The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge Exhibition will be on display at Craft + Design Canberra from 24 September to 24 October 2026.
Exhibition | 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge Exhibition
Contemporary Craft + Design Prize | Kathryn Wardill
Experimental Process and Practice Prize | Cam Michael
Student Prize | Tanya da Silva
Dates | 24 September – 24 October 2026
Opening | Thursday 24 September. Opening from 6pm. Official Speeches from 6:30pm
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.
Photo credit:
5 FOOT PHOTOGRAPHY – Canberra Photographer | Capture Moments, Act Now
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.
To explore the participants’ creations, visit #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE26 on Instagram.
The 2026 Daily Prompts
Day – 1 July | Unceded
Day – 2 July | Smudge
Day – 3 July | Justice
Day – 4 July | Bloom
Day – 5 July | Whisper
Day – 6 July | Play
Day – 7 July | Artificial
Day – 8 July | Provoke
Day – 9 July | Grace
Day – 10 July | Quack
Day – 11 July | Freedom
Day – 12 July | Emerge
Day – 13 July | Noise
Day – 14 July | Gather
Day – 15 July | Mend
Day – 16 July | Ferment
Day – 17 July | Misfit
Day – 18 July | Unbind
Day – 19 July | Static
Day – 20 July | Glitch
Day – 21 July | Spark