HOTA Ideas: Contemporary Queensland Craft & Design

Saturday 1 August 2026

HOTA Ideas: Contemporary Queensland Craft & Design

HOTA Ideas is a forum for leading artists, thinkers and cultural practitioners to share perspectives through public lectures and in-conversation style talks.

Join us on the opening day of UNLEASHED+ for a panel discussion with furniture maker, Ben Adams, jeweller, Gabi Harris and ceramicist, Natalie Ward, hosted by HOTA Gallery Curator, Kimberly Stokes.

We’ll unpack diverse influences shaping contemporary craft and design, with insight into the conceptual approaches to materiality and technique fundamental to these Queensland based practitioners.

UNLEASHED+ is presented by artisan in collaboration with HOTA, Home of the Arts.

Bio

Kim Stokes

Kim Stokes is an artist and curator based in the Yugambeh Language Region / Gold Coast. As Curator at HOTA, Home of the Arts, she has worked with the gallery’s expansive ceramic collection and will oversee the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award in 2026. Across her combined practice, she is concerned with ecologies of digital culture; and exploring archival, assemblage, and expanded photographic methods. She is a former Co-Director of Nextdoor Artist Run Initiative (2020-2023) and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Queensland University of Technology.

Natalie Ward

Natalie Ward is an emerging ceramic artist based in Gurambilbarra / Townsville. Born in Djilang/Geelong, she made the move north in 2022 and developed her ceramics practice after joining a local community pottery studio. In 2023, Ward received a mentorship through the Transitions program offered by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts. This program supported her to develop and exhibit her first body of work, which was visually inspired by drill core samples from geological exploration. This visual inspiration became a material inspiration, and Ward then commenced investigating how drill core and other materials and byproducts from exploration and mining could be used in ceramics. She has been supported in this work with grants from the Regional Arts Development Fund and Regional Arts Rund. She is currently supported by a Creative Australia grant to develop her first solo body of work and investigate waste stream partnerships between industries and artists.

Gabi Harris

Gabi Harris is an emerging French-Australian contemporary jeweller. Her process driven practice, shaped by a background in photography, prioritises purity of form and spatial construction. She investigates form using a restrained palette and contrasting surfaces, creating emotional depth through repetition and material ambiguity. Ongoing experimentation, informed by cross-cultural experiences, has led to the development of a strong abstracted aesthetic that blends biomorphic and geometric forms. Her linear compositions distil personal identity into pared-back, tactile works, engaging the viewer through a poetic visual language. Gabi is currently completing a Master of Visual Arts at Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University, focusing on contemporary jewellery. She has participated in many group exhibitions and was a finalist in the National Contemporary Jewellery Award 2024 and Contemporary Wearables 2025. She has recently completed a residency as part of Bundanon’s 2026 Artist in Residence program.

Ben Adams

Ben Adams is a furniture maker, designer, educator, and advocate for contemporary craft based in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. Through his workshop, Ben Adams Furniture Studio, he creates bespoke furniture and woodworking tools that celebrate the beauty of timber, thoughtful design, and skilled craftsmanship. Largely self-taught, Ben has developed a distinctive approach that combines clean, modern forms with a deep respect for traditional woodworking techniques. Beyond his own studio practice, Ben is passionate about strengthening the local woodworking and maker community. He has organised events such as the Makers' Design Fair and the Montville Timber Trail, creating opportunities for craftspeople, artists, and small businesses to connect with the public and each other. As an emerging maker Ben enjoys building his knowledge through hands-on woodworking classes and events. His work is driven by a belief that handmade objects enrich everyday life and help preserve valuable craft traditions for future generations.

Credits

Image: Courtesy Ben Adams

Location

135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217

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HOTA Ideas: Contemporary Queensland Craft & Design