ACT artists are invited to submit an EOI for curatorial consideration for Bespoke Utopia, an M16 Artspace exhibition curated by Lucy Chetcuti as part of the 2026 Craft + Design Festival.
Bespoke Utopia will present local artists embracing slow design, grounded in material knowledge and long-term thinking. Linking global design conversations with Canberra’s craft history, the exhibition encourages audiences to consider how design shapes everyday life and how creative choices can challenge fast, disposable production models.
The exhibition brings together artists whose work embraces the principles of slow design, offering an alternative to the norms of post-capitalist production. Slow design prioritises thoughtful, responsible making over rapid, large-scale manufacturing. Drawing on traditions of craftsmanship and handmade processes, it becomes a form of creative activism, one that encourages a shift toward sustainability. Through these works, Bespoke Utopia seeks to dissent from ‘new design’, highlighting how deliberate, mindful design can foster more enduring and environmentally conscious ways of living.
This exhibition will be developed in response to the 2026 Craft + Design Festival theme, Dissent. Up to 15 artists will be curated in the exhibition at M16 Artspace in Gallery 1, the exhibition will run between 22 October – 15 November 2026. Artists at any stage of their career are encouraged to submit an EOI for new OR past work to be considered for the exhibition.