Frances Burke Fabrics 1937 – 1965 and Gerry Wedd and Mambo draw a relationship between cutting-edge practices and achievement in fabric design some sixty years apart, and present an opportunity to examine the dynamic issue of Australian content in our design arts and popular culture.

Frances Burke (1907–1994) was a prime influence in the transition of Australian textile design from its largely English frame, to a modernity, content and style which celebrated the spirit of Australian subjects and colours. A graduate of Melbourne's legendary George Bell School, which placed emphasis on originality, imagination and experimentation, Burke's unerring commitment to innovation in design separates her as a creative leader of special character.

The exhibition presents a range of Burke's fabrics from the Frances Burke Textile Resource Centre, RMIT University, with period furniture and decorative arts.

The Gerry Wedd and Mambo exhibition gives perspective to another, more contemporary Australian design style. Adelaide–based ceramicist and Mambo artist Gerry Wedd is one of the more distinctive voices in Australian art. He has produced a new series of ceramics inspired by Frances Burke which are presented alongside a selection of his Mambo fabrics – as well as those by Bruce Goold, Paul McNeil, Jim Mitchell, Reg Mombassa and Robert Moore – which illustrate the persistent evolution of Australian fabric design.

A University of South Australia Art Museum exhibition. Curated by Erica Green. Catalogue essays by Erica Green and Peter Harding.