Gene Pijanowski demonstrates mokume at JMGA Conference Workshop in 1986; Photographer Unknown; source: Lemel (February 1986)
Tineke Van der Eecken & Jacquie Sprogoe recount the birth of Jewellers & Metalsmiths Group of Australia (WA) and how it is leading the push to revive a national jewellery platform.
(A message to the reader.)
Beginnings
A desire for more communication between colleges and jewellers nationally is what brought representatives from around Australia together in January 1980 at Sturt Workshops in New South Wales. This conference birthed the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia. By October that year, there were state representatives of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Dorothy Erickson represented WA and had previously brought together eleven jewellers who created and toured an exhibition called “From the West” and who became the kernel of the WA Chapter.
The National Committee, consisting of four people (Norman Creighton, Ray Norman, Francis Wildt and Kerry Stelling) and State Committees, was set up. Early 1981 they gathered with the state representatives at the Crafts Council Offices in Sydney to discuss a Draft Constitution and the States’ reports and debate how the groups saw themselves work and contribute to a national forum. The newsletter No 3 (Queensland, April 1981) reported on this meeting and its marvellous plans and discussions. From then on, a National Conference would be held every two years, hosted by a different State in turn.
With temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius, the first JMGA National Conference in January 1982, had many highlights, not the least was the major exhibition called Contemporary Australian Jewellery assembled by Dick Richards for the Crafts Board of the Australia Council which went to Goldsmith Hall in London and toured Europe for two years. Also, there was a lively workshop by Dorothy Erickson entitled Architectural Jewellery where participants made six enormous pieces of ‘”jewellery” for the college buildings from bamboo, fibre and string. The conference ended with discussions on the future of JMGA as a national organisation.
Following this conference, the monthly newsletter, now called Lemel, was coordinated in Victoria before it was handed over to Western Australia in December 1983.
Melbourne hosted the third conference Presenting Metal in January 1984, featuring many international speakers including Dr Fritz Falk, Director of Schmuck Museum, Pforzheim (which had been preceded by workshops and lectures in 1982 in Perth by Professor Herman Junger), as well as workshops in metal stretching and forming, “Making Spoons”, enamelling and miniature carving. Western Australia was voted to host the next Conference and produce Lemel for two years.
With Brenda Ridgwell as Editor and David Walker as chairman, Lemel (now bi-monthly) changed its format with front and back covers opening into a single A3 image, and the centre two-pages a folio spread of national jewellery images. The other pages had State Reports, News, Exhibitions and exhibition opportunities.
The Perth conference Ideas to Realities in January 1986 had the most ambitious program to date, including six international speakers and was a great success. WA’s membership had grown to 50. The 110 delegates represented 60% of the national membership. The second Biennial Makers Mark Exhibition and Graduate Metal II were held at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Art Gallery of WA mounted a show of West Australian work in its collection together with body ornament and metalworks from the Indian Ocean region. There were workshops in metal colouring, Mokume and inlay techniques, and an informed synthesis of idea, process and expression. Queensland would be the next host and editor of Lemel.
JMGA WA met four times a year in those days and visited the studios at WAIT (now Curtin University) as well as group visits to individual artist studios. We had guest speakers and workshops, and many members had group and solo exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally.
JMGA WA today
Jacquie Sprogoe, Robin Wells, Felicity Peters and Ted Snell preparing for Counterpoint, May 2021, Beaconsfield. Photo Tineke Van der Eecken
Today, four of the original eleven “From the West” members are still making, namely Gillian Snadden, Brenda Ridgewell, Jacquie Sprogoe and Dorothy Erickson, the latter two are Life Members. Many people have joined as members since. Contemporary WA designers with national and international acclaim such as Felicity Peters and Phillip Noakes continue to create and actively support JMGA WA as an organisation. Meanwhile, a younger generation is making names, including Max Ball, Melissa Cameron, Barbara Cotter, Sarah Elson, Bethany Linton, Sultana Shamshi, Claire Townsend, Christel van der Laan, Robin Wells and Alister Yiap to name but a few.
It was often the jewellery department staff in tertiary institutions who promoted JMGA and communicated with other tertiary institutions promoting contemporary jewellery. The organisation suffered when lecturers moved on or retired, coupled with severe cuts to funding of jewellery departments nationwide. This affected the production of Lemel, which had been an important link to the contemporary jewellery fraternity. After Lemel ceased to be produced, the bi-annual Conference became the most important national link.
Over the past four decades, the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group, Australia have continued to bring together contemporary jewellers, jewellery professionals, jewellery graduates, lecturers, academics, curators and others on a regular basis with exhibitions, conferences, workshops and other networking events, though a steady decline from these early days cannot be denied. Today, JMGAs continue to operate in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia and a national JMGA has been disbanded.
The work presented by members continues to be as varied as the individual makers, which is proven in each Biennial Members’ Exhibition. In 2021 JMGAWA Members with curator Dr Ted Snell (sadly deceased in 2023) created a memorable exhibition Counterpoint, an exhibition of contemporary jewellery and metals at Stala Contemporary Art Gallery as part of the inaugural Indian Ocean Craft Triennial.
In 2022 JMGA WA members voted to engage with Indigenous researcher and curator Michelle Broun to find out about and connect with Indigenous makers in Western Australia in the lead-up to the 2024 conference.
JMGA WA Members installing a members’ exhibition at Gallery Central, Perth, 2019. Photo JMGA WA archive.
Since 1986, Western Australia hosted national conferences in 1992 and 2010. This year we are hosting Involution: Making Jewellery, Creating Change with invited international guests from the US Everett Hoffman and Julia Heineccius, Rudi Tancharoen (Thailand), Kaori Juzu (Japan/Denmark) as well as inspirational speakers from around Australia including Dr Aly De Groot, Dr Louise Hamby, Michelle Broun and Nicole Monks focusing on Indigenous jewellery and ornaments. The conference and related group and individual exhibitions form a part of the second Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (IOTA24), with Gallery Central hosting Graduate Metal XVI and a national members exhibition reflect | refract. There will be a traditional pin-swap for members, workshops and masterclasses, a gallery tour and networking events, and, who knows, a rethinking of what JMGA may look like in the future—perhaps with a new national framework?
Tineke Van der Eecken is President of JMGAWA and Jacquie Sprogoe, JMGA WA Life Member
About Tineke Van der Eecken
Tineke Van der Eecken, Chairperson of JMGA WA, lives and creates in Walyalup/Fremantle (WA). She is a Belgian Australian interdisciplinary artist, a contemporary jeweller, writer and maker who has worked with and organised not-for-profits in Burundi, Zambia, Belgium, the UK and Western Australia. She creates narratives of place using fine metals, poetry and corrosion castings, a lab-based technique to capture vasculatures as sculptural forms. Her exhibition ‘Tributaries’ is on tour with ART ON THE MOVE until 2025. She is currently preparing for the JMGA WA National Jewellery Conference on 4 October 2024 at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle, WA. Visit tinekevandereecken.com
About Jacquie Sprogoe
Jacquie Sprogoe, Life Member and co-founder of JMGA WA, is based in Boorloo/Perth. As a jeweller, she specialises in enamel. She is a former technician and tutor at Curtin University and manager of the Craft Gallery Shop at Fremantle Arts Centre, promoting the work of Western Australian craftspeople for 20 years. She is currently co-organising ‘Reflect|Refract’, National JMGA Contemporary Jewellery Award exhibition at Mossenson Galleries, Subiaco. Visit: jmgawa.com.au/artists/sprogoe-jacquie
