Carrying LOUD Vol. 2

Carrying LOUD Vol. 2 is the second edition of an ongoing exhibition series curated by Nysa Rohatgi, developed in collaboration with ALPAKA Gear. The exhibition invites Melbourne/Naarm-based designers into a process of making. Using the ‘ingredients of ALPAKA’ – its materials, resources, construction methods and technical knowledge – as a starting point, each designer creates work that responds in distinct and individual ways. At its core is collaboration: designers work within, stretch and reimagine ALPAKA’s world through their own practice.

Featuring creatives working across medium, scale and discipline, Carrying LOUD Vol. 2 brings together a cross-section of contemporary Australian design. The exhibition explores the idea of ‘carry’ as both function and metaphor – how hands carry bags, bags carry books, garments carry us, and objects carry meaning.

The works span a spectrum of resolution. Some foreground their making — open, exposed and in progress — revealing structure, intention and material decisions. Others resolve into polished forms, their finishes concealing layers of testing and adjustment. Some revisit earlier ideas or references through ALPAKA’s materials and techniques, while others treat experimentation as both process and outcome. Across these approaches, the exhibition explores material-led experimentation, iteration and the ethos of ALPAKA’s motto: Keep Moving Forward™.

Exhibiting Designers: Gloria Kim, Phoebe Chang, Will Hotten and Josh Johnson, Maximillian Obrien, Noah Corban (ALPAKA Gear), Johannes Oosthuizen, Yue Shi (YS Atelier) and Tykeim Rashid.