New exhibition Fresh! gives insights in upcoming craft makers 

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Craft Victoria presents Fresh! from February 1 to March 8 – an exhibition showing the skills of some of the best graduating Victorian craft, design and fine arts students. 

Fresh! offers audiences an insight into new directions of contemporary craft due to the makers who exhibit there.

With the exhibition, some of the best Victorian graduates in the field of craft and design have been honoured every year since 1993. Fresh! 2025 will mark the 32nd iteration of this annual exhibition.

Craft Victoria provides the graduates with a significant opportunity to begin their career as makers. This year’s selected join to the more than 400 graduates from Victoria, the Fresh! initiative has already supported in the past.

The finalists for 2025 are, firstly, Afra Kullu, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Monash University with a focus on material-led practice. 

The second finalist Qianxun Li is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Gold and Silversmithing) from RMIT University and an artist from China with experiences in Vietnam and Australia whose works combine metal and natural materials.

Lucinda Johnson-Cornes, the next Fresh! finalist for 2025, is a Bachelor of Textiles (Honours) from RMIT who is a textile artist integrating various mediums to weave narratives that connect with both her community and Indigenous heritage. 

Also graduating from RMIT, Yueyun Chen (Lily), was selected. She is Bachelor of Fashion Design (Honours) and a Chinese-born designer whose work bridges traditional craftsmanship and modern design with a focus on crochet techniques.

Furthermore, there is Bachelor of Fine Arts (Gold and Silversmithing) from RMIT Dee Robinson who uses traditional and ancient methods of gold and silversmithing blended with painting and model-making.

Indigo Stuart, another finalist from RMIT university with a Bachelor of Fashion Design (Honours) and studies at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, is a fashion designer whose work bridges heritage and innovation. 

 

 

Lastly, the finalist Lachlan Vasic, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Gold and Silversmithing) from RMIT, was chosen. He is an artist forming sculptures and objects through his practice of gold and silversmithing with the inspiration of day-to-day urban landscapes and subtle details. 

To decide who were selected for Fresh! 2025, a team of craft and design professionals viewed graduate exhibitions across Victoria to search for the freshest emerging makers working within craft and design disciplines. 

The 2025 Fresh! selection panel included: teacher at The School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University Jake Nakashima-Edwards, ceramic artist Danielle Thiris, designer and jeweller Anke Kindle, and Craft Victoria’s exhibitions and programs manager Anni Hagberg and creative projects assistant Georgina Loughnan.

Fresh! will be open in the Vitrine gallery at Watson Place from Saturday, February 1, 11am. The Fresh! Awards ceremony will be held on February 6. Entry to Craft Victoria is free. •


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