Creative Women In Conversation

The fifth in Duldig Studio’s discussion series, based around our current exhibition SLAWA: modernist art + design. Inspired by the inventiveness of Slawa Horowitz-Duldig and presented by leading creative practitioners and local business women, the talks focus on themes represented in the exhibition and the links to contemporary art and design thinking and practice.

This month: Product Design with Simone LeAmon, Curator of Contemporary Design at NGV and designer Helen Kontouris.

Simone Leamon is a multi-talented, multi skilled visual artist with a background in sculpture and industrial design. She describes herself as a ‘storyteller—engaged in an ongoing project of designing, making, curating and writing.” She is also an industry consultant (Carter LeAmon Design and Architecture Studio) and writer. Simone is currently Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the National Gallery of Victoria and a lecturer in the Industrial Design program at RMIT University as well as adjunct lecturer at Monash University MADA.

Helen Kontouris draws her inspiration for her furniture design company (Helen Kontouris Design, opened in 2001) from her observations of people’s interactions with objects and informed by her years of extensive travel. For each project she does extensive research and designs her furniture with a focus on the process as opposed to any predetermined notions of design. Kontouris has established herself as one of Australia’s most outstanding designers, awarded with the title of Designer of the Year (IDEA), ‘Luminary in Design’™ (InDesign Magazine) and 'Best Designer'™ (Urbis).