Vale Liz Williamson (1949-2024)
Liz Williamson (1949-2024) was a revered Australian craftsperson. Since she began weaving in the 1970s, Liz dedicated herself to textiles as a creative medium. Her beautifully textured scarfs were worn proudly as an icon of Australian craft. Her exhibition work reflected a deep commitment to the power of weaving as an expression of our cultural identity. This was realised most recently in her epic Weaving Eucalyptus Project (2020) which toured Australia.
Image: Liz Williamson weaving on Sheridan loom, 1987. Photo: Chris Shain. Image above: Liz Williamson in her studio, Sydney Craft Week 2023. Photo: Amy Piddington.
Besides her own work, Liz was a prolific teacher and generous mentor. In 1997, she established textiles at the College of Fine Arts UNSW where she taught until 2020. She was also tireless in travelling around Australia and giving workshops, especially at her beloved Sturt Gallery & Studios. Beyond all this, she was a proud champion of Australian crafts, which she demonstrated when she was elected President of the World Crafts Council – Australia in 2022. In 2007, the Australian Design Centre designated Liz as an Australian Living Treasure and in 2023 she was selected for the World Crafts Council Craft Master Award.
Text by Kevin Murray of Garland Magazine.
Besides her own work, Liz was a prolific teacher and generous mentor. In 1997, she established textiles at the College of Fine Arts UNSW where she taught until 2020. She was also tireless in travelling around Australia and giving workshops, especially at her beloved Sturt Gallery & Studios. Beyond all this, she was a proud champion of Australian crafts, which she demonstrated when she was elected President of the World Crafts Council – Australia in 2022. In 2007, the Australian Design Centre designated Liz as an Australian Living Treasure and in 2023 she was selected for the World Crafts Council Craft Master Award.
Text by Kevin Murray of Garland Magazine.
2 comments
Sad news that Liz has passed- too soon. We are so lucky to own two of Liz’s clothing artworks. Me one of her iconic scarves and my husband a larger shawl.
So her artworks and memory lives on through her art.
Diane Groenewegen
I had the good fortune to have been invited to travel around Nagaland with Liz in 2020. She was an absolute gem of a teacher and such good company. Extremely knowledgeable on back strap loom traditions through her longstanding relationship with Exotic Echo, founders of the international loinloom festival in Diezephe where we were based for the most of the time. It is clear that not only Australia but also India has lost a formidable spokesperson on traditional and contemporary weaving.
Erna Janine, Freeweaver Studio, London