DEC 2022 ... and I am nearly outta here, only a few days left of my darling sweet sticky Darwin with its rain clouds and build-up of impending Christmas cheer emerging in every shop window and marketplace. I have started the countdown, the packing plan, the production plan, the workshop bookings, the accommodation bookings, the personal doubts, the anticipation of adventure, and acknowledging a small knot of fear in the pit of my stomach as I leave my family and home for the duration. Today I have booked an 8-day workshop with the very cool gang at Wabi Sabi, Bagru Rajasthan, where I will investigate natural dying and printing techniques that include wax resist and wood block printing. I spent the last couple of weeks designing a new set of wooden printing blocks that will reinterpret some of my favourite digital prints as handprint. I am watching from afar and with Instagram anticipation as Aman from Indigo-fab transforms many lengths of silky cotton into incredible deep shades of dynamic natural indigo hues in preparation of my visit. I will be based at her home stay and Indigo farm where we will be bouncing and collaborating our way through indigo, scrap and embroidery stitch. The possibilities will soon be a reality..

SEPT 2022 I am please to announce that my Churchill Fellowship research will unofficially begin in December with a flight from Darwin to Denpasar and through to Delhi, India where I will self fund 10 weeks of textile exploration and creation. Beginning with a pilgrim to the incredible Kochi Muziris Biennale in down south Kerela, the Indian leg of the research is complete with collaborative hands on workshops practising resist block printing, dying, sewing with visits to Universities, craft societies, Khadi melas and textile meccas. From Delhi I fly to Berlin dropping a quick 4 day stop over in Helsinki, innovate design capital of the world, why not! Arriving early March, this officially marks the beginning of Churchill Fellowship research. I intend to spend the best part of 4 weeks crisscrossing Germany ( and perhaps futher a field) focusing on what the Green Textile Tours can illuminate for me, I am hoping for complete immersion into the European world of second hand recycled, reclaimed, repurposed and bespoke textile with unique creatives and windows into industrious worlds, no pressure!. I am imagining eccentric arcades and bohemian bazaars, street -wear made from gypsy lace and long black leather jackets. After Berlin, before Scotland a quick trip to Spain to meet a textile pioneer and queen of the sustainable textile realm, an interview and instant love I imagine! Wild Scotland is next, and at the moment I can not divulge too many of the magical and layered details but I can tell you it is a retelling of ancestral stories and legends framed and rewoven with the threads of Churchill love. 2 big city busy weeks of London with more of everything described above, I'm pledging to visit the V&A everyday as well as an experimental print studio, more destinations and details to come... Vintage couture with a dream of Portobello Road and all the fashionistas I'm yet to meet, look out here I come, Vivienne! this of course could all change at the drop of a fragile world event but I'd like to acknowledge my excitement of what is yet to come and to extend warm gratitude to the team running the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and for investment in this learning journey. 

MARCH 2022

This week National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA) 2021 was live-streamed through NITV broadcast with VIP attendance at the Darwin Convention Centre to celebrate the winners across six unique categories. The event was a joyous occasion celebrating the innovation, rich cultural diversity and ethical practices of Australia’s First Nations peoples in fashion and textiles. Members of Darwin Innovation Hub Emma Nesbitt (COO), Kate Loh (Growth Facilitator), and Mimi Kunnikorn (Marketing Assistant) attended the awards night on Tuesday 3rd August 2021 to celebrate this year’s winners. We congratulate the winners of the six categories:

Darwin Innovation Hub sponsored the Community Collaboration Award in recognition of effective and productive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the textile and fashion industry. Winners Anindilyakwa Arts with Dr Aly de Groot and Anna Reynolds took home a $5000 cash prize for the NIFA 2021 Community Collaboration Award. The Anindilyakwa Arts collective, in particular Maicie Lalara and Annabell Amagula, have collaborated with artists and designers Dr Aly de Groot and Anna Reynolds to present their innovative designs at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and Country to Couture since 2017. In 2020, they worked with Shonae Hobson and Bendigo Art Gallery to participate in a curated fashion exhibition, which moved to the National Museum Australia. A number of their unique pieces have been nationally acquired.

AUGUST 6, 2021/BY MEDIAMANAGER TAGS: EMMA NESBITT, KATE LOH

https://darwininnovationhub.com.au/congratulations-winners-of-2021-national-indigenous-fashion-awards-nifa/

Anindilyakwa Arts with Dr Aly de Groot and Anna Reynolds (Groote Eylandt, NT), for the Community Collaboration Award, co-presented by Darwin Innovation Hub

Proudly presented by the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation as part of Indigenous Fashion Projects, the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA) ceremony was hosted on Tuesday evening, 3 August, by Rachel Hocking at the Darwin Convention Centre. The highly anticipated awards were also broadcast live via NITV’s social media channels, providing a platform to connect the Australian and global fashion community to the world’s oldest living culture. The NIFA are supported by the Northern Territory Government via NT Major Events Company, along with a host of industry award sponsors including Australian lifestyle brand, Country Road, RMIT and Darwin Innovation Hub. Celebrating the rich history and diversity of First Nations’ art, design and culture, the NIFA provide industry pathways and actively contribute to the capacity building of the sector. This year, 31 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and fashion designers were nominated, with winners selected from six unique categories.  

from L-R

Representing Anindilyakwa Arts and recieving the award are Shana Wurramara, Anna Reynolds, Aly de Groot, Kate Martin, Danjibana Lalara, Annabel Amagula, Stephanie Durilla, Maicie Lalara, Abbie Von Bertouch, Sasha Lalara

Artists’ work showcases First Nations cultural practice through contemporary textile and art 

Two artists, both graduates and academics from Charles Darwin University (CDU), have won the Community Collaboration Award in the 2021 National Indigenous Fashion Awards. Dr Aly de Groot and Anna Reynolds, two Darwin-based textile artists, collaborated with First Nations artists Maicie Lalara and Annabell Amagula at the Anindilyakwa Arts centre to present innovative designs at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and Country to Couture. They were invited to Groote Eylandt to work with local women at the art centre to share, exchange and spark knowledge and interest in using contemporary textile to showcase culture. With a passion for environmental conservation, Dr de Groot has been using ghost nets, which are discarded fishing nets in the ocean, to create artworks since 2011 such as the jellyfish displays recently featured at the Darwin Festival park this year. The artists’ design work in the Awards features slow fashion with unique hand-made individual pieces using natural fibres and recycled and low-impact textile production. Artists from Anindilyakwa Arts wish to preserve culture in body adornment while living in contemporary Indigenous contexts. Their work reflects ways to protect and sustain natural resources of the Groote Archipelago and feature the Anindilyakwa speakers’ cultural and environmental perspectives. “Through working together, we hope to inspire younger women to learn traditional practices and revive old techniques. We hope for everyone to see the importance of continuing cultural practices through art and fashion,” Dr de Groot said. “The clothes are valuable cultural items and continue to be considered important and worn and celebrated by the community in fashion shows and short films. They are a living memory.” Reynolds said showcasing their work on the runway was an opportunity to celebrate the culture. “Fashion is made to speak to history and culture. The collection that was presented on the runway is amazing. The whole collection is inspired by the Yinukwamba artefact, the original bark dress. Every piece relates to the natural colours, barks and the fashion illustrations that artists drew,” she said. “It’s a historic and significant piece of work, so it’s nice to have it highlighted. It’s also a significant moment for artists on country.” The two artists met during their studies at CDU, where Dr de Groot undertook her PhD studies and Reynolds completed her master’s degree. “Studying at CDU was an invaluable experience and created a strong network of local creatives. One of the best things of studying at University was meeting people who had common interests,” Dr de Groot said. “It’s important to have a strong art school that supports local people, cultural knowledge, community and the creative scene in the Northern Territory.

”https://www.cdu.edu.au/enews/stories/aly-de-groot-anna-reynolds 

image credit-Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 

Artists Annabel Amgula, Maicie Lalara, Aly de Groot and Anna Reynolds are the Community Collaboration Award winners in the 2021 National Indigenous Fashion Awards.