2025 CRAFT + DESIGN CANBERRA UNDERCURRENT DESIGN MARKET FINDS A NEW HOME AT GORMAN ARTS CENTRE

Image | Gorman Arts Centre Courtyard | Photography by Andrew Sikorski

The much-loved 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Undercurrent Design Market, supported by Ainslie + Gorman, has a new home. This year, the iconic market will transform the historic Gorman Arts Centre in Braddon into a vibrant hub of contemporary craft and creativity. 

A highlight on Canberra’s cultural calendar, the 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Undercurrent Design Market will showcase more than 50 leading makers from across Australia. Visitors can explore stalls filled with jewellery, ceramics, glass, textiles, fashion, and homewares and meet the artists behind the work. 

‘The 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Undercurrent Design Market has grown into a nationally recognised event, attracting thousands of visitors,’ said Jodie Cunningham, CEO and Artistic Director of Craft + Design Canberra. ‘This new venue, supported by Ainslie + Gorman, ensures we can deliver the best possible experience for our makers and audiences, and is future-proofing the market for years to come.’ 

The move to Gorman Arts Centre will be well received by Canberra locals who have long been seeking a return to markets at Gorman. Ainslie + Gorman CEO, Nancy Bennison, says ‘I am delighted to collaborate with Craft + Design Canberra and bring markets back to Gorman. The exchange between artists and communities that has taken place within these walls for over forty years is incredible - long may it continue!’ 

With its new central home at Gorman Arts Centre, the 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Undercurrent Design Market, supported by Ainslie + Gorman, promises to deliver its biggest, brightest, and most exciting market yet.  

A STRONG LEGACY TO CONTINUE 
Since its establishment in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery, Richard Baz and Mel O’Hanlon, founders of The Curatoreum, grew the Undercurrent Design market from a boutique gathering of 30 regional makers into a nationally recognised event. Their legacy lives on in the market’s careful curation, exceptional maker representation, and commitment to celebrating contemporary Australian craft and design. 

BRINGING MARKETS BACK TO GORMAN ARTS CENTRE 
Canberra’s inner north has a long history of thriving art and handmade markets, with the Gorman Arts Centre Markets operating for over 25 years, hosting arts, craft, second-hand stalls, live music, and performances. Although the original markets closed nearly a decade ago, Craft + Design Canberra are thrilled to bring a market back to this historic hub, reviving the spirit of creativity, connection, and celebration that made the precinct a cornerstone of Canberra’s artisan community. 

EVENT DETAILS 
New Venue | Gorman Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon 
 
DATES + TIMES 
Friday 21 November, 4pm – 8pm 
Saturday 22 November, 10am – 5pm 
Sunday 23 November, 10am – 4pm 

COST 
Free entry 

PARKING AND ACCESS 
Visitors can enjoy free parking at the nearby Ainslie Centre (two blocks away), street parking, and Canberra Centre’s $3 weekend parking just a five-minute walk away. The venue is also easily accessible by public transport including busses and via the tram. 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES 
Victoria Bennett 
Craft + Design Canberra 
(02) 6262 9333 
hello@craftanddesigncanberra.org 
craftanddesigncanberra.org