2006 Zaishu Project

The City of Greater Bendigo, Youth Arts Network and the Zaishu Project, directed by Melbourne based artist/designer Helen Punton worked with a group of 15 young people as part of the Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival. Inspired by 16th century Japanese design the Zaishu, a small portable seat / table / storage box is constructed without nails, screws or glue and respects the natural texture of the plantation grown plywood it is constructed from. Zaishu was first launched by designer Matthew Butler with an installation at Melbourne's Australian Center for Contemporary Art in July 2004. Since it's creation the project has visited Japan, Seoul, Milan, Sydney, Melbourne and Stockholm. With the core values of participation, creativity, responsibility and evolution the Zaishu Project is a growing event recording patterns, designs and other cultural texture from around the world. In free workshops leading up to the festival, local young people were involved in decorating large pieces of plywood with stencils. The panels were then laser cut into smaller slot-together components that create the Zaishu which were be assembled and exhibited at Allan's Walk Artist Run Space throughout the duration of the festival.

Date: 10/02/10