Craft / Regenerate: Artists-in-Residence Exhibition, Michelle England, Lynne Flemons and Emma Rani Hodges. At Craft + Design Canberra until May 31. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.

The Craft + Design Canberra artists-in-residence program, run in collaboration with ACT Parks and Conservation Program, has been in operation for nearly 20 years, with 42 artists participating.

The program provides time to think, to experiment, to play, to contemplate and most importantly – to create.

In addition to being out in Namadgi for three weeks, recipients are given an opportunity to research one of the collecting institutions based in Canberra. In 2024, it was ACT Historic Places.

In 2024 they spent three weeks at the Gudgenby Ready-Cut Cottage in Namadgi National Park, exploring the theme of “Regenerate”, the theme of the 2024 Craft + Design Festival.

Artists provide different understandings of our histories and experiences. They can open our eyes to different interpretations and question our preconceived ideas and opinions.

Three different cultural properties were explored: Mugga Mugga – a small, stone cottage built for the head shepherd of Duntroon in the 1830s, Lanyon established in the period 1834 to 1848 as a self-sufficient property. It was purchased in 1849 by the Cunninghams, who built a new homestead, and who are described as “comfortable without being affluent”. The third property is Calthorpe’s House, built in 1927 and located on Mugga Way. Original furnishings, household appliances and photos reflect the fashionable ideal of style and taste in the middle-class Australian home of its time. It is described as a “treasure-house” of domestic history.

Each of the three artists has selected different aspects of the properties, and their time at Gudgenby. Michelle England is showing embroidered panels that are hung on pieces of found wire. Each reflects a different property. In Calthorpe’s House she found wire glove dryers (after washing, kid gloves, worn whenever Mrs Calthorpe went out, were coaxed on to the hangers to dry to help to keep the shape of the gloves). Electricity featured in the home and washing machines were new household appliances.

Lynne Flemons is showing a range of wall-based paper works based on her explorations of Lanyon and Gudgenby, including watercolours, mixed media works on paper, cyanotypes and screen prints. She includes an installation of found objects found at Gudgenby, referring to a dried plant arrangement seen at Calthorpe’s House. Her work refers to the theme, and the re-use attitude she saw at Mugga Mugga.

Emma Rani Hodges researched introduced plant species present on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country. Particularly attracted to the dog rose, or briar rose, or dog briar – valued in Europe as ornamental and beautiful, but completely out of place in the Gudgenby Valley – Hodges collected nearly 10 kilograms of the rosehips. Dog rose seeds have properties that stop seeds of other species from germinating. By threading the seeds on to scraps of foreign materials left behind on the Gudgenby landscape, two-dimensional Thai spirit houses were created that examine social boundaries and feelings of “otherness”.

This exhibition shows the extraordinary benefits of the artist-in-residence program. The impact on the participating artists might not be seen in their work for many months. Each started with a different perspective and took a different approach. In addition, they each learned from the others. It is impossible to quantify the value of this program, particularly on younger or emerging artists.