THE Maker Project is a community-led ceramic artwork by sculptor Jude Muduioa, exploring how everyday objects can carry stories of place, identity and belonging.
Muduioa’s practice is grounded in accumulation, repetition and the quiet traces people leave behind, with a focus on how individual lives collectively shape a community over time.
During her Ipswich residency at the Ipswich Community Workshop (18 August 18-September 4), Muduioa will invite local residents to take part in a participatory ceramic project that reflects on the lived history of Ipswich.
The project highlights the often-invisible labour that sustains communities, care work, industry, small businesses, neighbourly support, and the everyday acts that build connection across generations.
While these stories are rarely recorded in official histories, they form the emotional and cultural fabric of a place.
Participants will be invited to hand-make a simple ceramic cup.
Each cup becomes a personal expression, holding a memory, person, place or moment connected to Ipswich.
Through shared making sessions and conversation, these individual reflections will be shaped into a growing collective artwork.
As the project develops, the cups will accumulate into a large-scale installation. Rather than presenting a single narrative, the work becomes an evolving structure shaped by many voices, where each object contributes to a wider dialogue.
The final installation will present a shared portrait of Ipswich, hundreds, potentially over a thousand, handmade cups forming an immersive ceramic field.
The Maker Project invites the community to consider what emerges when everyday memories are gathered at scale, transforming personal stories into a collective artwork.
To get involved, visit Jude at the Ipswich Community Workshop, follow @judemuduioa on Instagram, or email muduioas@gmail.com.
This project is supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and Ipswich City Council.
