The upcoming Blak Design Matters forum in Melbourne will explore First Nations design with panel discussions on ownership of identity, cultural appropriation and misappropriation more.
Tammy Gilson (Wadawurrung) Darrabarruk mongarrk perk:perk (new echidna quill adornment) 2022.
March 15th, 2023
Asking, “What is Blak Design?” this First Nations-only forum calls on designers from all spheres of the design and artistic world to connect in a culturally safe space.
Bringing together leading First Nations curators, creatives, architects and academics, the Blak Design Matters forum invites renowned practitioners to speculate and imagine, yarn, collaborate and “explore the compelling narratives that First Nation culture holds, how Blak Design has adapted and evolved to find its voice, including the success stories but also the more difficult issues including around cultural appropriation,” says Tom Mosby, CEO of Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) which is presenting the forum.
“First Nation design is not simply about aesthetics, it’s about values and ethics… design sovereignty is the authority and power to draw from our own values and ethics, our own stories and histories, in our own way, by our own hand,” writes Sarah Lynn Rees (Palawa, Plangermaireener) in the KHT 2018 exhibition catalogue, Blak Design Matters: National Survey of Contemporary Indigenous Design.
The forum will include a series of panel discussions and conversations, storytelling, Q&As plus a celebration of Blak Design through food and music at the end of the day. Panel discussions include:
“When I see a work of art or design by one of our people, I see an invitation to join them on a journey. I take myself inside, attempting to unwrap the layers. I want to understand what it is trying to tell me. I want to feel the message it contains,” writes Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin in Blak Design Matters: National Survey of Contemporary Indigenous Design.
“Blak design is critical and integral for remembrance and reflection. This is a showcase of our respect and privilege of being part of the oldest continuous culture in the world, with a wealth of history like no other. This also reinforces the pride we take in where we come from and who we are,” says Aunty Joy.
Speaker details, forum partners and the forum program will be announced shortly. The Blak Design Forum is presented by the Koorie Heritage Trust in partnership with Creative Victoria. Supported by Fed Square.
Koorie Heritage Trust
koorieheritagetrust.com.au
Photography
Fred Kroh
We think you might like this article about University of Queensland’s Arcadian garden of reconciliation.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In the bid to balance the desire to live amongst nature with the modest footprint of today’s homes, designer Victoria Azadinho Bocconi looks for inspiration in the depths of the Amazon jungle.
Explore the radical new organisation strategy which accommodates for the hybrid future of work.
Natural forms meet technological sophistication to produce GH Commercial’s Pattern Perfect® Native Collection of carpets. Step inside the factory to see how local flavours inform the design.
The workplace has changed – and it will continue to evolve. With dynamism at the heart of clients’ requirements, architects and designers at leading practices such as Elenberg Fraser are using and recommending Herman Miller’s OE1 products for the future workplace.
NUDO is the latest furniture and accessories collection from Kelly Wearstler and it’s everything we’ve come to expect and love from the California-based designer.
BSPN has restored Fewings Building’s Queenslander vernacular, recapturing its former glory while bringing it well and truly into the 21st century.
Timothy Alouani-Roby met with Richard Francis-Jones of fjcstudio (formerly fjmtstudio) to discuss his timely, provocative and, quite frankly, necessary book on architecture. In this first part of the book review, we consider the alienation and commodification of the profession, as well as its place in society.
How does Domenic Alvaro oversee a project from start to finish? Timothy Alouani-Roby met with the Woods Bagot director and global design leader to find out why editors make the best architects and architects the best editors.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
This shortlisted residential project channels the story of a house through decades of ownership by the same client. With sensitive touches and an ambitious overall design vision, Annandale Terrace by Sam Crawford Architects is a delightful home.
Once the byword for passé, the arch has returned to favour with force. The cheeky epitome of 70s chic is now championed on a grand scale with both renovations and new builds opting for the arch. Here are 6 outstanding examples.
Timothy Alouani-Roby met with Richard Francis-Jones of fjcstudio (formerly fjmtstudio) to discuss his timely, provocative and, quite frankly, necessary book on architecture. In this first part of the book review, we consider the alienation and commodification of the profession, as well as its place in society.