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Makers make ‘Connections’ with Twin City

Five Design-Nation members will travel to Karlsruhe, Germany in July and exhibit with the long-established GEDOK artist group. DN’s Nottinghamshire regional group were invited to take part in the exhibition to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Nottingham and Karlsruhe’s twinning.

Emerging talent Katie Lowe exhibited at the Eunique Applied Art Fair with a Design-Nation group last year, where her work won the attention of several members of the GEDOK group. Katie is one of three ceramicists, including Debbie Barber and Sarah Burton, who, alongside textile artist Jayne Childs and mixed media artist Laura Mabbutt, form the delegation. They will spend five days as guests of the GEDOK group, networking with and forming relationships with other artists.

Sarah Burton, a studio potter from Radcliffe on Trent, said “I have travelled to Karlsruhe a number of times as part of other cultural exchanges but have never taken my work with me. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand my creative horizons and make connections with other artists and makers.”

Jayne Childs, who makes lace under the name J.C. Middlebrook, has exhibited in Karlsruhe since 2011 and has a successful collaboration with Karlsruhe goldsmith Brigitte Adolph. She said “Design-Nation has been very supportive of my international work, whether directly through grants, marketing support etc, or simply providing the framework for us to make our own opportunities. The DN Nottinghamshire group will host a reciprocal showcase in Nottingham during October, which we will organise ourselves.”

Hayley Banks, DN’s Membership & Programme Manager added “The Nottinghamshire group have put so much work into establishing strong links with artists and designers in Karlsruhe. I’m delighted to see their plans coming to fruition with amazing exhibition opportunities and the possibilities of cultural exchange and collaboration that may result. In 2018 Design-Nation was invited to be the international partner of the Eunique Applied Art Fair and it’s great to see how members have achieved recognition from this. I look forward to seeing how this project develops further and how DN can support future international activity.”

The exhibition will be entitled ‘Connections/Verbindungen’ emphasising the importance of maker networks, and will run from 19 July to 30 August 2019.

More information on GEDOK can be found here: https://www.gedok-karlsruhe.de

Posted on

18.06.2019

Posted by

Clare Edwards

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