Australian Design Centre, closed but legacy assured

17 September 2026
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For 62 years, Australian Design Centre (ADC) has been a driving force for Australia’s extraordinary and innovative craftspeople and designers, recognising and promoting their skills and talent, and connecting this diverse community around the country.  

ADC has been a vibrant and energetic hub since 1964, representing this distinct creative sector that is important but at times overlooked in the visual art ecosystem - those artists and artisans dedicated to the skills of making objects by hand. ADC has celebrated and shared their work not only in Sydney but all over Australia and to international audiences, through touring exhibitions, hands-on workshops, publications, commissions, collaborations, and unique initiatives such as Sydney Craft Week Festival, the MAKE Award and Object Shop.

Due to government decisions to cut core operational funding by more than half in 2025, ADC has been forced to close, leaving NSW the only Australian state or territory without a dedicated craft and design organisation. However ADC’s positive influence will live on with a number of important legacy projects taking place in 2027 and 2028, while the organisation’s archives representing six decades of rich history will be safely held by The State Library of NSW and National Film and Sound Archive.

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Lisa Cahill, ADC CEO and Artistic Director from 2016-2026 (shown above), said, “It has been a privilege to lead this organisation for the past decade, and we are proud to have nurtured careers and enriched lives through a shared passion for design and making by hand. Endings can make way for new beginnings, and I hope our community finds a way to keep flourishing. Thank you to everyone who has shared and supported ADC's vision. We wish a creativity-filled future for our wonderful community of makers, designers and lovers of craft and design.

“We leave a strong legacy from decades of active contribution, and have worked with sector partners to deliver projects created by ADC to honour that legacy.”

This week Cahill launched an important, comprehensive survey to build a national picture of Australian craft and design practice in 2026, focussing on the needs and challenges faced by practitioners. The findings will assist sector organisations to advocate in areas such as policy development, funding priorities, education and business support. 

The survey is funded by ADC as an ADC legacy project in collaboration with the Australian Craft and Design Centres (ACDC) Network, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) and Craft Australia. Current ACDC Network members are: Artisan (QLD); Australian Design Centre (until final closure by 31 December 2026); Australian Tapestry Workshop (VIC); Canberra Glassworks; Canberra Potters; Craft + Design Canberra; Craft Victoria; Design Tasmania; Guildhouse (SA); JamFactory (SA).

Here's a list of Australian Design Centre's legacy projects:

  • Australian Craft and Design Practitioner Survey, commissioned and launched by ADC in September 2026
  • The 2026 Sydney Craft Week Festival will be delivered by UNSW Art & Design with financial support from ADC, running from October 9-18, 2026.
  • ADC has funded a new MAKE Innovators Award to be delivered by Adelaide’s JamFactory, with two $10,000 grants to designer makers in 2027, and again in 2028. 
  • Bondi Pavilion Gallery will curate and produce an ADC funded exhibition of emerging designer makers in 2027.
  • Two new series of Object Podcast funded by ADC will be produced in 2027 with Canberra Glassworks.
  • Museums & Galleries of NSW and NETS Victoria will deliver remaining ADC On Tour projects.
  •  ADC has made donations to several national organisations to support the work of designer makers across Australia, including to the National Indigenous Art Fair.
  • ADC’s exhibition furniture and equipment has been donated to artists and arts organisations including the Goondee Aboriginal Keeping Place in Lightning Ridge.
  • ADC commissioned Australian artist Zoe Brand to create a work about the nature of skilled making, defined as ‘judgement, dexterity and care’ by David Pye in his 1968 book The Nature and Art of Workmanship. Zoe’s works AWE/BEAUTY/CURIOSITY and JUDGEMENT/DEXTERITY/CARE are a tribute to all those who have engaged with craft and design at ADC over six decades.

Learn more at https://australiandesigncentre.com/

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