Pamela Joyce
Pamela Joyce weaving on the 'The Declaration of the Rights of the Child', 2018, Emily Floyd, wool, cotton, 3 tapestries 2.0m (H) x 1.3m (W) each. Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery. Photo: Jeremy Weihrauch.
Master Weaver
Pamela Joyce became interested in tapestry whilst studying a double major in fine art in conjunction with her teaching degree. She began working at the ATW in 1980 and has since worked on numerous major projects including the Roger Kemp Suite in the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Arthur Boyd Great Hall Tapestry (1988) for Parliament House in Canberra and the Jørn Utzon tapestry Homage to Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach (2003) for the Sydney Opera House. In 1985 she undertook a year of study in tapestry and textile conservation with Conservator Tina Kane from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Pamela has led many major commissions including Creek Bed (2009) by Elizabeth Marks Nakamarra for The Australian Embassy in Paris, Spring Street end (2011) by Ben McKeown for the State Library of Victoria and Kunnawaritji to Wajaparni (2011) for the Australian Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, which was based on a painting by eight Indigenous artists who took part in a project that re-examined the history of the Canning Stock Route. Pamela has worked on an illustrious commission, which translated an original artwork by HRH Prince of Wales, Rufiji River from Mbuyuni Camp, Selous Game Reserve, in Tanzania (2014); Catching Breath (2015) designed by Brook Andrew; Gordian Knot (2016) designed by Keith Tyson; Perspectives on a Flat Surface (2016) designed by John Wardle Architects, winner of the inaugural Tapestry Design Prize for Architects; and Listen, to the Sounds of Plants (2017) designed by Janet Laurence.