The stone and lumber used by the early Kalamunda settlers, the natural materials and resources that abound locally, the richness of the Bibbulmun Track, and the flowing linear form of the scarp that draws together all the communities within the Shire were just some of the animated ideas buzzing around inside the heads of artists Matthew Harding and Malcolm Harris even before they were awarded the new commission, against some very strong competitors.
The artists are part of the Midland Atelier, a pioneering partnership between the Midland Redevelopment Authority and cultural organisation FORM. The Atelier is situated in the Midland Railway Workshops and is home to Australian and international designers working across a range of media.
Both artists come to this commission with many years of experience in successful public and private commissions. They are consummate makers as well as artists and designers. Feeling the artworks being carefully crafted under their hands and guidance is as important to them as conceptualising their ideas.
Matthew Harding is a graduate of the Australian National University in Canberra. Although his career has taken him from Port Hedland, to Tasmania; and Canada, Japan and Sweden, most of his commissions have been in Canberra and Melbourne. Matthew’s first love was for crafting in wood, but over the years he has expanded his skills into steel, bronze, stone, glass and lighting.
Matthew says of his art practice “ [what] I value highly [is] the organic nature of design dialogue; collaborating with community, Government, planners, architects, industry and other artists to create public artwork that reflects and strengthens the cohesion of a community’.
Malcolm Harris has run successful furniture design and production businesses for over twenty years. He has also been a mentor to many emerging artists and crafts workers as a teacher in Western Australia and Tasmania. He was the inaugural Director of the School of Wood in Dwellingup for four years.
The maturity, skills and experience of these two artists, combined with an delicate and highly contemporary aesthetic approach to both natural built environments promises that some truly inspiring, thought-provoking and beautiful new artworks are on their way to Kalamunda.
The development of the Kalamunda Community and Cultural Centre is valued at $5.1 million. The project has been made possible due to funding from both the Federal and State Government as well as a contribution from the Shire of Kalamunda. The Kalamunda Community and Cultural Centre will be located between Williams Street and Railway Road in Kalamunda, next to the Kalamunda History Village. The project is expected to be completed by 2011. For more information on the new Kalamunda Community and Cultural Centre click here.