JANE DUNNEWOLD

THE CONCEPT OF ARTCLOTH

We take cloth for granted. It exists for our use and convenience. Elegant fabrics may be generated for use in couture and have existed historically as indications of wealth, luxury and position, but it is the simpler fabrics - rough linens and cottons - that clothed entire populations. In this lecture I explore the roots of the art cloth movement, define processes and artists specializing in the form, and offer my personal thoughts and work for the audience's consideration.

BRETT ALEXANDER

QUEER AS FOLK ART: NEGOTIATING SEXUAL IDENTITY THROUGH TEXTILE CRAFTS

Australian artist Brett Alexander will discuss his own visual arts/ crafts practice and his exploration of gender, textile craft and male homosexuality. He will focus on three textile art installations shown in Australia and internationally that relate to a number of the suggested thematic topics of the Art Textiles Conference.

JILL KINNEAR

DIASPORA: TEXTILES AS PARADOX

Scottish/Australian textile designer Jill Kinnear will talk about the development of her new body of work in digitally printed textiles which, as installation, crosses the boundaries between art and design. Based on her own experience of migratory dislocation, the work presents traditional aspects of her Scottish textile heritage and history as innovative opportunities for the visual expression of diaspora.

Dr BELINDA VON MENGERSEN

IN THE PRESENCE OF SILENCE: CLOTH AND ART

Silence is a relative concept. Cloth, like Silence can be a receptacle. Cloth can absorb record and reflect qualities of time and space, of maker and moment.

This presentation will consider the transformative nature of cloth, new media and techniques within contemporary Fibre-textile practice, look at how closely ideas of 'concept' and 'process' can be linked when working with Fibre-textiles, the presence of cloth and it's unique voice.

VISHNA COLLINS

LACE AS ARCHITECTURE OF THREADS

My presentation will focus on the way cloth can be interpreted in the exhibition context. I will discuss my project for the 2008 XIII International Lace Biennale, Italy. It will focus on inspiration, concept and design process; and the challenges faced when creating art cloth that blurs the boundaries between traditional norms of design practice. My presentation seeks to open up new possibilities of art cloth while at the same time paying homage to its humble past.

ANNIE TREVILLIAN

DESIGN AND PRACTICE

Design and Practice will cover her extensive art practice of textile and paper printing, illustrating her design approach of working between newer technologies and older traditions. The working process of pieces from her solo exhibition Handprint: Design on Fabric and paper. Selected Work 1983-2006 will be discussed.

ILKA WHITE

TWO HEADS: NO BORDERS. History, Mystery and the Land.

This presentation shares recent work and the current concerns of my art textile practice. I find that message, method and material all present starting points for work, and that they influence each other during the creative process. I also share what might happen when you postpone criticism and value your process as much as your product. Much of my recent work responds to extended time in the natural world. Collaborations with a jeweler, a biker, a digital embroiderer and an inflatable manufacturer (among others) have prompted fearful growth and led to a gallant disregard for disciplinary boundaries.

MARIE-THERESE WISNIOWSKI

"NEU KUNST": A CASE STUDY OF POST GRAFFITI ART

There is no "right" way of doing Art. The pathway between inspiration and realization is as varied as artists themselves. This talk will follow a particular pathway that resulted in addressing Graffiti Art issues. It will unfold how an inspiration journeyed through conception, through realization and finally through presentation. Moreover it will focus on why cloth was the art medium used to express these ideas and so expose the underlying cloth techniques that were employed to make this "Neu Kunst" happen.