Craft Australia Advocacy·Communication·Research
Current whereabouts: Home > National Forums > Choosing craft > 2011: Choosing craft - Vicki Halper Speaking Tour
Vicki Halper is a noted curator of American crafts and co-editor of Choosing Craft: The Artist's Viewpoint, a recently published anthology of artists' writings and transcribed interviews. Vicki Halper is visiting Australia from 1 - 21 April 2011.
American curator, writer and historian, Vicki Halper visited Australia in April from 1 - 21 April 2011. Craft Australia brought her to Australia because of her expert knowledge of contemporary craft and visual arts practice. This was the basis of her recent book, Choosing Craft: A History Told by Artists, which describes the influences that have shaped American craft through the writings of the artists.
This view of Australian craft and design is beneficial for Australians as it will bring Australian work to the attention of American audiences. Vicki Halper is a highly regarded curator and writer in North America. She specialises in modern art of the Pacific Northwest and crafts of the United States. She is a former associate curator of modern art at the Seattle Art Museum and recent James Renwick Senior Fellow of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Her understanding of Australian craft and design will have great bearing and influence on Americans and their perceptions of Australian practice.
Craft Australia developed the itinerary for Vicki's visit in collaboration with the network of Australian Craft and Design Centres (ACDC), as well as some of the key tertiary education institutions. The itinerary included NSW, ACT, South Australia and Victoria, taking in the major cities, the major art schools and galleries.
Throughout her tour, Vicki gave talks about Choosing Craft, with a focus on the roles of tradition and innovation within current craft practice. This included her perspectives on the relationships between craft and design in industry and the historical foundations for this way of working.
In addition, Vicki talked about her themes in her lectures and undertook critique sessions with students at the art schools in the universities she visited. The other significant part of the tour was meeting some of the key makers and emerging artists in their studios.
Related links
