launch, Centenary of Canberra Creative Director Robyn Archer AO explained that her vision is that the competition “will not only celebrate the contribution and history of craft and design in Canberra and provide opportunities for Canberra’s craft and design practitioners, but also encourage new partnerships between these creative industries and manufactures, with a view to increasing the manufacturing capacity of the Canberra region.”

“Appropriately we are running this competition with the support of the ACT Government’s Business and Industry Development and this launch is taking place at the beginning of the 2011 Business in Focus Month, which is this year themed ‘Canberra the Creative City’.  This support will see huge opportunities for our business community to see innovative ways to improve their businesses.

“The project is administered on behalf of the Centenary of Canberra by Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre, the peak body for craft in the ACT, currently celebrating its 40th anniversary.  Craft ACT is a founding member of the network of Australian Craft and Design Centres (ACDC) and their collaboration with industry in the context of this competition will bring a wealth of experience and extensive local, national and international engagement.

“The outcomes of the competition will extend beyond just the artists and makers, to the businesses which stock the items and the many people, both here in the ACT and nationally, who will purchase them and forever have a beautiful reminder of this important milestone in the history of our unique national capital,” Ms Archer said.

Further information about the Centenary of Canberra – a legacy of good design can be found at www.canberra100.com.au.

Media contact: Ms Katriina Ovchynik, ph: 0434 601 659 or 6207 6517 email: katriina.ovchynik@act.gov.au