This year, designer and curator Dale Hardiman is part of four separate events as part of Melbourne Design Week. I interviewed him to find out more.
Penny Craswell: Hi Dale, you are a designer but you also put together a lot of exhibitions. Why is that?
Dale Hardiman: I initially began organising group exhibitions as I thought there was a huge gap in the Australian design field. When I was 23 back in 2013, the only outlets for contemporary design that didn’t sit within the commercial field were ones organised by creatives who would self-initiate exhibitions, and they would need to work incredibly hard for an audience (I know this as I organised my first solo exhibition in 2012).
The first group show I organised was with Suzannah Henty who was working at Brunswick Street Gallery at the time. We quickly realised that there were art exhibitions every week in Melbourne, but rarely a design exhibition. Since then, the entire field has expanded thanks to the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria curatorial team (Simone LeAmon and Ewan McEoin) and the creation of Melbourne Design Week.
I now organise exhibitions with long-time collaborator Tom Skeehan under the name Friends & Associates, and the Melbourne Design Week program includes 350 exhibitions and talks. Tom and I frequently discuss whether we should continue organising group exhibitions, considering how many there are now, and a new generation of willing designers.
How do you get your ideas for exhibitions?
Each exhibition idea is created over numerous years of thinking: although this year’s Friends & Associates exhibition “Self Portrait” seems relevant considering the isolated times we’ve lived through over the last 2-3 years with the pandemic, it’s an idea we had many years ago. Each year we select a premise for the show that seems relevant to the times. We understand deeply that for an exhibition to be successful, you not only need the right contributors, but you also need the general public to be engaged with the idea.
Did the responses to the vases call-out surprise you?
One of the greatest pleasures of organising exhibitions is seeing the wide-ranging ideas that are presented when people are given the opportunity to express themselves and tell their stories. “Sharefolder Fantasy” was a unique set of circumstances where [US artist and designer Mark Dineen and I] were able to give a platform to anyone and everyone worldwide, and not limit the exhibition to designers who could afford to create work both financially and have the time to think and produce works.
Early on, Mark and I discussed how an exhibition like “Sharefolder Fantasy” needed to be non-hierarchical, equal, and require very little setup to be involved. We heard recurring stories from contributors about them feeling a lack of creativity lately, and that “Sharefolder Fantasy” offered them a simple brief to feel inspired again. What more could Mark and I ask for from an exhibition?
What about the self-portraits exhibition – how did you select people to be part of it?
“Self Portrait” was one of the trickier exhibitions to select contributors for. We worked closely with the NGV curatorial team to invite a wide array of disciplines. Some of the exhibitors we had worked with before and others we had never met. The Friends & Associates platform allows for the presentation of not only well-known creatives, but also the inclusion of early-career creatives.
What are the themes that continue to fascinate you as a designer/curator?
Over the last 10 years, I’ve facilitated around 14 exhibitions, and the recurring theme across the majority is the environment. When Suzannah Henty and I organised our first group show together, we felt it was important to create a space for experimentation and exploration, not controlled or guided by commercial or economic gain. My ongoing fascination is, and always will be, allowing creative freedom. When writing the first group email out to all of the exhibitors in “Sharefolder Fantasy” last week, the most important line we wrote was ‘Many people often mistakenly think that design, art, and creativity need to be given an economic value. We believe your activity of creativity and storytelling is the most important.’
How important has Melbourne Design Week been in bringing together the design community and in design’s visibility?
As someone who started organising small group exhibitions when I was 23, I must be one of the biggest advocates for Melbourne Design Week. Not only does Melbourne Design Week offer a platform for creatives to present their work to a large audience, but it also cultivates a space for new friendships and collaborations. Each year I’m surprised by how many new creatives I meet, and have the pleasure of building long-term friendships with.
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Dale Hardiman organised two exhibitions for Melbourne Design Week:
Shareholder Fantasy, a global collaboration with US artist and designer Mark Dineen that features 202 vases made from any material.
Self Portrait at RMIT Design Hub, a Friends & Associates exhibition of 22 self-portraits by Australian creatives, telling us who they are in this moment.
Dale Hardiman also has work showing in two other events:
Mutual Exchange at James Makin Gallery, a collaboration with artist Belem Lett, one of a series of new works exploring the benefits of collaboration and collusion across art and design.
Melbourne Design Fair, SELECT, a new floor lamp from his Common Resources series, part of a curated exhibition featuring the best works by emerging and established designers and designer-makers from across Australia.
Melbourne Design Fair is on from 16 to 20 March
Melbourne Design Week is on from 17 to 27 March
