Basketmakers of Victoria partial contribution to the Reclaim the Void Rag Rug project, 2023
Jan Chamberlain reflects on an organisation that loves working together.
(A message to the reader.)
A week-long basketry gathering called Reeds & Sticks ’86 in Melbourne at the Sheraton Hotel, led to Jean Stone taking contact details from the Victorians. She then organised the venue for the first meeting of Basketmakers of Victoria Inc (BOV) on 16 February 1986 at the Meat Market Craft Centre in North Melbourne.
BOV exhibition Meat Market Craft Centre, 1998
In 1999 an interesting and productive period for BOV came to a very abrupt end when the doors to the now-named Metro Craft market were suddenly locked and all tenants were denied entry. BOV was eventually given access to the building until receivers were called.
Wattle Park is the closest local park to Wendy Golden, a BOV Life Member. Wendy obtained permission to harvest basketry materials there and check plant identification on many occasions from Parks Victoria. Back in 1995 when the group wanted to run a 3-day summer workshop she approached Parks to see if the historic stables next to the Curator’s Cottage could be used. It was a successful workshop in a delightful setting. On behalf of BOV, Wendy put in a submission to lease the cottage and the group continued to use the stables for workshops. By January 2000 we not only held the annual 3-day members’ musters in the park, we also used the stables for general meetings. With some conditions, the key to the cottage was formally handed to the group of 115 members on 24 February 2000.
Membership has now increased to 168 members including 89 metro Melbourne members, 69 regional Victorians, 9 Interstate and one international member who visits Australia every year. Most people join when they come across BOV demonstrating at various events around Victoria, wish to do a workshop or they have a personal connection to a member.
From early on, multi-day gatherings with interstate members were organised with the first at Bordertown, South Australia in September 1987. National Gatherings still occur every two years (pandemics allowing) with the event moving around states and being planned by people/organisations in that state.
Our program of activities revolves around the availability of tutors and offers a variety of basketry techniques and responds to suggestions and proposals from members. When possible, interstate and international tutors are engaged. Informal sharing of skills occurs and more formal workshops such as traditional melon basket making or contemporary takes on established techniques. In April this year, we held a joint activity with Papermakers of Victoria.
After-meeting activities still occur every two months following the member meetings. The topics vary greatly and have included learning an embroidery stitch to cover a large bead, making a St Brigid’s Cross with a variety of materials and learning about different fibres and their use.
Basketmakers of Victoria Retreat 2021
BOV offers other opportunities to mingle with members outside of meetings. These include twice-weekly meetings at the Cottage, volunteering to demonstrate at festivals or selling baskets on behalf of members at markets. Most recently BOV has been represented by members at the Lost Trades Fair in Bendigo, Sovereign Hill Heritage Harvest Weekend in Ballarat, the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo and the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair. Occasional live-in retreats have occurred.
Some memorable projects involving BOV members are: making “bomb baskets” in 2003 for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra; weaving monkey baskets for the Melbourne Zoo; participating in Patrick Dougherty’s Stick Work in Federation Square and working on Reclaim the Void. BOV members contributed over 91 rag rugs for this project which is ‘having a conversation about caring for country, and honouring its custodians, and inviting everyone to be part of that through modest, small-scale acts, that collectively create something special.’
The Biannual Member Exhibitions encourage members to show their creations. The next exhibition is during our 40th anniversary year in 2026. Herring Island in the Yarra River was the home for exhibitions for a few years from 2011. It involved ferrying all the baskets, other innovative artworks and activities for children via the punt and organising an extensive roster. This meant having members on site for weekend afternoons in Melbourne’s changeable summer weather.
Encouraging people to join the Committee is a challenge, but we have many members who contribute informally: baking birthday cakes and other treats, gardening, keeping the Cottage stocked with housekeeping and basketry supplies, curating our gallery, organising our library, treasure room and many other tasks.
Membership of Basketmakers of Victoria offers
- our quarterly magazine Basket Views
- access to basketry materials at member prices
- reduced fees and priority bookings for workshops
- organised gathering days for less accessible plant materials
- opportunities to sell and exhibit work at our gallery, markets and exhibitions
- ongoing skills development
- use of BOV’s comprehensive library of over 400 books, periodicals, DVDs, magazines and basket moulds
- the fellowship and friendship of a unique group of craftspeople in Australia
In a 2019 newsletter, a member wrote of her experience as a new member of BOV. She felt she was warmly welcomed, shown a technique when she admired someone’s earrings, generously offered materials and shown how to prepare them, encouraged to finish a never-ending basket, offered great suggestions for covering up mistakes and given valuable advice when trying to learn techniques via books and DVDs.
Around Victoria, BOV members organise regular meetings at public venues or a member’s home. Groups operate in Geelong, Swifts Creek, Anglesea, Leongatha, Beechworth/Chiltern, Rochester and near Bacchus Marsh. Many of these groups organise their own exhibitions.
Skill and knowledge building is a focus for the group. As experienced basketmakers age and are no longer able to attend group meetings or share skills we need to ensure that we preserve basketmaking skills now and into the future. These skills are becoming increasingly rare and require a concerted effort to keep them alive.
Jan Chamberlain is the President of Basketmakers of Victoria
