Object Gallery and Melbourne Museum are presenting a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary Australian design. Annabel Moir, Curatorial Assistant, Design Museum, London speaks to the curator of the exhibition, Object Gallery's Associate Director Brian Parkes, about the development of and aspirations for the project.

Freestyle: new Australian design for living features the work of 40 outstanding Australian designers drawn from a wide range of craft and design media. The exhibition aims to reveal the character, vibrancy and increasing maturity of contemporary Australian design.

The idea of developing a major travelling exhibition of contemporary Australian design was hatched more than four years ago. Was there a particular catalyst for the project? What have you discovered about Australian design since the inception of the project?

Conversations about the project began at Object in early 2001. We were witnessing a kind of sea change in the craft and design sector, with a rapidly increasing level of critical and consumer interest in contemporary Australian design. We were very aware that several major surveys of contemporary Australian craft had been organised, but saw a great opportunity to look at what was happening in Australian design. Many other countries, including Italy, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom had successfully developed exhibitions of design for international touring, so when Object brought the British Council exhibition, Home Sweet Home, to Australia in 2002, we used it to stimulate discussion about the need for an Australian survey show. The exhibition finally became a viable prospect in 2003 when we entered into a unique and extraordinary partnership with the Melbourne Museum.

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel throughout Australia and gain a first-hand impression of the state of design around the country. One thing that has become very clear to me is the growth in confidence of the design industry in Australia. Despite the significant hurdles of a limited manufacturing base, small local markets, large distances to other markets and the challenges of sustaining a livelihood here, the majority of designers I've spoken to are highly optimistic about the opportunities before them.

The other key characteristic that appears common to most Australian designers is a high level of entrepreneurship - perhaps this is a prerequisite to overcome those hurdles. Innovation and inventiveness are reflected as much in the processes, partnerships and promotional strategies as in the finished products themselves. In fact the title, 'Freestyle', is, in part, a reference to the way Australian designers seem to consistently create their own way of doing things.

The designers selected for the exhibition are drawn from an incredibly diverse range of practices. What was the rationale behind this, and how did you decide on the final 40?

The mix does seem pretty eclectic, though we decided very early on to limit the scope a little by focusing specifically on objects created for the home or body. For example, we've not included graphic design, architecture or automotive design. The exhibition does include furniture, lighting, textiles, homewares, fashion, jewellery and personal accessories. Handmade one-off pieces will be shown alongside mass-manufactured items, reflecting the very diverse nature of contemporary design in Australia.

Through our own initial research and a process of broad consultation with colleagues around the country, we developed a list of almost 300 potential exhibitors. We gathered information and imagery from most of these, and I personally conducted around 80 separate studio visits. The final selection is not intended as a definitive 'top 40'; rather, it aims, through outstanding examples, to tell the most compelling story possible about contemporary Australian design and the wonderfully varied approaches to design that coexist here.

Many Australian designers are finding ways to engage with bigger social issues. Are there any responses to these global or local concerns present in the Freestyle exhibition?

It is enormously encouraging to see more and more designers applying their minds to social, economic and environmental problems, and Freestyle includes a number of good examples. Alexander Lotersztain is involved in an extraordinary project with impoverished African communities, in which he is designing products for export markets in the West that can be made by local artisans with traditional techniques and materials to provide valuable and sustainable income. This project is echoed in some ways by the work of the Aboriginal-owned arts centres in Australia, such as Maningrida Arts & Culture, which support the production of art and functional objects for a buoyant global market.

What is truly exciting about some of these developments is that we're starting to see the same kind of inventiveness that Australian designers have had to develop to make a career in design viable here, being applied to make a positive contribution to the world by bringing issues to our attention, making us think more, reducing our impact on the earth or tackling social issues. My own optimism is not simply about the future of Australian design, but about what role Australian design might play in our future.

Freestyle: new Australian design for living will be shown in:

An international tour is planned.

Brian Steendyk, Cero chairs, 2004
Rotation-moulded plastic
Photo: Erik Wiliamson

Caroline Casey, Zella Daybed, 1998
Woven seagrass, cane
Photo: Jonathan Rose

Schamburg + Alvisse, Stop Playing With Yourself (SPWY), 2005
Photo: Schamburg + Alvisse

Leslie Matthews, When it comes, the landscape listens, shadows hold their breath, 2005
Sterling silver
Photo: Grant Hancock

Lucas Chirnside, smlwrld clock, 2006
Milled aluminium, chrome electroplate, copper ballast, laser etching, clock movement
Photo: Robert Colvin

Nick Rennie, Hotbed, 2003
Fibreglass, steel legs, magnets
Photo: Trevor Mein