JamFactory ICON 2025 Aunty Ellen Trevorrow:
Weaving Through Time

JamFactory’s ICON series celebrates the achievements of South Australia’s most influential visual artists working in craft-based media. Aunty Ellen Trevorrow is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and a prolific, internationally acclaimed weaver with over 40 years of weaving experience. Weaving through Time is a celebration of Aunty Ellen’s unwavering dedication to culture, community and innovation in contemporary Ngarrindjeri weaving.

Curated by Kaurna, Narrunga, Ngarrindjeri woman Carly Tarkari Dodd, Weaving Through Time showcases predominantly new works by Aunty Ellen, produced with her long-time collaborator, Dr Jelina Haines. The exhibition visually and textually documents Aunty Ellen’s evolution as an artist, from her early traditional baskets and fish traps to her recent large-scale sculptures and wearable works, including dresses, jewellery and textiles. These more recent works highlight her two-decades-long collaboration with Dr Haines and demonstrate the depth and breadth of her artistic practice.

In Weaving Through Time, Aunty Ellen carries tens of thousands of years of knowledge, passed down from her Elders. Her work continues an essential legacy: the transmission of culture to future generations, ensuring the continuation of culture.

The exhibition will be launched at JamFactory Adelaide as part of SALA Festival before touring to JamFactory Seppeltfield for Tarnanthi, followed by 6 venues nationally across SA, VIC, NSW and QLD. It is accompanied by a 120-page monograph, supported by the Gordon Darling Foundation and written by Carly Tarkari Dodd with contributions by Dominic Guerrera, Jelina Haines, and Aunty Ellen Trevorrow.

JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition supported by the Visions of Australia touring program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to cultural material for all Australians.

Exhibitors: Aunty Ellen Trevorrow with Jelina Haines

Curated by Carly Tarkari Dodd

Display furniture designed and fabricated by JamFactory’s Furniture and Metal Studios

Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Swamp Weed (Selliera radicans) Woven Bag, 2024, Sedge grass, quandong seeds, Photo: Connor Patterson

Fabric, Fibre, Form

Fabric Fibre Form observes the endless ways in which the time-honoured crafts of stitching and weaving continue to influence artists. Clay, fibre, paper and glass all feature in this exhibition, investigating the myriad potential of textiles in storytelling and cultural celebration, as well as decorative ornamentation associated with traditional women’s work or the gentle arts.

Exhibitors: Sally Blake, Claudia Bloxsome, Jamie-Lee Garner, Elishia Jackson, Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM, Clare Unger

Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM, Long Golden Reeds Eel Trap, 2012, blown glass with canework, 350 x 1070 x 350

‘jam - JamFactory Australian Made: Tom Golin & Stu Colwill’ presented as part of every*where: Adelaide Design Week

every*where: Adelaide Design Week recognises that our world is designed and celebrates those designing it. Adelaide Design Week (ADW) brings together designers and makers, to cultivate new and unique ideas, broaden networks, and elevate local design practice. 

Drawing on 50 years experience; jam by JamFactory presents a uniquely Australian designed and made collection of furniture, lighting and objects. 

jam collaborates with a diverse array of local designers, makers and fabricators, combining traditional skills with modern manufacturing. This mix of individual creativity and skill combined with an emphasis on materials and processes shapes a distinctive voice in Australian design. 

This exhibition highlights the existing jam collection and celebrates the launch of three new chairs.