NEWS • BRIDGET KENNEDY

Playing Catchup – Choice Mate participant books now available online

22/03/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

Create your own commitment rings together – a beautiful symbol of your partnership

14/03/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

Design and make your commitment and wedding rings together in this one day workshop. Available at two locations, in North Sydney and the beautiful Blue Mountains.

Create memories together under the guidance of a professional teacher.

During this hands-on learning experience, suitable for absolute beginners, you’ll create your rings out of recycled sterling silver. We’ll guide you step by step through the process, sawing, filing, soldering and polishing, ensuring your rings are of the highest professional quality. The silver ring may, of course, be your wedding ring or you may prefer to have it cast in any colour or carat of gold or platinum. Should you opt for this, your rings will take a further two weeks to produce.

The workshop includes all materials for the silver rings, coffee and cake on arrival, and a light lunch. And of course, at the end of the day, you leave with your unique, sterling silver rings and the memory of having created them together—a beautiful symbol of your partnership.

We also offer a shorter 2.5-hour workshop held over two consecutive weeks where you can carve your ring out of wax and have it cast directly into silver or the gold alloy of your choice.

Please get in touch for more information and to arrange your special day.

I’m using the power of Art to raise $1000 for OzHarvest!

13/03/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

As some of you may know, I have this ongoing artwork ‘A Year of Time (1:30) (if you don’t, you can read a bit more about it here and follow the exchanges taking place on instagram)…..anyway, as part of the project there’s been a lovely development which I thought some of you might be interested in participating in.
In the last hectic days of 2017, a lovely lady took a fancy to my art project, selected one of the vessels (which took 8 hours and 11 minutes to make) and said she would sing for me! I absolutely loved the idea and thought it wonderful and slightly crazy (maybe also because I can’t sing to save myself) – but singing for 8 hours seemed slightly insane, so instead we cut down the exchange by bringing her partner along to play his guitar at the same time – so that will make it 4 hours and5.5minutes! They have a band called ‘my sauce good’ and you can check them out on YouTube.

But then, how to make it happen? As you know, I have a contemporary jewellery art gallery and thought maybe they could sing at a gallery opening. Or maybe they could come along and do it as a special gallery event. But then I thought, let’s do a fund raiser! And let’s do it for one of my favourite charities Oz Harvest, because being a permaculture lover, wasting food just drives me INSANE when it can be made good use of!

I’m holding the event in my garden in Lane Cove on Sunday 8^th April 5:30-8:30pm, and I have another ‘Year of Timer’ exchanging time cooking some yummy food for everyone to eat. I’d love to have you be a part of this blossoming of ‘A Year of Time’.

It costs $25 per person to come and listen to Laura sing and I’ll throw in some wine for a complimentary drink on arrival. 100% of all proceeds go directly to OzHarvest! Please reserve a booking online but you’ll need to also donate $25 to OzHarvest by clicking here to fully secure a space to the event. I realise it’s a bit messy doing it this way, but it ensures that OzHarvest will get the full $25 tax-deductible donation (with no fees taken out). And you’ll have peace of mind that I’m not spending the proceeds on art supplies! 🙂

We can only fit 30 people so book quickly if you and your friends would like to come along!

If you can’t make it, or miss out but just love the idea of this project and would like to contribute and be a part of it in another way, please donate anyway. I’m sure OzHarvest would really appreciate your support. EVERY DOLLAR donated provides two meals to a homeless person. My goal is to raise $1000.
AND as a bonus, anyone who makes a donation (whether or not they attend) will be acknowledged as a contributor to ‘A Year of Time 1:30’ and their name will be included in the exhibition of exchanges that have taken place throughout the year….AND you’d be making the ‘Year of Time’ art project an even bigger success!

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any inquiries.

I’m sooo looking forward to this. Here’s to the power of creativity!

Bridget

Playing Catch up – All the ‘Choice Mate’ participant art books are now online

09/03/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

It’s hard to believe that the end of the first quarter of the year is in site.

I’ve been busy playing catch up and tying up the loose ends of a few projects that took place in 2017 (and even earlier!)

choice-mate-sculpture-the-lost-ones-gallery

Choice Mate – Site 6. The Lost Ones Gallery, VIC, 2017

The uploading of all the current ‘books on the shelf’ from the participatory art work ‘Choice Mate’ is now finally complete! So now those of you who’ve contributed can check out your entry online and see what other pics people took….and their responses to the project.

There’s some really funny comments, serious comments, concerned commentary on the environment, pictures of ‘rocks’ that went on journeys, more pictures of people who cut up their rocks….and some that tried to join them back together again….

You can also now buy your own ‘souvenir’ of the project by purchasing your own ‘book on the shelf’ with your rock or comment in it. You just need to pop over to the Blurb website by clicking these links….they’ve made it really easy for you…..and it would make a great gift for the person who has everything! 😉

Site 1 – Airspace Projects, Marrickville, NSW
Site 2 – SCA, Rozelle, NSW
Site 3 – Depot II gallery, Waterloo, NSW
Site 4 – The Incinerator Gallery, VIC
Site 5 – The Coal Loader, Waverton, NSW
Site 6 – The Lost Ones Gallery, Ballarat, VIC

Here’s to a 2018 full of creativity!

BK
x

We’re pleased to launch our 2018 exhibition program with ‘Sanguine’ and ‘Red – it’s not just a colour’

12/02/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

Welcome back!

After an amazing and inspirational kayaking trip to Southern Raja Ampat off the West Papuan Coast, I’m looking forward to the year ahead! We kick it off with our first exhibitions ‘Sanguine’ and ‘Red – it’s not just a colour’ opening on 1st March, as well as a free pop-up jewellery making workshop, all part of THE RED PROJECT, a North Sydney Council Arts & Cultural event exhibiting artworks by 74 artists at 6 venues throughout the month of March, in celebration of creative women in North Sydney and International Women’s Day.

There’s also been an exciting new development with my ‘A Year of Time 1:30’ installation….stay tuned for details. The exhibition is on display in the gallery until 24th Feb, so there’s still a chance for you to participate. I’m looking forward to sharing 2018 with you!

Sanguine
1 – 24 March 2018

Opening drinks and artist talks Thursday 1st March 6-8pm.

Anita Larkin, Jenny Pollak & Margarita Sampson are three mid-career artists working in new media, found object & textiles; with work represented in major prizes and collections across Australia. In this exhibition they present new bodies of work responding to the idea of the ‘Sanguine’. Anchored in the body, their work is thoughtful, incisive and transcendent.

image:Jenny Pollak Bloodlines, 2016

RED – it’s not just a colour

1 – 24 March 2018

A group collection of red inspired jewellery by female Project Space artists.

GOING, GOING, GONE

Your last chance to view and partipicate in ‘A Year Of Time 1:30’ is Saturday 24th Feb. The installation explores notions of value and exchange and invites the viewer to ‘purchase’ an individual object by exchanging either the equivalent amount of time or in monetary currency, the number of minutes that the buyer considers that time is worth.
image: Michael’s hands with 263:7890 after exchanging 4:23min of time

NEW IN GALLERY

We welcome Inari Kiuru as a new gallery artist. Inari is a Finnish-born, Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist. She interprets seasonal changes and lightscapes within urban environments, working with experimental and traditionally industrial materials such as concrete, glass and steel. Impeccably made, with a beautiful sensitivity to material and process, there’s a certain poetry to these very collectible enamel pieces.
image: ‘Night falls over Brunswick’, pendant, 2017, enamel, glass, 9ct gold, blackened 925 silver chain, copper $480.

Love is in the air! Yes, Valentines Day is almost here and while we all deserve a special gift on occasions (and you can find heaps of very special ones at the gallery), I wanted to share a gift which doesn’t cost the earth…and that’s to ask your partner something new… like ‘what’s the most interesting conversation you’ve had recently?’ or ‘which talents do you wish you had?’ Another romantic idea could be to make your own wedding rings together. We have two locations available, North Sydney or the stunning Blue Mountains.Get in touch for details. Here’s to love!
See you soon.

x
ps. The best way to stay in the loop with all the latest goodies in the projectspace is to follow on Instagram.

Time out in Southern Raja Ampat, West Papua

12/02/2018 by Bridget Kennedy

The live aboard cockatoo.

It took 3 planes, an overnight visit in a dodgy Indonesian airport hotel, and a 13 hour boat trip, but the southern area of Raja Ampat was worth the hike to get there! Whilst the easier to access parts of Raja Ampat are showing early signs of a yet another remote paradise soon to be taken over by the tourist dollar, the remoteness of the south is providing fabulous protection from the inevitable decline that happens when masses of tourists move into an area.

my outside work space with the perfect view!

The archipelago is thought to contain the richest marine biodiversity on our planet. Positioned between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the meeting of four tectonic plates, has contributed to this diversity. The reefs are also relatively resistant to coral bleaching and disease.

The marine life and landscapes we kayaked around for 10 days were mind boggling, crystal clear, blue water, calm, protected lagoons, massive limestone, weather-worn rocks, carnivorous plants, wild seas and currents, sea turtles, reef sharks, too many fish to name….One of the highlights was swimming through a dark and majestic limestone cave with just our head torch (think Jenolan caves without the kitsch coloured lighting)….I did hear later that salt water crocodiles had previously been spotted in the cave…that could have made for an interesting full stop to my mortal existance!

Sadly, even in this remote and beautiful part of the planet is being inundated with plastic brought in by the currents. On most of our kayak day trips, we collected plastic to be brought back to the ship. This would then be returned to the local recycling plant that had been setup. The Misool Foundation is a great organisation which is doing it’s bit to help keep the reefs clean. The trip was inspiring and left me with lots of food for thought…. as well as a few ‘plastic souvenirs’ which I’ll be using to make work for an upcoming group exhibition opening 5th July 2018. ‘Sea Shape reflects on our relationship with the sea. Artists will work with discarded plastics and marine debris in response to the changing shape of our seas, and the way we live in our urban environments.

: View from the top of our walk. That’s our tender downt he bottom

: white sands

: our live-aboard boat

: Limestone rocks, ringed with shelf reefs get eaten away with time, leaving interesting undercuts

: plastic detritus washed in by the currents

: clear waters

: Local village – Misool

: loading ice onto local fishing boats

: local kids

: local goats at the village we visited

Thank you! What a year.

11/12/2017 by Bridget Kennedy

Thank you to everyone who came to the opening of my installation ‘A Year of Time’ and the group show that I co-ordinated ‘It’s been 10 years’. What a fabulous exclamation mark to put to the end of a jam packed year. The shows are on until the 23rd December so there’s still time to come by and swap ‘some time’ for part of the installation.

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: view from window

: installation view 1

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: view from window

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: Opening night

: view from window

: installation – a year of time

: installation – a year of time

: detail – a year of time

: detail of log – a year of time

: detail of log – a year of time

: detail of log – a year of time

: detail of log – a year of time

: details of silver disc logging time

Craft up Late and Panel Discussion

03/10/2017 by Bridget Kennedy

I will be speaking at an upcoming event as part of the inaugural Sydney Craft Week – Craft Up Late and Panel Discussion
The Australian Design Centre will be open until 8pm on Wednesday 11 October as part of Sydney Craft Week’s Craft Up Late program. Come to the gallery, where you can see the exhibitions on show, have a drink and listen to the panel discussion: Sydney – A City on the Make, presented by Garland magazine and Australian Design Centre. Speakers include Kevin Murray from Garland who will moderate the panel, Sydney jeweller Bridget Kennedy from Studio 20/17 and Nadeena Dixon, a Wiradjuri/Yuin/Dharug Sydney-based textile artist.
When: Wednesday 11 October, 6-8pm
Where: Australian Design Centre
Free event, booking required.

You do make a difference!

05/09/2017 by Bridget Kennedy

With the recent sad news of the closure at the end of this year of the jewellery department at M.I.T Auckland, it seems timely to emphasise the importance of supporting our local Australian and New Zealand artists and creative arts scene. Despite a 50 year strong history and a plethora of accomplished graduates, M.I.T. was deemed not profitable enough to continue. Similarly in Australia, in recent years the contemporary jewellery community has been devastated with galleries and education facilities closing down or drastically downsizing. This makes it more vital than ever before to support our local makers and indeed our local supply companies. As makers, it’s tempting to buy supplies overseas for a ‘cheaper’ price but we do pay an ultimate cost. The money spent stays overseas and our local suppliers eventually go out of business taking with them the expertise that can only be imparted through local interaction and conversation. The same can be said for us as art/craft consumers, and as gallerists. While overseas artists might appear to add a certain cache to a gallery, if we don’t make it a priority to support our local makers, either through sheer hard work and promotion, or by putting our dollar where it counts, the end result will be a huge loss of creativity on our local shores and the demise of our cultural originality.

Australian and New Zealand makers have a unique perspective and it is imperative that we foster this expression. Encouragingly, a new initiative has this aim at The Australian Design Centre under the helm of the formidable Lisa Cahill. ADC is at the forefront of re-establishing support and generating enthusiasm for contemporary crafts in NSW with the establishment of an annual Sydney Craft Week, the inaugural event being on 6-15 October, 2017. I encourage you to get out and about during this time to see what wonderful creativity exists in our gorgeous city. I’ve been invited to speak on a panel about Sydney’s craft culture on Wed 11^th October. If you’d like to continue the conversation please join me at ADC.

I’m proud to say that Studio 20/17 Project Space is the only contemporary jewellery gallery in Sydney choosing to focus solely on representing and supporting Australian and New Zealand contemporary jewellery artists in both a retail and exhibition environment.

You DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE to this world. Remember, the choice you make for every dollar you spend or every task in which you invest time and energy is a vote for the type of world you want.
Choose to support your local artist over the alternatives and keep creativity alive in our region. – Bridget x.

Upcoming Pop-up Jewellery Repair Cafe – 27th July

14/07/2017 by Bridget Kennedy

Our next pop-up Repair Cafe is on soon! Bring along a broken item of costume jewellery and with the help of volunteers from the Repair Cafe Sydney North, we’ll repair it together at the free pop-up Jewellery Repair Cafe at Studio 20/17 Project Space, 53 Ridge Street, North Sydney.

You’ll have the opportunity to gain skills and knowledge to make simple repairs yourself whilst being guided through the process. Please note that not all items may be able to be fixed. It’s an ongoing learning process. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, or lend a hand with someone else’s repair job.

Spaces are limited. Time – 2:30 – 4pm. Book Thursday 27th July 2017

If you can’t make it to this one, there’s always our regular Repair Cafe Sydney North event, on the 1st and 2nd Sundays of the month where items such as clothing, jewellery, furniture, shoes & small appliances are repaired for free and kept out of landfill with the help of volunteers.