EARLY CAREER WRITER MENTORSHIP ​2019

ARTICLE SYNOPSIS for Metalsmith Magazine

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Lola’s marerlopepetar – Lola’s story
 
Working against the odds, leading Aboriginal artist and shell worker Lola Greeno has forged a three-decade career transforming traditional cultural practice into a contemporary movement. Named ‘cultural warrior’ in recognition for her sustained commitment to the time-honored practices of her Palawaelders and ancestors, Greeno is best known for creating exquisite maireener shell necklaces. In recent years, however, her work has expanded to incorporate a broader repertoire of materials that reference her cultural heritage, personal experience and growing environmental concern. These contemporary cultural pieces offer a profound and tangible link to the past whilst also communicating shared experiences of living in the world today. With ever increasing anxiety around the impact of climate change, Greeno’s story draws attention to the critical issues of our time, and encourages rethinking around where we have come from and where we are going for the sake of future generations.

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WRITER MENTOR
​LIESBETH DEN BESTEN

Liesbeth den Besten (Amsterdam, Netherlands) is an independent art historian who is working internationally as a writer, curator, advisor, teacher and lecturer in the field of crafts and design, especially contemporary jewellery. She has curated exhibitions In the Netherlands and abroad. From 1992 – 2016 she worked for the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation, since 2000 as the chair. From 2013 - 2019 she was a member of the Art Jewelry Forum Board and Publication Committee. Since 2016 she teaches jewellery history at Sint Lucas Academy in Antwerp, Belgium. She is a member of the Asenbaum Research Project for the Dallas Museum of Art, together with Beatriz Chadour (London), and Damian Skinner (New Zealand).

She is one of the initiators of Stichting Sieraden Collecties(Foundation for Jewellery Collections), which aims to create a secure and sustainable place for private jewellery collections in the Netherlands. With Gijs Bakker, Ted Noten and Ruudt Peters, she is the initiator of the two-years temporary MA Challenging Jewellery at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam which started in September 2018.
Her main interest is in writing for international media and publications. She is the author of On Jewellery, a compendium of international contemporary art jewellery(Arnoldsche 2011).

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EARLY CAREER WRITER MENTORSHIP RECIPIENT
​ CELIA DOTTORE

Celia Dottore has worked for Flinders University Art Museum since 2008 and in her current role has managed a diverse range of exhibitions and public programs, inclusive project development through to exhibition design and installation. Her work has been published by Flinders University, Fine Print Magazine as well as presented in a number of academic forums nationally. Curatorial projects include: HEAD-TO-HEAD: shifting perspectives in Australian portraiture(2018), Island to Inland: Contemporary Art from Kangaroo Island (2017), Mother Nature is a Lesbian: Political Printmaking in South Australia 1970s-1980s (2014) and Ernabella in Print(2013). She has also undertaken curatorial placements with the Biennale of Sydney and Charles Darwin University. 

Prior to this Celia was employed as Project Assistant and Exhibitions Coordinator for the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia (JMGA) Conference(2008). She completed a Master of Arts (Studies in Art History) at the University of Adelaide in 2017 and holds a Bachelor of Visual Art and Applied Design from the Adelaide College of the Arts. She also maintains a part-time studio practice and has exhibited her work in group exhibitions since 2004.