JamFactory brings 40th birthday exhibition to ANU

What happens when some of Australia’s most talented craft and design artists come together for an exhibition? 

A collaborative show featuring exquisite jewellery, functional design pieces and installations.

These pieces and more are on display at the ANU School of Art Gallery as part of Designing Craft/Crafting Design: 40 Years of JamFactory.

JamFactory is a non-profit organisation based in Adelaide that produces handmade glass, jewellery, furniture and ceramics. It was created in the 1973 to honour and support unique skills.

The nationally touring exhibition features artists who have had a significant involvement with JamFactory throughout its 40 years and highlights the important role JamFactory has played in nurturing and promoting contemporary craft and design in Australia.

The fact that JamFactory has thrived all these years shows just how highly people value quality handmade products, says Head of the ANU Glass Workshop Richard Whiteley.

“Since the industrial revolution we’ve lived in a time where objects have been produced en masse by machines. And yet we still have this affinity and this love for the handmade,” says Whiteley.

The artists featured in the exhibition draw attention to the longstanding relationship between the ANU School of Art and JamFactory. Many artists in Designing Craft/Crafting Design are alumni of the School including Tom Moore, Scott Chaseling, Liz Kelly, Lauren Simione and Janice Vitkovsky.

This is particularly the case with Australian glass artists. Most artists in the close-knit Australian glass community have studied and worked either at ANU or at JamFactory – many at both.

Part of the reason so many artists study at both is because of the similarities between the nature of both programs.

“Both the JamFactory and the School of Art have a unique cluster of small studios like glass, ceramics and gold and silver smithing,” says Whiteley. 

“Many art schools in Australia have amalgamated these programs because they’re expensive, time consuming and require one-on-one tuition.

“We’re the only art school in the country to retain this diversity, so a number of our graduates end up going to the JamFactory to continue their specialised studies.”

Continuing on to JamFactory gives School of Art graduates the opportunity to fine-tune their professional practice and build on the skills learnt at ANU. On the other hand, artists who have started their training at JamFactory come to ANU to improve their theoretical knowledge and learn to deepen the way they think through their practice.

If the outcome is beautifully crafted pieces like those in Designing Craft/Crafting Design, we hope this relationship continues for another 40 years and beyond.

Designing Craft/Crafting Design: 40 Years of JamFactory is showing at the ANU School of Art Gallery until 1 November. 

Click on the thumbnails below to see some of the artwork on display.