About

Anna Reynolds is a contemporary artist currently focused on projects and ideas that look at sustainable textile as a platform of expression. Resourcefulness, recycling, repurposing, slow production and creative village clusters that predominately promote and support women have become key areas of her creative practice. 

Anna Reynolds graduated in 2019 with a Masters by Research in Visual Art at Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Australia.

 Anna Reynolds has a demonstrated history of creative production with local and international arts and craft through community engagement. Experiences include collaborating to facilitate and tailor creative outcomes through residencies, exhibitions, education, commission and consultation. Her skills include, but are not limited to, analogue and digital photography, adobe software, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, textile, ceramic, jewellery making, puppet making and staging.

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CHURCHILL

UPDATE: 
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. 

2019.....a long long time ago.........I am very pleased to announce that I have have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for 2020 This year 112 people are being awarded Fellowships worth over $3.1 million, funding travel for up to 8 weeks. The Churchill Fellowship recognises new ideas. It is a celebration of expertise, innovation, expanding knowledge and creating new and better ways of addressing issues that matter in Australia right now. Fellowships are awarded to everyday Australians who are passionate about challenging the status quo to create or make a positive impact on our society. During my Churchill Fellowship, I will visit art textile hubs, focusing on sustainable manufacturing and global markets in Europe and the UK. Through exploring textile surface design hubs and creative village clusters I will investigate the growing textile revolution surrounding sustainable economy that promotes innovation for fair trade, slow makers, cyclic production and zero waste advocates. I am also interested in digital rendering and how it is used in textile production and markets. I will visit a diverse range of artists, designers, studios, galleries, museum collections, showrooms, markets, fairs and textile expo's, to gain practical insights and foster potential countertrade and collaborative relationships relative to my creative textile production. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established in 1965 to honour the memory of Sir Winston Churchill and fulfil his wish for people from all walks of life to travel the world to gain new knowledge and share ideas and insights. ​ To find out more visit www.churchilltrust.com.auI am very pleased to announce that I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2020.

 Due to the global pandemic I have postponed my Chuchill proposal until further notice. Hopefully I will activate these plans and travel in 2023.

 Back In 2019, 112 people were awarded Fellowships worth over $3.1 million, funding travel for up to 8 weeks for 2020. 
The Churchill Fellowship recognises new ideas. It is a celebration of expertise, innovation, expanding knowledge and creating new and better ways of addressing issues that matter in Australia right now. Fellowships are awarded to everyday Australians who are passionate about challenging the status quo to create or make a positive impact on our society.

 The idea was to visit art textile hubs, focusing on sustainable manufacturing and global markets in Europe and the UK. Through exploring textile surface design hubs and creative village clusters I will investigate the growing textile revolution surrounding sustainable economy that promotes innovation for fair trade, slow makers, cyclic production and zero waste advocates. I am also interested in digital rendering and how it is used in textile production and markets. I will visit a diverse range of artists, designers, studios, galleries, museum collections, showrooms, markets, fairs and textile expo's, to gain practical insights and foster potential countertrade and collaborative relationships relative to my creative textile production.

 The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established in 1965 to honour the memory of Sir Winston Churchill and fulfil his wish for people from all walks of life to travel the world to gain new knowledge and share ideas and insights.

 To find out more visit 
www.churchilltrust.com.au •  
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LORNE SCULPTURE BIENNALE 2022

MARCH 2022
Uniting Church Hall, Lorne, Victoria, Australia
SPIRIT OF PLACE: A NEW CURATORIAL BLUEPRINT FOR THE LORNE SCULPTURE BIENNALE. 2022 presents the  7th edition of the Lorne Sculpture Biennale, ‘Spirit of Place’, and offers a new curatorial blueprint for the Biennale. Through innovation and visual reference, artistic genesis delves into the fabric of the village – producing works worthy of our entrance into the world of international biennales. – Graeme Wilkie, OAM, Curator, Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2022.

I have been invited to participate and will exhibit three works as part of the Biennale's Small Sculpture Award



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Anna Reynolds, Argonaut, from the metaphor and memory of fishing, 2022, scraps rescued from cloth production, silk, cotton, linen, recycled plastic, screen-print, digital print, natural dye, hand stitching, over wire armature.

STATEMENT 
 Eight arms untangled her, the she-fish who was trapped in toil, in basketry woven to kill. The rescue and saga of a sea creature by another, another who carries her brood chamber in open oceans. Holding tight for the right of the fishers to imagine sea sagas under the glassy reflection of slack water. Low tide and the gravity of the moon and mythical marine poetry become metaphor for celestial navigation of oceanic quests, to freedom, to become free.  

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NATIONAL INDIGENOUS FAHION AWARD 2021

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/
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NATIONAL INDIGENOUS FAHION AWARD 2021

THE 2021 NIFA WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED! 


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

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

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.

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DRAWN from the CDU Art Collection

Sketches, drawings, illustrations and works-on-paper from 1976 to 2021 30 September 2021 – February 26 2022 
Charles Darwin University Gallery, NT

DRAWN presents sketches, drawings, illustrations and works-on-paper acquired by the university since 1980. DRAWN reinforces the importance of drawing as a foundational technique to artistic practice. Eclectic in style, scale and content, the 60 drawings on display – executed in pencil [graphite], crayon, ink, pen, charcoal, pastel, conté and even photocopy toner – affirm the power of the hand-made mark. The exhibition features artworks by 30 Australian and Indonesian artists created between 1976 until 2021. DRAWN from the CDU Art Collection implicitly documents the 40-year history of the Charles Darwin University Art Collection. Many of the drawings displayed in DRAWN were acquired in the early 1980s by the Darwin Community College Art Committee. The committee’s vision was outward-looking as they acquired artworks by emerging interstate artists, many of whom became acclaimed Australian artists. More recently, the mandate of the CDU Art Collection has focused on Territory-based artists, including former staff and alumni of Charles Darwin University, many of whom are represented in DRAWN. Several works by Indonesian artists are also featured in the exhibition, indicative of the increasing focus on acquiring art by South east Asian artists for the CDU Art Collection. These artists have artworks featured in DRAWN: John Beard, Peter Booth, Jon Cattapan, Douglas Chambers, Janenne Eaton, Jacki Fleet, Richard Goodwin and Bärbel Rothhaar, Chris Healey, Winsome Jobling, Jumaadi, Tjilpi Kunmanara Kankapankatja, Tim Maguire, Mandy Martin, Terry Matassoni, Jane Mervin, Rod Moss, Estelle Munkanome, Michael Muruste, Bernard Ollis, Mike Parr, I Wayan Pendet, I Wayan Rajin, Christian Clare Robertson, Karen Rogers, I Gusti Putu Sana, Neridah Stockley, Tisha Tejaya, Tony Tuckson, Phillip Merrdi Wilson and Alison Worsnop.

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Anna Reynolds, the bite of the trigger fish reverse mermaid, 2021, pen and ink on rag paper
From the metaphor and memory of fishing - work in progress

STATEMENT
 I realised, should I have too, I could kill anything, or at least bite down hard, I was a walking cold hearted fish, with no hand to hold the rope, I found it strange that the fishers saw me as seductress       
Anna Reynolds | Contemporary Artist | Darwin, NT

REFUGIA


A refuge from my beginnings in Darwin is a site now known as Garramilla Boulevard.  Once a maze of dusty goat tracks found by climbing under broken wire fences on Tiger Brennan Drive, they were my preferred route to Darwin’s CBD from my muddy beach camp on the edge of the Sadgrove creek. This slow ramble into town was always an adventure. It involved stepping stones across a trickling creek and weaving through old gas tanks, long grass and bush camps.  While rambling tall scrubby bush and the last remnants of creek mangrove I did not imagined the possibility of a future paved and landscaped boulevard.  I did not recognise the potential for a grand gateway to the city streets of Darwin. I thought of it as a wild space and sanctuary unique to the tropical intrigue of Darwin and the Northern Territory. This work speaks to the site after the first bulldozers cleared the creek and mangroves to make way for the boulevard. 

Exhibition curated by Dr Ian Hance Charles Darwin Univesity as part of the Darwin Festival August 2019 located at Casuarina Campus,   Nan Giese Gallery, Northern Editions Gallery and the main CDU Gallery  
























Anna Reynolds, BEFORE GARRAMILLA, BEFORE BARNESON 2019, acrylic and digital print on heavy cotton canvas, give-way sign and heavily embellished hi-vis protest garment. 

 Anna Reynolds 2019
Anna Reynolds | Contemporary Artist | Darwin, NT
Anna Reynolds | Contemporary Artist | Darwin, NT
Anna Reynolds | Contemporary Artist | Darwin, NT

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