PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - CERAMICS

Port Augusta

APRIL - JunE 2025

Throughout 2025, Ku Arts is delivering a series of Product Development programs to support independent South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists become market ready, each program is designed to build technical skills, nurture creative development, and introduce commercial thinking.

The ceramic program at Kokatha’s Press Road, led by Adelaide-based potter, Ashlee Hopkins has centred on helping artists refine their individual artistic voices while preparing for the commercial market. Delivered in a supportive, hands-on environment, the workshops guide artists from creative exploration toward the production of high-quality, saleable works.

Artists created test tiles to experiment with surface decoration techniques such as sgraffito and inlay, while learning to distinguish between motif and pattern as tools for both storytelling and design. Through sketching, template-making, and image transfer techniques, participants refined their ideas before applying them to final ceramic forms.

Participants have engaged in structured discussions around cost versus perceived value, commercial viability, and the importance of personal artistic language in developing a successful body of work. Artworks produced in earlier sessions are displayed to prompt reflection, support pricing conversations, and help artists set individual goals for the development of new work.

The group then began work on cups and vases, using a combination of hand-built and pre-made forms to apply increasingly complex surface designs. While production capacity varied, the shared goal is for each artist to produce up to 10 high-quality pieces, with selected works to be considered for inclusion in the 2025 Tarnanthi Art Fair catalogue.

Ku Arts acknowledges the support of our funding partners whose commitment enables our continued delivery of services and programs to benefit Aboriginal artists in South Australia.

The 2025 Product Development Program has been made possible through the support of our funding partner, Art Gallery of South Australia, Tarnanthi Festival.

This Program has been supported by Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation