Farewell to Jess Humpston
Jess Humpston has come to the end of her limited 3 year tenancy period with our Artist in Residence program – we can’t believe how quickly the time has flown! Jess has been a real success story for the VWA and we are very proud of what she has accomplished while in residence at our Wood Design Centre.
Jess actually started her woodworking journey as a student of our evening school before leaving to take the Sturt year long program. Having originally studied fashion and interior design, she combined these skills and returned with a very impressive portfolio from Sturt, and was readily accepted into the Artist in Residence program alongside her Sturt classmate Brandon. Recipient of numerous awards, in 2022 during her first year as Artist in Residence, she was named Woodreview 2022 Maker of the Year, and took out the Chairs, Tables and Desks category as well as being highly commended in 2 other categories.
In 2023 she was a finalist in the Clarence Prize in Hobart, one of Australia’s most prestigious furniture prizes – this year she was shortlisted yet again in the biennial competition, this time being awarded with Emerging Designer Award. In 2024 she was awarded the Furniture Design Prize and the Authentic Design Alliance Award of Merit at the Vivid Emerging Designer Awards. She has exhibited numerously during her time with the VWA, including The Chair exhibition with Craft Victoria where she showed her incredible fishing wire stick CH-AIR, as well as Design Fringe and Seeing + Knowing with Craft ACT.
In 2024 she co-curated a Melbourne Design Week show Holder, which was a major effort to exhibit the work of 8 emerging craftspeople at the Abbotsford Convent. Jess’s work recently has evolved to explore repetition and mixed materials such as pewter and stone in contrast with her finely crafted woodwork.
We have been extremely proud of everything Jess has achieved and look forward to seeing where she takes her practice next. Fortunately, we will still have her within our community as she continues to teach our evening classes!
Thanks for being a great Artist in Residence Jess.
