DETAILS
Free, no booking required
Australian Centre for Glass Design
140 High Street, Windsor VIC, Australia
DATES
Thu 14 May 11am – 4pm
Fri 15 May 11am – 4pm
Sat 16 May 11am – 4pm
Sat 16 May 2 – 4pm
Artist talks
Mon 18 May 11am – 4pm
Tue 19 May 11am – 4pm
Wed 20 May 12 – 12am
Thu 21 May 12 – 12am
Fri 22 May 12 – 12am
Sat 23 May 12 – 12am
This exhibition brings together two Indigenous glass artists, Rickie Martin (Yorta Yorta and Pairrebeenne) and Shea Oberleuter (Torres Strait Islands), with two non-Indigenous glass artists, Nadine Keegan and Jordan Benson, to create a four-panelled glass work entitled WHERE WE MEET.
The exhibition features four of Australia’s most exciting emerging architectural glass artists collaborating to create a glass work representing their vision of the future based on nature and the natural world. This new work is the centrepiece of an exhibition showing the diverse styles of these artists, their recent works and the new directions they are taking architectural glass into the future.
On Saturday 16 May, 2–4 pm, the exhibition opens with a panel discussion with the artists, discussing their objectives for the exhibition and their careers as glass artists, and how they can, through the uplifting and enlightening properties of glass, influence perspectives on nature and cultural exchange in productive and inspiring ways.
The primary objectives of the exhibition are to highlight the collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists working together to:
- create a ground-breaking artwork representing the creation of inspiring and uplifting art through cross-cultural collaboration.
- demonstrate the possibilities of a more productive and equitable future between cultures when working together.
- protect the natural environment and help to influence the creation of a different future.
The panel discussion provides an opportunity to further explore these themes.
Participants
Rickie Gugumah Martin
Rickie Martin is a Yorta Yorta and Pairrebeenne/Trawlwoolway clan man who started drawing and painting at the age of three under the guidance of his grandmother in Parkes, NSW. He has continued to explore other mediums and create consistently since then.Rickie now lives in Melbourne and, in 2022, discovered glass through the Glaas Inc First Nations Glass Workshop Program. He then went on to complete a Certificate III in Designed Glazing and has recently completed a Certificate IV. He is completing a Diploma of Visual Arts (Glass) in 2025–26. In 2024, Rickie was awarded the Melbourne Polytechnic Indigenous Student of the Year Award for his dedication and excellence.In a short time since learning glass art techniques, Rickie has progressed to a very high level of creating glass art infused with his culture.Rickie has completed three public artworks, which will be unveiled at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Collingwood campus in the coming months.Rickie has been commissioned by Canberra Glassworks to work on an artwork with Robert Fielding. To begin this project, he travelled to Mimili in the APY Lands with Tom Rowney from Canberra in late August 2025. During the 10 days there, Rickie taught other Indigenous artists leadlighting and other glass techniques.Rickie is the Lead Teacher for the Glaas Inc First Nations Glass Workshop Program and is actively involved in the organisation and management of the program, as well as training other First Nations artists to be teachers and mentors. He is also the Glaas Inc First Nations Advisor and has been instrumental in expanding the workshop and exhibition program.Rickie is also an activist for First Nations rights and broader human rights, using his art to raise awareness, comment on issues and inspire collective action toward a better future.
Shea Oberleuter
Shea Oberleuter, a graduate of Melbourne Polytechnic’s Glass and Glazing program, offers a unique perspective on glass art. Inspired by her diverse cultural identity, she creates works that reflect her Indigenous, Asian and European roots, expressing her own distinctive voice. With a strong foundation in traditional glass techniques, she infuses her work with a fresh voice, blending cultural continuity with innovative ideas.Currently pursuing her studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, she is expanding her artistic practice. She aims to explore how her creativity can intersect with architectural elements and evolve into sculptural forms, paving the way for a new lineage in contemporary glass art.Shea is a Teacher in the Glaas Inc First Nations Glass Workshop Program. Her business is Lewa Glass.The word 'Lewa', pronounced 'Lay-Wa', carries deep significance for Shea, embodying various facets of her life, from her cultural roots to her family connections. It represents profound personal meanings and reflects the essence of her upbringing, making it a central theme in her work.
Nadine Keegan
Nadine Keegan’s stained glass is an evolving artistic project that explores the role of the craftsperson in telling the stories of who we are.Through both commissioned projects and studio work, Nadine examines the fertile intersections of tradition and exploration; craft and art, and architecture and nature.Nadine recently completed unique glasswork for a project in collaboration with Six Degrees Architects; and in 2022, Nadine spent time in Europe after achieving an International Specialised Skills Mason Family Trust Fellowship to research Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession architecture and design, artisanal values, and global standards of stained glass art and engineering.
Jordan Benson
Jordan Benson grew up in Torquay, Victoria. From the age of fifteen, he was interested in graffiti, before a trip to Europe at twenty-five led him to deviate to oil painting and stained glass. Since travelling, he has completed a Certificate III and Certificate IV in Glass and Glazing (Designed Glazing) and has sought to become a full-time artist, glass paint supplier & teacher at Melbourne Polytechnic.The visual component of Jordan's art practice is driven by exploring ideas he collects from observing his environment, the people around him and the cultures of his youth. He portrays these themes and imagery in stained glass because of the potential to create a strong contrast between the content of the work and its historical use in churches, places of government and upper-class homes, joined by medium but separated in content.Jordan seeks to create work that young people can relate to and enjoy, and believes that stained glass should not just depict the saints, angels and heroes of the past, but also the everyday experiences and people of our time.