Ella SaddingtonAbout
Ella Saddington is an experimental designer, researcher, and artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her practice explores the intersection of craft, material culture, and design, with a focus on reactivating pre-industrial techniques within contemporary contexts. Through Cordon Salon, Saddington investigates the tacit knowledge embedded in traditional craftsmanship, combining historical research with material experimentation to create objects that are functional, conceptually rigorous, and materially resonant.

Her work spans sculpture, furniture, and lighting, and is defined by close attention to process, sustainability, and the transmission of skill. By reframing overlooked or obsolete craft practices, Saddington highlights their contemporary relevance and contributes to wider conversations on materiality, innovation, and the cultural life of objects.

Her work has been exhibited across Australia, with presentations at National Gallery of Victoria (2023), Melbourne Art Fair (2025 & 2024), the  Oigall Projects, Craft Victoria, and Sophie Gannon Gallery, and it is held in private collections internationally.

In 2022 she was awarded the George Alexander Fellowship through the International Specialised Skills Institute, supporting intensive research into the material intelligence of medieval and early modern European armour-making. She is a recipient of the Creative Victoria 2023 Creators Fund. Saddington is an elected Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (UK) and a member of the National Association of Visual Artists (Aus) and Craft Victoria (Aus).




Commissions and collaborations welcome  
Get in touch:

Email: ellasaddington@gmail.com
Instagram: @ellasaddington
Are.na: Ella Saddington



































I acknowledge the Traditional Owners, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, as the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work. I pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and future, and extend this respect to all Indigenous Nations for their enduring stewardship, wisdom, and creative contributions.

Solo exhibitions
Expositions particulières




Group exhibitions
Expositions collectives




























Awards, Prizes, Grants
Prix, Récompenses, Subventions






Professional affiliations
Affiliations professionnelles






Professional appointments 
Fonctions professionnelles





Press & Publications
Publications et Presse















Residencies
Résidences d'artiste

Education, Studies
Éducation, Études



Talks, Lectures, Keynotes
Conférences, Art oratoire













  • Garniture, Oigall Projects, Melbourne
  • Vol. IV Oigall Projects, Melbourne
  • Vol. III Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne
  • Morphic, Compound Interest Gallery, Melbourne




    Student Fellowship, Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI)
    VL50, Vogue Living
    Creators Fund, Creative Victoria 
    George Alexander Fellowship, International Specialised Skills Institute
    Omnia Art Prize, Melbourne, Finalist
    Small Projects Grant, City of Yarra, Melbourne

Elected Fellow,  Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI)
Fellow, International Specialised Skills Institute (ISS Institute)
George Alexander Foundation
Member, National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)
Member, Craft Victoria 
Member,  Society for Artistic Research (SAR)


    Design & Research at Cordon Salon
  • Peer Assessor, Creative Victoria 
  • Curator, Material Matters 02, MDW
  • Guest selection panel, Vitrine Gallery, Craft Victoria
  • Curator, Material Matters, Craft Contemporary





  • Atelier Residency, BETA Project, Melbourne


  • Metropolitan South Institute TAFE (MSIT), Brisbane
  • Alberta University of the Arts - (Previously Alberta College of Art & Design), Calgary
  • Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne


Impact Talk, ISS Institute 
Pecha Kucha 05, Collections -  Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades, Ballarat
  • Material Matters 02, Floor Talk - MDW, Atelier Residency, BETA PROJECT, Melbourne
  • Forged Futures, GAF Skills Forum - Science Gallery Melbourne 
  • Material Matters, Floor Talk, Craft Contemporary,  Atelier Residency, BETA PROJECT, Melbourne
  • Keynote Talk - Design the Future Don’t Waste Time- Linden New Art, Melbourne
  • Artist Speakeasy - Linden New Art in partnership with Design Fringe & Craft Contemporary 
  •  Designing With Waste:  Open Studio -Atelier Residency, BETA PROJECT, Melbourne
  • Re-thinking Provisions -MPavilion x Craft Victoria  Melbourne
  • Artist Speakeasy - Linden New Art in partnership with Design Fringe & Craft Contemporary
  • Volume III > Artist Talk - Designwork 05 for MDW, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne







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2023





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2020


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Ongoing
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2025
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2023
2023
2022
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2022
2021
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2021-24


2006-09
2007
2016


2025
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2021