Participants (see their HS progress)
- Antonia Boyle
- Aphra Cheesman
- Nina van Duijnhoven
- Jack Hadley
- Fran Leitch
- Nikki Perry
- Amelia Rothwell
- Mia Straka
- Simon Swale
- Susan Videler
- Michelle Wilkinson
- Macarena Bernal
The HANDSHAKE 6 Activities’ programme for 2020 – 2021:
MASTERclass 2021
ON-E by: Estela Saez Vilanova (CAT-ES)
A series of Zoom workshops during April – October about ONLINE EXHIBTIONS with the intention to prepare Handshake 6 artists for their online exhibition submission

Statement: Recently, curators and educators have progressively started exploring the numerous possibilities proposed by virtual exhibitions. Institutions have made 3-D tours of their galleries accessible online through a variety of platforms, allowing visitors from around the globe to virtually “wander” through many Museums around the world, Van Gogh Museum or Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Mexico among other significant sites. But when the Covid-19 pandemic started, public curiosity in virtual art experiences, as for the need of the maker to present worldwide their works, increased like never before.
The online-exhibiting field is yet to be fully discovered, therefore our main purpose with this Masterclass -besides the fact that Handshake Program has since long counted with online exhibitions-, it is to offer intuitive virtual exhibition ideas and presentation of our works, that offers flexibility and are willing to reach to public and/or followers showing their final results, as for its working process as part of the result itself. Aiming at generating enthusiasm through sharing emotions, new values and creating expectations; “The goal is the meaning and the meaning is the goal” while testing abstract and visual/sound experiments, we will our work and process as for the idea of how to present virtually these works yet we as creators. Throughout provoking alternatives to in-person viewing, interactive and a variety of content formats that viewers can engage with, especially during the present times we live in.
Techniques: Video/sound/photo
JEWELcamp 2021 June – Aug
FUNDRAISING Workshop
by: Joany Grima
Objectives: To empower HS6 artists to create a practical, implementable and achievable plan to achieve your collective Handshake fundraising goal.
JEWELcamp & MASTERclass 2020
The HS6 programme started off in pre-Covid January with a JEWELcamp that contained an intro and instruction to the programme, and a Push/Pull intro workshop with Renee Bevan, and a Masterclass workshop with Iris Eichenberg at NZ school of Art & Fashion, Epsom, Auckland.
What happened during MASTERclass:
HS6 artists had to place 5 unfinished works and a finished work they brought along from their workshops on the table.
Iris asked to spend 45 mins with no talking, moving around the tables and adding, subtracting, or moving/grouping works as they pleased.
On an adjacent table, each had tipped out the shoebox of workshop materials they brought along. Invited to help themselves to anyone’s collection they ‘interfered’ with others’ work on the table. After this, all had to write down what was noticeable when they interfered with other’s people’s objects, and what was noticeable what happened to their own work.
Each discussed that in the group.
Following that Iris asked to take some things off the table that was thought were not finished or did not belong there – then to replace it with something.
After that they were instructed to categorise the remaining works into groupings.
They started this in seperate groups, but all moved in and around so the groups weren’t fixed, which happened naturally. After categorising, the remaining works were labelled and went into collections.
This freeing and fun exercise illuminates and illustrates how artists operate in terms of editing and taste preferences.
Iris’ questioning and inspiring ways brought magic to HS6
Blog Posts
Some recent things…
We are now well into our second year of Handshake6 and recently it has been go go go. We have started our online masterclass with Estela Saez which has been fantastic so far (more on this soon!), I had a great chat with Lisa which provided lots of things to think...
In Memory
Early last year I had determined that knots were my area of interest and prophetically it became a year of anxiety and knots of various kinds. My thinking moved on, partly I suspect because of the materials I was using and this year I have been exploring memory. My...
She hates online exhibitions.
Notes from Estela Saez’s Online Exhibition masterclass. 27 may 2021
new beginnings, new challenges…
Thanks to Estela Saez for pushing us into some new and unexpected directions...
CHAINreaction
Party and Festive, ChainReaction
When the brief for ChainReaction came trough, I was conflicted because most of my practice is dedicated to making Links. I decided to re-interpret my LINKS by blowing them up, so I went on trade me and under the category Party and Festive I found a large inflatable...
The making of Many Manos: ChainReaction
Many hands make light work | Know like the back of your hand | Put your hands together ?Cold hands warm heart | Show of hands | Dab hand | First Hand | Hand in hand | Hands on | Heavy handed | Old hand | Out of hand | Under hand | Change hands | Hand over | Hands full...
What’s under the bed?
For the application for the HS6 I made quite a few works which have since been placed back under the bed to live...to live with the monsters! I thought I'd pull them out and revisit a few over the next few weeks... The chain reaction link I made (see previous post)...
Nelson chain process…
“Even as I sleep I will punish myself” (2021) Artist’s own hair, dog hair, woollen blanket, cotton. 1m 60cm (drop) x 2m 25cm (length) The hair shirt is well known for its role in penance at Lent. Not being religious I still wanted to play with the idea of irritation...
The importance of feeling held
It feels like everything is so vulnerable right now. I guess it was always this way, but somehow world events (arguably as a result of our misuse of nature) have led me to appreciate and value the individual so much more.
The story of my chain for CHAINreaction
My piece for the Nelson Jewellery week handshake show, CHAINreaction (at the refinery in Nelson) was a rather personal piece for me. I did not set out to make such a personal piece but once it was finished it felt cathartic, as if I had needed to make something about...
Daemons and Geniuses
For the Nelson CHAINReaction show I played around with several ideas but I wasn’t happy … they were just not right, they were lacking…. Lacking what I didn’t know, I couldn’t put my finger on it... they were just a bit meh… a bit average, contrived… I didn’t feel good...
Connecting through CHAINreaction
Nelson Jewellery Week looked fantastic from a far! If only the trans-Tasman bubble had opened just a few weeks earlier. The CHAINreaction exhibition, in particular, was wonderful to be involved in - at least my work made it over when I couldn't! CHAINreaction...
…
Do you ever walk across this Earth, hearing the sound of your steps upon the ground, and wonder- am I really here? Do you sometimes hold your hand up to your face and ask- is this really me?
Nelson Jewellery Week and other assorted goodies
Scrambling to finish the ‘connection’ to my neighbour for CHAINreaction, Handshakes at the Refinery show in Nelson. I had used a ‘found’ piece of copper and stripped it down to make a rather tiny link and Attai asked me • why round? • how do you move from one material...










