Wicked pavement artists, Julie Doye, is a woman of many talents most notably her pop-art portraiture style. Inspired by the counter-culture art that emerged in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Julie will be attending the Friends of the Federation event this Friday night at TheClub.

With her work hanging in Paris Hilton’s private collection, she will be our roaming resident artist at the party. Look out for Julie painting 1 minute mini – portraits of our guests in her poppin’ fresh style and be sure you get to sit for the Design Doyenne from 7:30pm onwards.

Just another of the delicious little treats Design Federation will be serving up to our loyal readers and guests at the hottest party of the Chinese New Year!

For many of us, the opportunity to head out on a cruise with an on-assignment National Geographic photographer for free, sounds like a dream come true. For Sydney resident and aspiring photographer, Anna Zhu, this dream became a reality after she beat some of the world’s best amateur photographers in a scholarship lead by World Nomads and Gap Adventures – www.gapadventures.com. Read all about Gap Aventures ►

Photographer Mike O’Meally is throwing two exhibitions of his photos from behind the scenes of Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are. First one is in Sydney at China Heights on the 20th of Feb and second in Melbourne on the 25th at the Lamington Drive Gallery. All proceeds are going to Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation.

The young Will Deague, son of Demolition Dave Deague an Australian art patron, is CEO of the Art Series Hotel Group, an innovation in the local hospitality and art scene.  The new boutique hotels, six in total, to be opened over the next two years in this country are each named in honour of an Australian artist and will feature major artwork commissioned especially for the hotel foyer by the naming artist.

“Our group is the first to name hotels after individual artists,” boasts Deaugue and added, more importantly that the aim of the project is to “bestow the artist’s style and character so thoroughly throughout each hotel to create a total art experience for guests.”

Design Federation’s Miss Pigelle visited the Art Series Hotel’s $48 million tribute to Australian artist, Adam Cullen. He of the putrefied pig skull chained to his ankle fame, or the collaboration with Chopper Reed in their devilish dabbles in children’s books notoriety or Anita Cobbey portraiture ill-repute.  Streaky, drippy, spray-painted, iridescent and crude, Cullen snatched for the Archibald prize in 2000 with his controversial David Wenham portrait which followed closely on the heels of his “Only Women Bleed” debacle. Read the Whole Cullen Hotel Experience. ►

As more and more designers drag their portfolio onto the internerd, many find themselves quickly feeling overwhelmed with the troubles of hand coding creative platforms for their own work. Additionally, of these designers which put the unpaid days and weeks of perseverance into building a .html trophy cabinet, many find themselves cursed with the demanding logistics of updating the site or even a modest re-design. And of course, imagine the anguish this whole process causes when you multiply it by the 6 clients who loved your site. Read the Rest of CMS & You by Joshua Crowley ►

From the 16th to the 29th of March, Studio 2017 in Sydney’s waterloo will showcase ‘A study of birds’ jewellery and sculptural works by artist Sian Edwards, the inaugural recipient of the studio 20/17 graduate award. Sian Edwards recently completed her honours in a bachelor of fine art at Monash University. Prior to that she completed an advanced diploma in jewellery and object design at Enmore design centre Sydney. Read all about A Study of Birds ►

Read about it at www.buronorth.com

Have you ever considered exporting your design work? We live in a global economy and Australian designers are recognised as among the best. Hear from four Australian business builders who will share their experiences and provide invaluable advice. Reall all about Going Global by Design ►

Is your design business eligible for grant funding? At this seminar, four Australian business builders who have been there, done that and acquired funding for growth – will share their experiences and provide invaluable advice. Read all about the Grant Funding by Design Seminar ►

City of Sydney’s 2010 Chinese New Year Festival (12 – 28 February) will be a display of visual and performing arts, from the ancient art of ‘changing faces’ to the powerful contemporary works of Guo Jian.

The 17-day Festival includes art exhibitions, theatrical performances, art workshops and a spectacular Twilight Parade with over 2700 performers, including around 300 from Chongqing City in Western China.

Read all about the Chinese New Year Festival ►