Indian Ocean Craft Triennial

Craft is a universal language that all humanity shares.

It comes from applying thought and skill to a material, resulting in beauty which invites collective appreciation and understanding. The crafted object brings the maker and the observer together in a way that cuts across cultural and socio-political boundaries, time, and geographies, evoking an uncanny sense of connectedness.

In Australia our understanding of the vernacular in craft production is evolving, influenced by the more than 250 living language groups of Australian First Nations’ people and the introduced population who come from all parts of the globe. Each of those groups has an unspoken understanding of their own cultural aesthetics, and spirituality, both of which influence their craft production and audience in this place. The continual coming-together and cross-pollination of these groups makes Australia an exciting arena to explore both traditional and evolving craft practice.

The Indian Ocean region is home to roughly 2.5 billion people (one-third of the world's population) comprising a diversity of origins, cultures, languages and religions. Where languages and dialects abound, languages lost or endangered, and literacy inaccessible, craft communicates where words cannot.

Through stories and conversations, we explored our innate curiosity and the rituals that connect us through the medium of craft and the handmade, at home and across the ocean.