Aimee Frodsham on how a tight-knit industry is helping keep a rare art form alive

Australian TravellerBy Australian Traveller
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For a snapshot in time, we asked eight people around the country to reflect on Australia Now. Here, Aimee Frodsham, Artistic Director of Canberra Glassworks in the ACT, shares her thoughts on what the global pandemic has taught her.

Keep reading our Australia Now series here.

 

What do three-metre-long eel traps and a pair of cowboy boots have in common? They’re both currently on display at major Melbourne exhibitions: Maree Clarke: Ancestral Memories at the NGV and Patricia Piccinini’s A Miracle Constantly Repeated at Flinders Street Station. And they were both created in glass at Canberra Glassworks.

 

Working with some of Australia’s biggest names in art on commissions like these is one of many strands that Canberra Glassworks – Australia’s leading centre for contemporary glass art, craft and design – deals in. Housed in the historic Kingston Power House, which powered the early development of the city, it’s a place that simultaneously innovates and celebrates the centuries-old glassmaking tradition in all its multifarious forms.

Canberra Glassworks Shop
The new shop at Canberra Glassworks, Australia’s leading centre for contemporary glass art, is winning plaudits for its interior design. (Image: Pew Pew Studio/Skeehan Studio)

A day in the life of an artistic director

In her role as artistic director, Aimee Frodsham looks after the centre’s exhibition program and helps facilitate making in the studios (whether that’s the fabrication of work for exhibitions and commissions or glassmakers operating their own business from the centre).

 

A glassblower herself who trained at ANU School of Art & Design (then Canberra School of Art) during a febrile time in the 1990s, Aimee often finds herself on the floor working with the makers across the various areas, including the hot shop and kiln, helping to facilitate fabrication of works that take many forms and specialisms. (“I’d never ask a goblet maker to make a bead for me," she explains, to highlight the sheer diversity that exists within glassmaking.)

 

“I love the history, the tradition and the skill, and I love and admire the artists that have dedicated their whole careers to mastering one particular area," Aimee says of her passion for glasswork. “I think that is just so mind-blowing in this contemporary world; nothing that we do is done on the computer." Without these phenomenal makers, she says, these crafts would be lost: consider the neon signs we see everywhere from shopfronts to Sydney’s famous Coca-Cola billboard.

What she loves about glassmaking

The knowledge of this now-rare trade is at the risk of dying out, and the relationship Canberra Glassworks has forged with the industry is helping to fill the skills gap, demystify long-held secrets (that no longer need to be kept from a commercial sense), and turn the trade into an art form; as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Australian Love Stories exhibition earlier in 2021, artist Harriet Schwarzrock created 120 sublime glass heart sculptures pumped full of neon.

 

The skill and craft involved in glassmaking necessitates collaboration and breeds a tight-knit artistic community. “We all really love and support each other," says Aimee. “We have to, to be able to make our work." And this sense of community extends outwards, too, embracing the public through education programs and school tours (“For us it’s quite strategic, because it’s really important for the next generation to know that glassmaking is a career") or team-building exercises for, say, the local police force or volunteer firefighters post-Black Summer bushfires. And, of course, workshops, from jewellery-making to glassblowing, which were booked up for months in advance after the Netflix series Blown Away aired. “We really encourage people as hobbyists to come and learn and to make, and to be part of our community."

Colourful glassworks for sale at Canberra Glassworks
The knowledge of this now-rare trade is at the risk of dying out. (Image: Pew Pew Studio/Skeehan Studio)

What the pandemic has taught her

Learning to be a better communicator, especially in terms of safety issues, and to be more agile within the organisation are some of the positive takeaways of the pandemic for Aimee. And missing having people around in the same way forged a different type of connection, by way of weekly Zoom sessions for the Australia-wide glassmaking community: “Every week another group of artists leads a conversation. They’re quite informal and a way for us to see each other and connect. We’ll keep going with those kinds of things because it has made me realise how fragile access can be, and providing access in different ways is really important. Zoom has given us the ability to reach out to people in our community who maybe felt isolated without us realising it."

 

Aimee says she feels lucky to live in Canberra, which she found transformed upon her return in 2015 after living and working in London for 12 years. “It had grown into a really wonderful, exciting city that had lost quite a bit of that stigma around it being a public service town." The past 18 months have left her feeling in some ways more connected and rooted to Australia in general and optimistic that we’re leaders in the world for art: “I feel really connected to the arts community and the amazing things we’re doing here."

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Unforgettable First Peoples tours and experiences in Victoria

    Angela SaurineBy Angela Saurine
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    From ancient aquaculture systems to sacred rock art shelters, Victoria’s First Peoples cultural experiences offer a powerful connection to one of the world’s oldest living cultures – where every site, story and smoking ceremony invites a deeper understanding of the land beneath your feet. 

    Victoria’s sweeping landscapes hold stories far older than any road map can trace – stories etched into stone, sung through generations and woven into every bend of river and rise of hill. From the lava flows of Budj Bim to the ancient middens of Moyjil/Point Ritchie and the volcanic crater of Tower Hill, the state is home to some of the most significant First Peoples cultural sites in Australia. These places, along with other immersive experiences, offer not only a window into a 60,000-year legacy, but a profound way of understanding Country itself. As more travellers seek connection over checklists, guided tours by Traditional Owners offer respectful, unforgettable insights into a living culture that continues to shape the land and the people who walk it. 

    Budj Bim cultural landscape  

    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape
    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is on Gunditjmara Country. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Venture beyond the surf and sand of the Great Ocean Road to discover a deeper story etched into the volcanic landscape. At Budj Bim , ancient aquaculture channels built by the Gunditjmara people to trap, store and harvest kooyang (short-finned eel) reveal one of the world’s oldest living cultures. While you’re in the area, head over to the state-of-the-art Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, where you can observe the eels in a special tank, wander the shores of Tae Rak (Lake Condah), and enjoy a bite at the Bush Tucker Cafe. Also nearby is Tower Hill, a dormant volcano reborn as a wildlife reserve, offering trails through bushland teeming with emus and koalas. 

    eel tank
    The kooyang (eel) tank at Tae Rak. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Dumawul Kooyoora Walking Tour 

    Dumawul walkingtour
    Guests are guided through Kooyoora State Park on the Dumawul walking tour. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Step into a timeless landscape with Dumawul’s guided tour through Kooyoora State Park, around an hour’s drive west of Bendigo in north-central Victoria. Led by Djaara guides, this immersive half-day journey breathes life into Country, weaving together stories, bush tucker and ancient rock art. Known to the Dja Dja Wurrung people as Guyura – the ‘mountain of light’ – this dramatic granite range is rich with cultural and spiritual significance.  The adventure begins with a meet-up at the Bridgewater Hotel on the banks of the Loddon River, before guests are welcomed onto Country with a traditional Smoking Ceremony – a powerful ritual that honours ancestors and cleanses those who walk the land. From there, it’s a gentle wander through rugged outcrops and open bushland, with sweeping vistas unfolding at every turn. Along the way, guides share their knowledge of how the Dja Dja Wurrung peoples have cared for and adapted with this land for generations, offering a rare and moving window into an ancient way of life that continues to thrive today.  

    Kooyoora walking tour
    Knowledge of the Dja Dja Wurrung is shared on the trail. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Kingfisher Cruises  

    Kingfisher Cruises
    Cruising the Murray with Kingfisher Cruises. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Glide quietly through the Barmah-Millewa forest – the nation’s largest river red gum ecosystem – on a scenic journey along the Murray River and into the Barmah Lakes with Kingfisher Cruises . Led by passionate guides who share stories of the cultural significance of this ancient landscape, these cruises reveal the stories, totems and traditional knowledge of the Yorta Yorta people. As you navigate narrow waterways and spot native birds, you’ll gain a richer understanding of how First Peoples have lived in harmony with this floodplain for tens of thousands of years. It’s a gentle, immersive experience that leaves a lasting impression – one where every bend in the river carries echoes of culture, connection and Country.  

    wawa biik 

    Taungurung leaders
    Exploring Nagambie with Taungurung leaders. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Translating to ‘hello, Country’ in the language of the First Nations People and Custodians of the rivers and mountains of Taungurung Country in Central Victoria, wawa biik guides a range of authentic and deeply immersive experiences. Leaving from either Nagambie or Euroa, the tours are woven with ancient stories of the Taungurung, telling how a sustained connection and responsibility ensures the continued health of biik – benefitting the people, animals and plants that live in and around the Goulburn River. During the wawa Nagambie experience, guests participate in a Welcome Smoking Ceremony, and enjoy lunch and conversation with two Taungurung leaders as they cruise through the wetlands of tabilk-tabilk (place of many waterholes). The 4.5-hour tour begins at Tahbilk Winery, which is set in the wetlands of Nagambie on Taungurung Country and collaborates with Taungurung Elders to share knowledge of biik. 

    Bataluk Cultural Trail  

    Bataluk Trail
    Cape Conran on the Bataluk Trail. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The Bataluk Cultural Trail winds through East Gippsland like a thread stitching past to present, tracing the deep connection between the Gunaikurnai people and their land. Starting at the Knob Reserve in Stratford, visitors walk among scarred trees and ancient stone tools once used for survival and ceremony. At the Den of Nargun near Mitchell River, the earth holds stories of women’s sacred spaces, cloaked in myth and legend. Further along, Legend Rock at Metung tells of greed and consequence, its surface etched with ancient lore. At Cape Conran, shell middens lie scattered like breadcrumbs of history – 10,000 years of gatherings, stories and saltwater songs still echoing in the wind.  

    Healesville Sanctuary  

    echidna at Healesville Sanctuary
    Get up close with a resident echidna at Healesville Sanctuary. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Set on the historic grounds of Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, Healesville Sanctuary honours the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation through immersive storytelling and connection to Country. Along Wurundjeri Walk, visitors are invited to reflect on the land’s rich First Peoples history, with native plants revealing their traditional uses. Wurundjeri Elder and educator Murrundindi shares culture in-person with the Wominjeka Aboriginal Cultural Experience every Sunday, and most days during Victorian school holidays. Murrundindi’s smoking ceremonies, storytelling and bush tucker knowledge reveal the sacred relationship between people, animals and the environment. Bird-lovers can’t miss the incredible Spirits of the Sky show featuring native birds daily at 12pm and 3pm. 

    The Grampians 

    Rock art at Bunjil Shelter in The Grampians
    Rock art at Bunjil Shelter in The Grampians. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Known as Gariwerd to Traditional Owners, the Grampians is a place of immense cultural and spiritual significance. This rugged landscape holds more than 80 per cent of Victoria’s known First Peoples rock art, offering a powerful window into the region’s deep heritage. Visitors can respectfully explore five remarkable rock art sites: Billimina and Ngamadjidj in the Wartook Valley, Manja Shelter near Hamilton, Gulgurn Manja shelter near Laharum, and the Bunjil Shelter near Stawell, where the creator spirit is depicted. Each site tells a unique story of connection to Country, shared through ancient handprints, dancing figures and Dreaming narratives etched into stone.