Annual Hancock Fellowship Lecture 2008
SUE LAWTY
Lecture 1 - Finding the Language
Over the last three years Sue Lawty has been working closely with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She will talk about this collaboration, alongside other key influences which have informed her thinking, and the impact these experiences have had on her work in thread, stone, lead and very recently, digital image.
Date: Tuesday May 13, 6.30pm (following opening of exhibition)
Lecture 2: A Singular View
Sue Lawty chooses a personal selection of contemporary textiles and tapestry from Europe and the UK.
Date: Monday May 19, 6.00pm
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Artists' Tapestries from Australia 1976-2005
The authoritative text on the VTW by founding Director Sue Walker is available NOW at the VTW. This lavishly illustrated 284-page book details a journey of discovery in which hundreds of Australian artists worked with enthusiastic and highly trained weavers to breathe new life into an ancient art, making the VTW a focus for contemporary tapestry throughout the world.   Sue will be at the Workshop for a signing between 12-2pm on 22 November.  Click on the link for a mail order form. http://www.victapestry.com.au/workshop_shop.asp  

BIAS BOUND
The exhibition Bias Bound will feature the work of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop weavers alongside that of artists whose work has been interpreted into tapestries at the VTW, and those who have participated in the Workshop's artist-in-residence program since 2006. A range of works will be on show, rich and varied in form and content. Bias Bound will be held across three venues - the VTW Gallery; the Stephen McLaughlan Gallery; and Self Preservation. The three shows will be on simultaneously throughout August and will feature small works by each participating artist. The exhibition will be curated by Stephen Wickham, 2007 artist-in-residence and Sara Lindsay, Studio Manager at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop.
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CAE Tapestry Weaving Classes at the Workshop
Explore the techniques of weaving or further develop your weaving skills with instructor Cheryl Thornton, senior weaver at the VTW. Please contact the CAE on 03 9652 0611 or visit the website www.cae.edu.au for further information or to make a booking.

Friends of the VTW annual lecture
The Annual Mid-Winter Friends of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop Lecture by Susan McCulloch. Monday 28 July 2008 @ 6.00 pm
From Mornington Island to the Mornington Peninsula: 40 Years of Australian Art Writing
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From here to Eternity - a travelling exhibiton
From here to Eternity is a travelling exhibition of 52 tapestries curated by VTW Director Susie Shears that is touring New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia from June 2007. The selection includes stunning examples of contemporary tapestry designed by some of Australia’s leading artists including Angela Brennan, Mike Brown, Jon Cattapan, Alun Leach-Jones, Reg Mombassa, Gareth Sansom and Martin Sharp. The title is drawn from Martin Sharp’s quintessentially Sydney tapestry Eternity, his graphic homage to Arthur Stace.

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Kate Derum 1943 – 2008
In memory of Kate Derum, Studio Manager at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop from 2005 to 2006, the Bias Bound exhibition which is currently on at the VTW Gallery, Stephen McLaughlan Gallery and Self Preservation Gallery has been dedicated to Kate’s memory.  Kate, an artist, friend, inspiration and mentor to all at the VTW will live on in our hearts.

New range of Small Tapestries
For Sale at the VTW
New small tapestries have been woven throughout 2007 and 2008, including exquisite designs by Deborah Klein, Bai Bai Napangati, Peter Atkins, Peggy Jones, Nusra Qureshi and Alf Lohr, all uniquely interpreted and beautifully woven by our very talented in-house artists.   

Our Director moves abroad
After nearly four years at the helm, Director Susie Shears will be leaving the Victorian Tapestry Workshop this month to take up temporary residency with her family in Tuscany, Italy, for a five-month period.  Di Macleod will step into the role of Acting Director commencing 25 August until the end of 2008.
 
 
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Roger Kemp tapestry suite completed
View the completed Roger Kemp tapestry suite, now comprising six tapestries, in the Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria from November 14.

Tours of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop
Comprehensive tours of the Workshop are offered every Wednesday at 11.00am and Thursday at 2.00pm.  Bookings are essential and a $6.00 entry applies.  Please phone 03 9699 7885 or email lfraser@victapestry.com.au

Travelling exhibition continues its journey
From here to Eternity: contemporary tapestries from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop at Hamilton Art Gallery from 16 July 2008 to 24 August 2008
This major travelling exhibition has just returned from a successful showing at Monash University Centre in Prato, Italy and commences at Hamilton Art Gallery on 16 July, 2008. A stunning selection of 15 contemporary tapestries by some of Australia’s leading artists including Angela Brennan, Merrin Eirth, Geoff Ricardo and Gareth Sansom are featured in the exhibition.
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Melbourne Recital Centre
Bentinck Island Artists: Dulka warngiid (Land of all)
Artists: Sally Gabori, Amy Loogatha, Netta Loogatha, May Moodoonuthi, Dawn Naranatjil, Paula Paul and Ethel Thomas
Weavers: Rebecca Moulton, Cheryl Thornton
In Land of all each Bentinck artist is geographically placed across the canvas as an indication of their ancestral storyplaces on their homeland, Bentinck Island. Together they demonstrate a collaborative, developing, uniquely Australian indigenous living art.
The very painterly nature of the brush strokes lends itself to the interpretive process, giving the weavers extensive licence while keeping true to the form of the painting. The weavers are about to embark on interpreting the work of Amy Loogatha, having already completed the sections designed by Netta Loogatha and Ethel Thomas.
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Private Commission - Robert Ingpen: Birds of the Clarence II
Weaver: Caroline Tully
Australian artist Robert Ingpen, who also designed the fabulous Melbourne Cricket Club commemorative tapestry, has a longstanding relationship with the Workshop. This tapestry has been commissioned as a companion piece to one created earlier by the Workshop, titled Birds of the Clarence I. The works were created specifically to highlight some of Australia's engangered native birds and wildlife living in the area of the Clarence River in northern New South Wales.

Queensland Art Gallery
Yvonne Todd: Alice Bayke
Alice Bayke is nearing completion, with an unveiling scheduled for early July. This artwork is one of the most ambitious, accomplished and astonishing tapestries ever produced by the Workshop.
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Tapestry Foundation Commission
Trevor Nickolls: Kimberley under the stars
This tapestry is from an existing painting by Trevor Nickolls, "the father of urban Aboriginal art", titled Kimberley under the stars. This work was painted on an expedition to Warmun, Western Australia, in 2002 to visit Rover Thomas's country, Turkey Creek, after his death in 1998. The tapestry has been commissioned by the Tapestry Foundation of Victoria and will be the fourth tapestry in its Embassy Collection. Kimberley under the stars will be housed in the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, and will be launched there in conjunction with the From here to Eternity exhibition in November 2009.
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Wangaratta Cathedral
Leonie Bessant: Into the light
Approximately half way to completion, this monumental tapestry titled has been commissioned as the major artwork for the Wangaratta Cathedral, timed to coincide with the Cathedral’s centenary in 2008.
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Xavier College
Jon Cattapan: The visitor
This magnificent tapestry, designed by Melbourne-based artist Jon Cattapan and destined for the foyer of Xavier College's new Performing Arts Centre, was completed in late March. It will remain at the VTW until Wednesday 9 July, where it can be viewed in all its glory until it is hung in its new home in mid July.

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