Traditional crafts, specialist trades and the stories behind them will take centre stage at the inaugural Heritage Hands Festival this month.
The two-day festival builds on the Heritage Hands project, which began with an exhibition in Sandgate earlier this year and was later featured in the Australian Heritage Festival.
Founder Melissa Hoedel said bringing the festival to Sandgate was a natural next step.
“Sandgate has such a strong sense of community, history and place, and the festival gives us an opportunity to take Heritage Hands beyond photography and storytelling and create something people can actively participate in,” she said.
Visitors will be able to meet makers, watch demonstrations, hear their stories and take part in workshops.
“There is so much more to a traditional or specialist skill than the finished object,” Melissa said. “Meeting the maker gives you an understanding of the years of knowledge and experience behind their work.”
Passing skills between generations will be a key focus, with a Future Makers Lab allowing secondary students to work directly with artisan makers.
Featured Artisans and Festival Program Highlights
“The focus is on transferring skills and knowledge, exposing young people to practices and pathways they may never otherwise encounter, and exploring how those skills might continue into the future,” Melissa said.
Among the makers involved will be 85-year-old umbrella maker Alicia Mora, who said the art of creating umbrellas meant a lot to her.
“I’m very proud,” she said. “I’m in love with my umbrellas. I’ll do it ‘til I drop. It gives me so much pleasure, but I’m 85 now.”
She said the festival was “important because people have to know those things still exist – there are many things which are lost.”
Making an umbrella takes Alicia about 40 minutes, but the process involves many steps and specialised equipment.
“There’s lots to do with one umbrella,” she said, adding that visitors to the festival could ask her questions and she would “explain whatever they ask me”.
Other makers include Renata Buziak, who will demonstrate cyanotype and photographic processes, and a member of the Penny Farthing Association, who will showcase historic bicycles and penny farthings. The program will also feature neon glass bender Michael Blazek and Suzie Rodgers, whose handwork includes ballet and performance costume embellishment.
In addition to the Future Makers Lab, the program will include Make ‘n’ Movie, where attendees can bring knitting, crochet, embroidery or another portable handwork project to work on during a film. The festival will feature a Makers Market, exhibition, workshops and demonstrations, followed by an evening panel discussion and PechaKucha: Heritage Hands, where speakers share stories through 20 images shown for 20 seconds each.
“I’d love the festival to spark connection and participation,” Melissa said. “If someone leaves wanting to learn a skill, support a maker, find out more, share what they’ve discovered with someone else, or even become a future maker themselves, that’s exactly what Heritage Hands is about.”
Heritage Hands Festival
- 6-7 November
- Sandgate Town Hall (and locations around Sandgate)
- Get tickets or see full program here
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- The Power of Teamwork and Dedication
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