Jane Burns AM was the Founding Director and long time CEO of the peak body for crafts in Australia, the Crafts Council of Australia. Jane was also a founding member of the Arts Law Centre of Australia, the National Association for the Visual Arts, the National Arts Industry Training Council (now known as Create Australia), and the Australian Academy of Design, Stuart Gallery and Studios and the Australian Costume and Textile Society.
Jane was born in Crookwell, NSW graduating from Rose Bay in the Class of 1950. Whilst her professional background was in Welfare Management, her passion was in craft.
The Craft Council of Australia emerged in 1964 as a response to an invitation from the World Crafts Council (WCC) to attend its inaugural event in New York. Jane was the founding director of the Crafts Council of Australia (later renamed Craft Australia) from 1971 – 1992.
The Craft Enquiry of 1973, initiated by the Australian Government, and Jane’s submissions to this enquiry paved the way for the formation of the Crafts Board at the Australia Council (now Creative Australia), which formed in 1993 to represent craft equally alongside visual arts, dance and literature. Jane was involved in the first bids for government funding for the crafts, Australia’s involvement in the World Crafts Council and its Asian Zone office, and the first national conferences and Crafts Expo’s.
From 1992-1996, Jane worked in a consultancy capacity with the Visual Arts/Craft Board, to help develop a higher profile for Australian crafts, and often managed the itineraries of international collector’s groups when visiting (1994-2005), in particular the American Craft Museum in New York, the Renwick Gallery in Washington, the Oakland Musem in California and the Mint Museum in North Carolina, among others. Jane was also involved in taking Australian craft abroad, ensuring representation in international events such as in Faenza (ceramics), Lausanne and Lodz (textiles) and Pforzheim (jewelry) as well as SOFA (Sculpture Objects Functional Art) – the iconic design and craft fair in Chicago, USA.
In 1988, Jane was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to the crafts and in 1992, Jane received the Australia Council’s Visual Arts/Craft Board Emeritus Medal and became an Honorary Member of the World Crafts Council that same year.
RIP Jane Burns AM 04 May 1932 – 17 April 2024