An exhibition of 13 felt artists will be on show in the FCA Gallery from 14 August to 12 September 2013. Curated by Anita Larkin, the exhibition explores how felt can be used as an insulation material, allowing the transference or interference, of objects, materials, sound, warmth and of spirit.


Feltportation is an exhibition of thirteen contemporary artists who use felt in conceptual artworks, bringing an ancient craft into a modern context. Artists featured in the exhibition are from New Zealand, Iceland, Japan/Ireland, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, and various parts of NSW. The 13 felt artists include Julie Brennan, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Brigitte Haldemann, Bettina Jacoby, Anita Larkin, Mollie Littlejohn, Catherine O’Leary, Jade Pegler, Donna McKinnis, Giselle Penn, Sarah Louise Ricketts, Martien van Zuilen and Leiko Uchiyama.
Currently the making of felt is going through a revival. This is due, in part, to its unique tactile allure and the sensory, quiet, experience of its making. There is a surge of innovation within this craft, and practitioners are finding new ways of making felt forms, combining it with new technologies and skills from other disciplines, as well as bringing felt into an art context.
Felt is a material that has been used in nomadic cultures across the Eurasian steppes for centuries, and has been instrumental in the flow of people across these lands. Feltportation provides a platform for an exchange of ideas about the use of felt as a medium for contemporary artmaking, and it is exciting to see the wide range of works made for this exhibition, they are all testimony to how profoundly felt can speak about our humanity, and the transference of objects, words, sound, and energy between us all, said Anita Larkin, curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be held in conjunction with the 12th Southern Hemisphere Feltmakers Convergence (SHFC) to be held at Stanwell Tops from September 1-6; a biennial event organised by the Illawarra Feltmakers Incorporated. The convergence is a weeklong residential event, featuring lectures, demonstrations and workshops related to feltmaking, attracting artists and feltmakers locally, nationally and internationally. The program of SHFC allows all 150 delegates to attend the exhibition opening on 4 September at 3.00pm where Liz Jeneid will officially open the exhibition.
A full colour catalogue of this exhibition with images and statements included from the 13 artists will be available for purchase.
Where: FCA Gallery, Creative Arts – Building 25, University of Wollongong
When: 14 August – 12 September
Official Opening Event: Building 25 Ampitheatre (adjacent to FCA Gallery) 3.00pm, Wednesday, 4 September. The exhibition will be officially opened by Liz Jeneid