Necessity: Waggas and the Art of Making Do
Necessity: Waggas and the Art of Making Do
History
Location
National Wool Museum GeelongStart date
2022-08-07End date
2022-02-13Notes
Due to Covid-19 the exhibition was delayed many times and was delivered as a hybrid onsite/digital product. Exhibition size: 500sqm and digital. Project budget: $75,000. Further information see digital exhibition - https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=WL2Uu1zvqxp&referrer=https://www.lukekeogh.com/ For award winning film for which I was the screenwriter - "The History of Quilts in Four Minutes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGgFsNuvk3EResearch statement
Background Waggas are utilitarian quilts created in Australia out of necessity. They were made from the recycled materials that were available to people at the time – for travellers on the land it might have been flour or wheat bags; for a family it might have been old clothing stitched together. Building off Annette Gero's book "Fabric of Society" (2008) and taking as a starting point NGV's 2017 "Brave New World", this exhibition asked what is the significance of the Australian Wagga quilt and how might we imagine it within the context of the modern maker movement? Contribution As today’s makers foster experimentation, invention and exploration to make and remake the possibilities of production, in what we might label the “contemporary maker movement”, this exhibition took people further back to historical forms of “making” taking the wagga as its focus and exploring other items. Based on the National Wool Museum extensive collection of waggas, one Australia’s largest and most significant collections of public quilts, this exhibition brought new historical insights into the "art of making do". Significance This exhibition was the first exhibition to present Australian Waggas to the public in more than 15 years. The exhibition featured 30 Waggas that had rarely been seen by the public. Taking inspiration from the Wagga quilt, this exhibition presented a range of further creations borne of necessity. The exhibition made a significant contribution to understanding the history of “making do” in Australia. Necessity showed that even in challenging times our designs can be quite extraordinary. In Australia, this art of making do has a long and rich history and this exhibition showcased this often forgotten part of Australian life. In 2022, it won 2 x MAPDAs.Extent
Whole exhibition - lead curator.Recognition, awards & prizes
Winner, Museums Asia Pacific Digital Awards (MAPDA), Level A, Best Virtual Tour or Digital Exhibition. See - https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=WL2Uu1zvqxp&referrer=https://www.lukekeogh.com/ Winner Museums Asia Pacific Digital Awards (MAPDA), Level A, Best Film, including Judges’s Special Award - for “The History of Quilting in Four Minutes” [the film was created and shown as part of the exhibition] MAPDA Award winners listed here - https://www.amaga.org.au/mapda-2022-winners-listEvent
Necessity: Waggas and the Art of Making DoPublisher
National Wool MuseumPlace of publication
GeelongUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedLicence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC