The MAKE Award 2025 has announced designer and metalsmith Cinnamon Lee as the recipient of a $35,000 cash prize for NOCTUA, a remarkable hybrid of jewellery and lighting that merges the permanence of metal with the ephemerality of light.
The biennial national award, presented by the Australian Design Centre (ADC), celebrates innovation and excellence in contemporary craft and design across Australia, with an exhibition showcasing the work of 36 finalists.
Inspired by international awards such as the Burke Prize (Museum of Arts and Design, New York) and the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize, the program is supported by a private philanthropic donation.
MAKE Award 2025 Winners Announced
First Prize, $35,000: Cinnamon Lee ‘NOCTUA’ Lamp
NOCTUA blurs the boundaries between jewellery, sculpture and lighting.
Drawing inspiration from the now-endangered Australian Bogong moth, the work pairs refined metalwork with luminous transformation, resulting in an object that is as poetic as it is technically precise.
Pairing the permanence of metal with the ephemerality of light, this object is at once lamp, sculpture, jewellery and theatre.
Second Prize, $10,000 Jack Rollins ‘SOFA1’
South Australian designer-maker Jack Rollins created SOFA1 from 3,744 golf balls and tensioned cord, exploring atomic geometries that are hacked and distorted to make functional objects.
The work continues his GolfWeave series, which applies the logic of triaxial weaving to explore structural tension and material re-use in large-scale furniture, previously exhibited in Milan at Gallery Rossana Orlandi.
Highly Commended: Roseanne Bartley’s ‘A Poetry of Rings: The Mulga Alphabet’
Artist-jeweller Roseanne Bartley worked with wood for the first time to hand-carve a series of finger rings from Mulga (Acacia aneura), a timber with deep cultural significance. The project expands her material vocabulary while honouring craft traditions and cultural ecology.
MAKE Award 2025 Finalists Exhibition
📍10 October to 19 November
📍Australian Design Centre
📍101–115 William Street, Dalinghurst, Sydney (Free Entry)
Visitors can experience the diversity and ingenuity of contemporary Australian craft and design practice across materials, disciplines and generations.
About the MAKE Award
Established by the Australian Design Centre in 2023, the MAKE Award: Biennial Prize for Innovation in Australian Craft and Design recognises experimentation, technical excellence and material intelligence in contemporary making.
The inaugural 2023 award was won by ceramicist Vipoo Srivilasa, with glass artist Jessica Murtagh placing second and textile doyenne Liz Williamson receiving a high commendation.
The 2025 edition continues to showcase the breadth of innovation defining Australian craft and design today.
About Australian Design Centre
Founded in 1964, the Australian Design Centre (ADC) has been a leading platform for contemporary craft and design for more than 60 years.
ADC connects makers with audiences through exhibitions, events, education, publications and digital programs, fostering dialogue between design and culture across Australia, and is led by cEO Lisa Cahill.
Visit and Learn More
The MAKE Award underscores ADC’s commitment to fostering creative excellence and supporting the national craft and design community.
View all finalists: makeaward.au/finalists_2025
including a wire mesh dining chair by the Clarence Prize recipient Ash Allen, and a meticulously crafted vessel made from upcycled wood shavings by Jam Factory alumnus Bolaji Teniola
