Professor Kay Lawrence 

Welcome to Kay Lawrence's Home page. I am the Head of the South Australian School of Art, based at City West. I am also a postgraduate supervisor for students enrolled in the PhD in Visual Art by Major Project, the Master of Visual Arts (research) and the Master of Design (research).

My particular interest and expertise is in the area of textiles practice and theory, especially in relation to tapestry weaving.

Visual Art and Design Research Group

Research Centre for Gender Studies

• Textiles
• Gender issues in contemporary visual art and craft
• Craft Theory

Member of the Executive of the Australian Council of Art and Design Schools (ACUADS)

President of Craft Australia

Diploma of Teaching(Art) Western Teachers College and the South Australian School of Art 1967

Fourth Year of Study, South Australian School of Art and Adelaide University 1968

Special Student, Tapestry Department, Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland 1977/8

• My research interests are in the area of gender identity, place and representation, developed through drawing, woven tapestry and text.
• The position of textiles within the visual arts and crafts.
• The development of the community tapestry movement in Australia.
• The development of an international network of artists writers and theorists working in the area of woven tapestry.

Fellowships/Awards

• Community Event of the Year. City of West Torrens Australia Day Awards 2000 Barbara Hanrahan Community Tapestry Project
• Chancellors Award for Community Service. UniSA $3500 Barbara Hanrahan Community Tapestry Project

Research grants

• 2002/3 Commissioned artwork for Glazed Entry, State Library of South Australia, Kay Lawrence and John Nowland


• 2001 Centenary of Federation Grant Weaving the Murray. Kay Lawrence, Rhonda Agius, Nici Cumptston, Kirsty Darlaston, Sandy Elverd, Chrissie Houston, Karen Russell



• 1996/7/8 ARC small grant Speck and Lawrence Significant women artist at the South Australian School Art

Artist in Residence

• 2000 Visiting Scholar Goldsmiths College, University of London

Exhibitions

• 2004 Fabrics of Change, Trading Identities Flinders University City Gallery, Adelaide
• 2002 Material Culture Australian National Gallery, Canberra
• 2002 Weaving the Murray Art Gallery of South Australia & Prospect Gallery then touring SA
• 2001 Home is where the Heart is  Burra Regional Gallery and touring SA
• 2000 Lake Mungo revisited Goulburn Regional Gallery and touring SE Australia
• 2000 Chemistry Art in South Australia 1990 - 2000 S Art Gallery of South Australia.
• 2000 Tamworth Textile Biennale Frisson
• 1999 Close Ties, Kay Lawrence and Marcel Marois University of Queensland Art museum, touring Australia

Electronic media

• Video Insights 3 Kay Lawrence  and Gerry Wedd. Produced by artists in School committee for SALA week 2000

Publications

• 2005 ‘Weaving the Murray: Mapping Connection and Loss’ Kay Lawrence Textile vol 3, Issue 2 pp130 – 149 Berg Publishers UK
• 2004 Weaving’ An encounter between the Ngarrindjeri, the British and the French, Kay Lawrence in ‘Reinventing Textiles Vol 3, ‘Postcolonialism and Creativity’ Telos Art Publishing UK
• 2002 Kay Lawrence. Portfolio Series. Telos Art Publishing UK
• 2001 Kay Lawrence and Lindsay Obermeyer Voyage: Home is where we start from chapter in a book published by Telos Press UK. in the series Reinventing Textiles Vol 2 Textile Transitions: Gender, Body and Identity,  edited by Janis Jefferies

Catalogue Essays

• Essay on Elsje van Keppel The Return of Beauty  Curated by Margo Osborne, Jam Factory Gallery March 2000

Journal Articles

• The Barbara Hanrahan Community Tapestries Kay Lawrence Textile Fibre Forum, no.59, 2000 p 24-25
• Lake Mungo and the Garden at Zanci  Kay Lawrence International Tapestry JournalVol 3  No 3 December 2000 pp2-4

Conference Papers

• 2004 ‘Weaving the Murray: Mapping Connection and Loss’ Kay Lawrence Challenging Craft Conference, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
• Keynote Address, Weaving: An encounter between the Njarrindjeri, the British and the French. Fabric(ation)s of the Postcolonial, Wollongong University, Nov 28-Dec 1, 2002
• presented paper 'A Narrative of Loss' at 'Life Stories' Conference, History Dept, Monash University, 14,15,16 July 2000
• joint paper with Diana Wood Conroy at one day seminar Lake Mungo Revisited  Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Oct 14 2000

Public lectures

• Artists Forum , Kay Lawrence and Gerry Wedd, launch of Video Insights 3 featuring both artists at UniSA SALA week 11 Aug 2000
• public lecture: Exploring identity; the intersection of public and private Kay Lawrence,  Constance Howard Resource and Research Centre in Textiles, Goldsmiths College University of London
• The Friday Event Rethinking the relationship between textiles, the land and body Kay Lawrence Goldsmiths College, University of London

Seminar Organisation

• 2000 Tapestry Workshop, and public lecture Archie Brennan and Susan Maffei
• 1999/2000 The Passionate Collector series of public lectures on textile collections

Commissions

• 2003 Artwork for the Glazed Entry of the State Library, Kay Lawrence and Jon Nowland

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Visual Arts, Textiles education,Contemporary textiles

• Woven tapestry
• Community tapestry
• Women artist teachers at the South Australian School of Art