Welcome to The Society of Arts and Crafts of new south wales

About Us

 

Craftnsw is the home of the Society of Arts and Crafts of New South Wales

 

Founded in 1906, the Society was established by six craftspeople who met in Mosman for a discussion on the future of arts and crafts in Australia.  They wanted to develop uniquely Australian hand crafts in both design and materials as in 1906 Australia's supply of materials and equipment was dependent on English imports.  This organisation is now Australia’s oldest craft association having celebrated their Centenary in 2006.

Many of the members belong to craft guilds and are teachers or administrators of their craft and their work is held in public collections: the National Gallery, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Powerhouse Museum. 

With its long history of exhibiting and supporting craftworkers, in the mid 70's, the Society had its first gallery in The Rocks precinct, then moved into Metcalfe Arcade in 1985. This followed a move into the heritage listed Old Coroners Court in 2006 during its Centenary year where it began to trade under the name Craft NSW.

Craft NSW had  a gallery in Millers Point, between The Rocks and Barangaroo where the members of the Society ran the gallery from 2017-2019. We closed our gallery at the beginning of Covid lockdowns in Sydney. 

We now exhibit at various galleries and exhibition spaces for 2 to 3 week exhibition periods and have an  online shop showing our unique handmade works, which is always available.  Please browse and enjoy!

 You can read more of our history here

Susan Cochrane from "OZ ARTS" magazine.

“The beautifully appointed CraftNSW gallery is the makers’ space, with displays featuring a

constantly changing kaleidoscope of original, one-off pieces - all objects of desire. There

are no employees. Visitors and clients encounter makers who are well informed

about all aspects of the diverse range of objects and their respective makers”

 

Subscribe

Subscribe now to receive info on upcoming events