A material manipulator…in a nice way.

Katie Keast is an Adelaide-based artist, designer, maker and Jill of all trades. She completed her Bachelor of Industrial Design at the University of South Australia(2004) and a Cert. IV in Visual Arts and Contemporary Craft at TafeSA(2008).

For over two decodes she has worked in the signage, exhibition and commercial fit out industries, developing a diverse understanding of materials and processes which inform and inspire her multi-disciplinary personal practice.

Crafting jewellery since her early twenties, her pieces are held in Australian and international private collections. Since 2016 her practice has evolved to encompass lighting, furniture and sculpture. Often championing the re-appropriation of forgotten everyday objects and hard waste materials to become elevated works in a new life-cycle.

She has facilitated workshops nationally, promoting the use of recycled materials to create art and design projects with both children and adults.

Katie has been awarded and celebrated for her unique approach to materials and her focus on sustainable design practice. Featured in Cosmopolitan magazine, winning the national ‘Fresh Face of Design’ competition and as a recipient of the University of South Australia’s ‘Sustainable Futures’ and ID ‘ONYA’ awards.

In recent years, Katie has been selected as a finalist in exhibitions with a focus on environmental themes, including the ReART exhibition at the M2 Gallery in Sydney and The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize (2016, 2022, 2024).

“I have always walked a line between art and design. The most satisfying creative experiences manifest when applying my industrial design and craft knowledge to unconventional materials. Sometimes purely for artistic expression and form, often to incorporate function. Call me a material manipulator, in a nice way!

The motto of making ‘something out of nothing’ or returning a discarded broken object to a second cycle of life by application of some innovation and elbow grease has always appealed; which is probably why I keep rescuing hard rubbish to stock my material hoard.

By nature I love fine details, the smallest things trigger the largest influences on my work. The patterns of nature found in flora, the textures of a fossil, shell or animal, the colours, complexity and beauty at the smallest scale in the insect world.

By recreating the context of everyday materials and objects and layering messages within those choices I hope to invite a second glance, a smile or perhaps open a conversation. Taking time to reflect on sustainability, homage and connection to the natural world and the appreciation of small wonders."