Catapult Mentorships

Emerging artist Elyas Alavi will work with established installation artist Khaled Sabsabi to develop his technical and conceptual skills and broaden his visual language.

Acclaimed ceramicist Gerry Wedd will mentor illustrator and ceramicist Fruzsi Kenez in producing large ceramic vessels with nuanced illustration techniques such as cobalt painting and sgraffito in his Port Elliot studio.

Emerging multidisciplinary artist Georgia Button will be working with Adelaide-based artist and educator Nicholas Folland to develop a road map for the next 5 years of her artistic career, pinpointing opportunities that will enable her to fulfil immediate, mid-term and long-term goals as a professional visual artist.

Mid-career ceramicist Gus Clutterbuck is undertaking a mentorship with Mark Valenzuela to evolve his conceptual development and design of large scale ceramic installation works and figurative imagery.

Furniture designer and maker James Howe will be working with prominent Adelaide master maker Gray Hawk to develop his skills in woodworking and furniture production.

Self-taught community artist Karen Carr aims to diversify her practice by working with Rosii Pedler to develop her ceramics skills and eventually combine hand built ceramics into her stone sculptures.

Emerging artist Matthew Moore will be developing his oil painting and portraiture skills with established artist and visual arts lecturer Mary-Jean Richardson.

Monte Masi will be working with Adelaide-based actor, clown and teacher Hew Parham to learn new skills relating to live performance in a contemporary art context, with a focus on contemporary clowning practice and associated techniques.

Ceramicist Sam Gold will undertake a two pronged mentorship to investigate body and surface treatment of clay with established ceramicist Jane Robertson and harvesting local clays with established ceramicist David Pedler.

Emerging Indian-Australian contemporary metal artist Sarra Tzijan will work with mentor jeweller and metalsmith Christian Hall to develop her technical and conceptual skills and establish her production practice.

Kaunra/Ngarrindjeri/Narrunga artist Tony Wilson will be undertaking a mentorship with established artist and Education Officer for Tarnanthi Thomas Readett. Tony will be working to develop and refine his portraiture skills in addition to expanding his professional networks.

Interdisciplinary artist Zoë Brooks will work with multidisciplinary artist Liam Benson to gain deeper understanding of best practice working with community in a contemporary arts practice.

Building on her existing practice of printmaking in the expanded field, Chris De Rosa worked with mentor Trent Walker (Negative Press studio) to develop both technical and conceptual skills while investigating the art of the artist book.

Scottish glass artist Katharine Coleman will work with mentee Kristel Britcher at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, developing and refining skills in the lesser known technique of copper wheel engraving, cementing Britcher’s own skills as one of the few artists in Australia utilizing the technique within contemporary landscape.

Expanding her environmentalist realist painting arts practice, Brooke Walker visited Melbourne to learn under mentor and established street artist ‘Rone’. Through experience in scaling up, new materials and project management Brooke was trained in best practice to take her works exploring human and animal relationships to new audiences and enrich public spaces.

Through conversation and time spent on Lot 50-Kanyanyapilla, Dr Maarten Daudeij informed his writing and community practice around the rights and responsibilities of artists working on unceded land, with leading thinkers and activists Dr Gavin Malone and Karl Winda Telfer.

Broadening her practice to encompass more experimental forms and modes of making, jeweler Leonie with mentor Catherine Truman not only extended her practice but examined the ergonomic aspects of her practice for a sustainable career.

With internationally recognized NSW based enameller Barbara Ryman, jeweler Regine Schwarzer revisited her skills in traditional and Japanese enameling techniques, expanding her practice and allowing conceptual and technical growth.

Emerging kiln formed glass artist Rita Kellaway will work with internationally recognized glass artist Lisa Cahill to develop her business strategies, further technical skills and build a strong and supportive national network.

Extending the material and technical diversity of this sculptural work, Tom developed his gallery networks and art in public spaces strategies with experienced artist and gallerist Jason Waterhouse.

Working with an established artist with whom he has a shared set of ideas, James Dodd was mentored by Cameron Robbins, sharing industry and technical knowledge pertinent to the specific ways of making and presenting within their field.

Emerging artist Anna Dowling is a descendant of the Badimia people of the Yamatji region in Western Australia. She will be working with Sydney-based established artist Deborah Kelly to develop a series of political works that explore the impact of genetics and DNA testing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

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Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri artist Christina Gollan will be working with renowned ceramicist Kirsten Coelho (SA) to hone her skills in a dedicated ceramics studio. She aims to develop her use of colour and expand her practice to include large works and sculpture.

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Wangary-based Ngarrindjeri painter and activist Sandra Saunders worked with mentor film maker, writer and painter Dr Jess Wallace to further develop her painting practice. The artists travelled from the Gove Peninsula to Eyre Peninsula in order to extend Sandra’s technical skills, while also chronicling Sandra’s development and activism in a documentary that will accompany the exhibition pieces.

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Adelaide-based Ngarrindjeri painter and illustrator Damien Shen travelled with mentor Glenn Iseger-Pilkington to Canberra and Sydney to research representations of indigenous identity and power in national collections. Through critical discourse with curators, artists and his mentor, Damien developed a new body of work relating directly to his Aboriginal and Chinese heritage and his young children.

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