Guildhouse was pleased to present the Traditional Craft Skills workshop program, a wonderful opportunity for South Australian artists and community members to connect with craft practitioners from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (notably refugees).
As part of this project, a series of Traditional Craft Skills workshops was taught by traditional craft practitioners, each course offered participants an in-depth opportunity to learn a new skill over several weeks, in areas including basketry, rug weaving, embroidery and beading.
This project was supported by Arts SA, the South Australian School of Art (University of South Australia), Glandore Community Centre (City of Marion), the City of West Torrens, the South West Community Centre and the Box Factory (City of Adelaide).
2010 workshops
Sudanese Beading (5 weeks)
Tutor Abuyo Omot Gilo taught an intricate beading style using traditional geometric patterns and fine beads over objects.
Knotted Rug Weaving (10 weeks)
Ahmad Javid Rashidi taught an in-depth course about the art of Iranian/Afghan pictorial and geometric rug design, using looms and tools made specifically for this workshop.
Bangladeshi (nakshi kantha) quilt embroidery (5 weeks)
Using motifs based on wedding traditions and the everyday stories of village life in Bangladesh, tutors Masuma Akther and Tania Hassan led participants to explore the art of Bangladeshi’s colourful nakshi katha embroidery.
Eritrean basket weaving (9 weeks)
Tutor Milete-Tsega Ogbalidet taught workshop participants to weave a flat plate in the the graphic, colourful designs of Meblee Kursi baskets, using brightly coloured wool around plant fibre.
Colombian mochila bark string bags (5 weeks)
Tutor Lady Narvaez Penoloza led a workshop in the making of a mochila, a vibrant, colourful bark-string bag like those carried by Indigenous women from the mountain regions of Colombia.
Bosnian rug-weaving (10 weeks)
Tutor Razija Beganovic taught participants the traditional patterns of Bosnian rugs on a custom-built loom.