What happens to specialist skills when there is no one to pass them on to?
As part of Heritage Hands Festival: Sandgate, What Do We Carry Forward? brings together makers and creative practitioners to explore how specialist skills and knowledge are learned, shared, adapted and passed between generations.
From traditional trades and specialist crafts to practices continuing to evolve with new materials, technologies and ways of working, the conversation will explore what it takes to keep knowledge alive – and what can be lost when opportunities to learn directly from skilled practitioners disappear.
We’ll talk about apprenticeships and mentoring, learning by doing, changing pathways into specialist practice, the role of documentation and archives, and how makers, educators, communities and cultural organisations can create opportunities for knowledge to continue.
At the heart of Heritage Hands is the belief that preserving skills isn’t simply about documenting them. It’s about creating connections between people, sharing knowledge and creating opportunities to experience, learn and build upon those skills.
As practices change, pathways evolve and generations shift – what do we carry forward, and how do we ensure that knowledge continues?
Robert Allen, Brisbane Heritage Co.
Robert Allen brings a passion for Brisbane’s history, built heritage and the stories that connect people to place. Through Brisbane Heritage Co., his work focuses on celebrating and sharing local heritage, making him a fitting facilitator for a conversation about preserving specialist knowledge, connecting generations and keeping traditional skills alive.
Dr Renata Buziak – Photo-media Artist, Researcher & Educator
Renata’s practice combines alternative and experimental photographic processes with contemporary art, research and education. Her work offers a perspective on how established processes and knowledge can continue to evolve through experimentation, teaching and new applications.
Michael Blazek – Neon Artist & Specialist Neon Maker
Co-founder of Neon Signs Australia, Michael brings more than three decades of specialist knowledge in traditional glass neon fabrication. Following the closure of the business in 2023, its extensive archive was acquired by the John Oxley Library at State Library of Queensland — opening an interesting conversation about what can be preserved through documentation and what can only be retained by continuing to practise and pass on a skill.
Meade & Mason Murphy – Murphy’s Antiques and Restorations
Representing two generations of a family restoration practice, Meade and Mason bring a direct perspective on how specialist knowledge is passed from one generation to the next through working alongside one another. Their experience opens up questions around learning by doing, what can only be transferred from practitioner to practitioner, and how traditional knowledge is retained, adapted and carried forward by the next generation.
