Sydney Craft Week program launches today

Above: Among the Trees workshop in Marrickville will host workshops during Sydney Craft Week. Photo: Amy Piddington

In its 60th anniversary year, Australian Design Centre (ADC) will present the 8th annual Sydney Craft Week Festival, from 11–20 October 2024, with the full program launched today, 2 September.

Sydney Craft Week (SCW) is a city-wide festival dedicated to presenting the latest in contemporary craft and offering a great range of hands-on experiences for the public to get involved and make their own work. SCW aims to encourage an appreciation of making objects by hand, learning new practical and creative skills in different workshops and events, and celebrating and supporting Sydney’s community of artists and makers with markets, exhibitions, open studios and more.

Since SCW first launched in 2017, the Festival now runs over 10 days and extends to regional locations including the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, Central Coast and Hawkesbury areas. The SCW program in 2024 includes 640+ participating artists, as well as 55 participating groups, across 37 suburbs of Sydney and beyond, presented across 146 events.

This year's Festival theme is 'Response', with participants reflecting this in diverse ways in their work, events and materials. Sydney Craft Week Festival Director Lisa Cahill said: “Designer makers respond to the world around them in their craft practice. They ask questions, research, investigate problems and pose solutions. They explore contemporary issues through making.

"Sydney Craft Week Festival 2024 has invited designer makers, galleries, collectives, organisations, indeed anyone involved in the craft world, to respond with a project, event, workshop or exhibition that is a 'response' to something that perplexes, troubles, inspires or delights them and, when shared, will enable us all to consider or reconsider these issues.”

Whittling is amongst the workshops offered at Among the Trees in Marrickville during Sydney Craft Week. Photo: Amy Piddington

Each year Sydney Craft Week brings a diverse group of makers, artists, groups and organisations together. From woodwork to jewellery making, leather care to T-shirt printing, book binding to felting, kintsugi to Korean knots and so much more, it’s an October feast of craft and making.

The hands-on workshops and events provide many ways to learn new skills, and to visit markets, exhibitions and open studios.

Explore the full program: sydneycraftweek.com