WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE | Craft & Crisis

We live in uncertain times, pivoting between COVID and impending recession. Our global focus is in flux; our methods of making and communicating are ever-changing; and, our relationship with objects and experiences is shifting. Unsurprisingly, transition offers us the chance to refocus, to cross borders and boundaries in order to discover solutions. In this context, craft innovation has the potential to deliver new economic opportunities in architecture, engineering, manufacturing, health, and the arts. Direct investment, micro-industries, and technological innovation find fertile ground in craft – in those activities that involve skill in making. In recent years, we have witnessed an acceleration in collaborative, digital innovation, bridging the physical, biological, and technological worlds to manifest a transformation in making, often described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In parallel, fusion – the combination of creative, technological and enterprise mindsets – reveals fresh prospects for business and manufacturing. Where once, craft was maligned and undervalued, it now sits poised to manifest growth through innovation across a range of sectors, adding commercial, social, and cultural value in the Australian context. This expert panel will draw upon their professional experience to explore the role craft techniques and traditions play in ensuring our future. Craft & Crisis extends the conversation generated by the New Woman exhibition, Museum of Brisbane, which reveals the art, personal stories and enduring legacies of Brisbane’s most significant and ground-breaking female artists over the past 100 years.