We’re excited to be part of Underbelly Arts again this year. With a move down the road to Chippendale comes the tantalising opportunity to explore the public domain some more. Filling in the Cracks is our new project that’s opening itself up to a group of new or emerging public artists who are interested in exploring the art in public space.

If you’re interested in taking part, download this application form and email it back to info [at] byreefknot.net once completed. We’ll be sorting through all the ideas over the next couple of weeks with a view to starting work with the final artists on or just before Monday 5 July. If you’ve got any questions, email us or leave a comment.

Download the Filling in the Cracks artist registration of interest form.

To follow the project online click here.

For more info on Underbelly Arts: Public Lab & Festival click here.

Last Saturday we gave a presentation at the first &Company exhibition. Held in the truly excellent new Gaffa complex just behind the QVB, we shared the bill with Oliver Smith (silversmith & designer) and Danielle Hairs (Object Gallery). A little peculiar to be paired in with such a design focussed bill but strangely we all seemed to arrive at the similar threads of collaboration, incorporation of environmental and sustainable practices and general resourcefulness. The day’s talks were loosely themed as ‘Thrills & Spills: here & now & then what?’ so were looking at current developments, trends and future possibilities for creativity and particularly its inter-relationship with community and social sub-groups. Particularly of interest for folks who like to take their creativity outdoors and to the community are Object’s upcoming Spring Series & Revolution program – keep an eye out as details go online.

We gave a bit of a guided history of Reef Knot from the early Knot Gallery themed group exhibitions / installations through to our most recent re-configurations of the knitting produced for last year’s Kings Cross project whilst giving an insight to the changing nature of collaboration and a few of the killer learning curves along the way. Well, that was the bulk of the content – the last few minutes was ultimately more interesting as we laid out some thoughts on the future of public art in Sydney.

Some of those thoughts?

• Infuse the permanent works with the same degree of community consultation and engagement as many temporary works possess.
• Up the public artist consultation on commercial design, architecture and urban planning jobs – the time spent on the front line talking with the public while installing work develops a wealth of first hand feedback on the role and value of public art
• With increasing opportunities for public art commissions is it not time to increase the amount of tertiary education centering on public art?
• How about commissioning the odd permanent work as part of annual festivals that feature temporary installations and sculptures?
• Let’s start to infuse some character in Sydney’s permanent public works. Sydney-siders love their landmarks and love to identify with things, but they’ve got to have a resonance with the community. Tending to this, our sense of identity can be helped along its way.

If you’re not familiar with Sydney’s public art have a look at Michelle’s ongoing enquiry into public art (in all its guises) in Sydney.

After two months with around 25 knitting circles and around 250 contributors our ‘I Heart Kings Cross’ project was installed in Fitzroy Gardens and surround from 10-25 October 2009. As well as putting irrepressible smiles on the faces of local residents, workers and tourists, we won the ‘Remixing the City’ category in FBI & Time Out Sydney’s 2009 SMAC Awards. Thanks to everyone who voted, City of Sydney for commissioning the project and particularly to everyone who took part.

Click here to visit the full I Heart Kings Cross blog.

'I Heart Kings Cross' – Fitzroy Gardens

And there you have it – a wonderfully exciting and colourful assortment of recycled, rediscovered and reloved objects from the last four decades. Vive la test pattern!

Well it was a fourteen hour installation with an extra few hours before opening time to tidy up around the edges and clean those monoxide-baked windows. Who’d've thought two people could spend a day with so little room to move.

After countless reconnaissance missions around Sydney and even in Adelaide we found all the materials to fill the shelves. Quite a lovely assortment between 80’s childhood heirlooms, media units and oodles of loo rolls in an homage to the quality of much contemporary TV.

All the materials bagged and awaiting installation

And all along the way our excellent collaborator at Organism Design, Sebastian Adams, was working in the background turning our rudimentary sketches into digital gobbledegook for our router operator.

The shelves assesmbled for the first time

If you want the on the fly commentary you can listen in at http://twitter.com/reef_knot

We are so excited to be part of City of Sydney’s Art & About festival again. This year we’re taking knitting to the trees, telegraph poles, street sign posts and miscellaneous public objects of The Cross. Three months of knitting circles and opportunities for you all to pick up your needles and help out. Crotchers, finger knitters, weavers, felters, macrame-ers, pom-pom makers and anything to do with yarn-ers are also welcome!

Test Pattern #1

A found object installation by Reef Knot

Opening 7 August 2009 @ Medium Rare Window Display

70 Regent Street Redfern NSW Australia