Artist Turns Venue Waste into Ceramic Art Materials

Circular Hospitality Project is a design-led, circular economy collaboration between Tasmania’s hospitality and design sectors.

An initiative by Regional Arts Australia, 2025 Industry Residencies Pilot Program has been awarded to an innovative cross-sector Tasmanian project, providing one fully funded, 12-month residency to a Tasmanian artist, supported by the state’s leading centre for design, Design Tasmania.

Kate Bowman will explore how design can reimagine hospitality waste as a resource.

Working closely with three bespoke Tasmanian venues – Scholé , The Agrarian Kitchen and Dier Makr, Kate will collect high-quality post-consumer waste materials and investigate their transformation into ceramic glazes, functional wares and other ceramic outcomes.

Research time will also be spent in development of an open-source documented framework to support uptake by other designers, educators, or venues for sourcing, testing and applying waste-derived materials in creative practice, with workshops and events linking food, design and sustainability presented at Design Tasmania during the year-long project.

“Grounded in place and shaped by strong community connections, the Industry Residencies Pilot Program brings together Creative Practitioners, Arts Organisations and industry partners to co-develop creative responses to industry-specific concerns. Through this cross-sector model, the program fosters collaboration, community engagement and innovative thinking, particularly in the areas of sustainability and liveability. It also highlights the vital role of creativity in shaping resilient and vibrant regional futures” – Regional Arts Australia.

“Tasmania has a deep respect for craft and a hospitality culture that values provenance. Working together, we have an opportunity to push that mindset further and explore new material systems that connect food, place and design. I’m incredibly grateful and excited to pursue this research alongside industry partners, with the support of Design Tasmania and Regional Arts Australia” – Kate Bowman, Tasmanian designer.

“Circular Hospitality exemplifies the design-led collaboration we value at Design Tasmania – uniting industry and designers to tackle local and global challenges through collaboration and research. We’re thrilled this uniquely Tasmanian project with Kate and three leading hospitality venues has been selected by Regional Arts Australia for its national pilot, and we’re proud to continue supporting Kate following her standout inclusion in our Tasmania Makes 25 program earlier this year. Her practice elegantly connects place, process and sustainability, showing how design can drive innovation and further elevate Tasmania’s tourism experience” – Design Tasmania

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