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| Pictured with my hand-painted umbrella, Sunshade, created for the Duldig Studio's second Brilliant Brolly event on April 6. Photo credit: Shane Jones. |
In the And Now for Something Completely Different Department, tomorrow, February 10, is International Umbrella Day.
Accordingly, the Duldig Studio museum and sculpture garden is hosting Part 1 of the Brilliant Brolly Campaign, a competition wherein some extremely talented and imaginative students have hand-decorated over forty folding umbrellas. Tomorrow afternoon from 2 - 4 pm, their umbrellas, including the prize winners, will be sold in a silent auction to raise funds for the care and conservation of the museum's collections and in support of its outreach programs.
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| A selection of the student entries on display in the sculpture garden. Image courtesy the Duldig Studio. |
I first got to know the Duldig Studio in 2018, when I was invited to speak as part of their Creative Women in Focus series. This extraordinary house museum is the former home and studio of Viennese-Australian artists Slawa Horowitz-Duldig (1901 - 1975) and her husband, sculptor Karl Duldig (1902 - 1986). The museum is filled with their artworks, collections and furniture, some of the latter designed by Slawa.
Another of Slawa's remarkable achievements is the invention of the folding umbrella, in much the same form as we know it today. The prototypes, plans and documentation relating to the umbrella, 'Flirt', which Slawa patented in 1929, are on display as part of the current exhibition at Duldig Studio, SLAWA: MODERNIST ART AND DESIGN. To learn about 'Flirt' and its troubled history, go HERE.
INTERNATIONAL UMBRELLA DAY FUNDRAISING EVENT
SPECIAL FAMILY DAY
Sunday 10 February, 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Duldig Studio
92 Burke Rd
Malvern East
FREE - ALL WELCOME
Part 2 of Brilliant Brolly is an open competition with entries due by 4 pm on March 21. A celebratory event will take place on Saturday, April 6 at 6 pm. I’m one of several invited artists who have embellished a brolly especially for the campaign, although mine is more along the lines of a sunshade.
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| The underside of Sunshade. Photo credit: Shane Jones. |
Full details of the second event will be posted nearer the time. For further information, visit the Duldig Studio HERE.