*** Message to online audience. We could not establish an internet connection with Florence at the time of the talk had to cancel this at the last minute. We will record her talk in the coming days and make it available online. Thank you for your understanding.***

Florence Jaukae Kamel (PNG) is a Papua New Guinea artist and designer, particularly known for her work in the traditional medium of bilum, plant fibres woven into yarn, and then looped or crocheted to make bags or dresses and other garments. Kamel is one of the founders of Jaukae Bilum Products. She is the managing director of the Goroka Bilum Weavers Cooperative.

In 2011, Kamel's bilum work was "recognised as an important statement of gender empowerment" by the Australian Museum, who acquired examples of it for their Pacific Collections. Her work has also appeared in the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art exhibition Threads Contemporary Textiles and the Social Fabric.

In 2016, Kamel exhibited her work in New York and London as both art and fashion in runway shows, with the support of Women Empowerment, a United Nations program which helped her and women from six countries with a two-week workshop before the New York and London events. Kamel said, "After the training, the organisers of the event asked me if I could sew two bilum dresses in five weeks for the runway show and I did it right away using vines from Okapa (Eastern Highlands) and fibre from Kavieng (New Ireland).

Online Lecture: Tuesday 10 May 2022 at 7pm AEST.

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FREE TO ATTEND. Registration is essential.

Attendees can watch the lecture live via Zoom. There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions at the end of the lecture.

International Speaker Series: Cloth Culture is an online series of lectures featuring five contemporary artists who utilise textiles to communicate complex narratives around their cultural heritage.