2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge Exhibition

The Daily Creative Challenge celebrates artistic expression and encourages mindfulness through daily creative practice. This exhibition presents selected works by the award recipients from the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge.

CONTEMPORARY PRIZE | Kathryn Wardill
This prize recognises a cohesive, quality body of work with strong creative and conceptual engagement with the daily prompts and the theme of Dissent.

Kathryn Wardill is a Melbourne based contemporary jewellery artist and educator whose practice explores the possibilities of combining precious metal and glass. For more than 30 years, Kathryn has undertaken sustained material research into the relationship between these two diverse materials, developing new techniques, forms and possibilities within jewellery and object based practice.

Kathryn has presented work in more than 100 exhibitions across Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States of America, alongside ten solo exhibitions, international artist residencies and conference presentations. Her work is held in the collections of the Swiss National Museum and the National Art Glass Gallery in New Soutth Wales, as well as numerous private collections internationally. Kathryn’s work has also been published in more than 70 books, catalogues and websites.

Alongside her studio practice, Kathryn has an extensive career in arts education. Kathryn has taught at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Box Hill TAFE, and has delivered more than 150 artist led workshops in metal and glass across Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.

Kathryn has retail representation by Studio Ingot and online representation by Klimt02.

wardill.com
@kathrynwardill

EXPERIMENTAL PRIZE | Cam Michael
This prize celebrates creative experimentation, risk taking and the pursuit of new creative territory across the Challenge.

“This year for the Challenge I worked with balloons. Thinking about associations of breath and how voices get supported or ignored. I haven’t worked with balloons before but was drawn to them to explore breath, transparency and light and their value in a poignant way rather than overtly comical.”

Glass balloons blown by flameworker Justine McLaren.

Cam Michael is a mixed media artist living and working on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, having migrated to Australia from Aotearoa New Zealand. Cam’s practice explores care, social inclusion and the ways value and potential are understood and perceived. Cam’s work gently amplifies the voices and experiences of people who are often othered or overlooked, creating opportunities to shift perspectives and reconsider dominant narratives.

Informed by experiences of disability, caring, LGBTIQ identity and migration, Cam is interested in the relationship between personal identity and perception, and the things that are not always visible or recognised as valuable. The everyday is often used as a space for connection, inviting audiences to consider different perspectives and the benefits of greater social inclusion.

cammichaelart.com
@cammichaelart

STUDENT PRIZE | Tanya da Silva
This prize recognises a cohesive body of work demonstrating creative growth, conceptual engagement and commitment to daily practice.

“I am a visual arts student at Australian National University exploring time, presence and place through temporary installations and simple materials. For the Daily Creative Challenge, I responded to each prompt intuitively, selecting materials from my existing craft stash and allowing the environment to guide the work. 

Using thread, yarn, fabric, stones and found materials, I created ephemeral installations that existed briefly before being documented and removed. The Challenge encouraged experimentation, play and persistence, revealing connections between making, attention and documentation. Through this process, I discovered that dissent can emerge through creativity, curiosity and presence within moments of intentional and attentive making.”

@tanyadasilvastudio

ABOUT THE CHALLANGE 

The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge celebrates Canberra as a vibrant centre of creativity while connecting a wider community of makers across Australia and beyond.  

Each July, creatives from around the world respond to a series of daily word prompts, sharing new work via Instagram. Working across ceramics, textiles, photography and mixed media, participants embrace experimentation, process and connection through creativity. 

Now in its fifth year, the 2026 theme Dissent advocates for creativity as a powerful tool for questioning, challenging, and reshaping ourselves and the world around us. 

Over the three week challenge, participants generated thousands of artworks and posts. The result is a diverse and series work that reflects the energy, imagination and collective spirit of the Challenge.