Meet our 2026 George Alexander Foundation Fellows!

We’re proud to introduce the 2026 GAF Fellows; a dynamic group of practitioners and researchers whose work spans digital preservation, fashion, craft, and sustainable architecture. Each Fellow brings a unique perspective and a commitment to advancing knowledge, practice, and cultural sustainability within Australia and beyond.

Bryony Cavallaro

Bits, Discs and Beyond: Preserving Obsolete Digital Carriers

Bryony’s Fellowship tackles the urgent challenge of preserving born-digital cultural heritage stored on obsolete media such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs. As these carriers degrade and the technologies required to access them disappear, significant parts of recent history face permanent loss.

Through her research, Bryony will investigate current digital preservation practices, focusing on the tools, workflows, and challenges involved in stabilising and providing access to complex digital artefacts while maintaining their authenticity and context. By engaging directly with leading preservation programs in Europe, she will build hands-on expertise in carrier handling, data recovery, and emulation.

Genevieve Elliott

The Craft of French Savoir-Faire: Investigating Material, Process and Fashion Practice

Genevieve’s Fellowship explores specialist artisan techniques, including embroidery, textile floristry, featherwork, and textile manipulation, with a focus on advancing three-dimensional surface design.

Through hands-on training and mentorship with leading ateliers and craftspeople in Paris, she will gain rare insight into the transmission of highly specialised knowledge.

Her research will also engage with institutions and archives to better understand how these traditions are preserved and adapted. The Fellowship will support the development of a digital archive and education program, ensuring that these skills can be shared, sustained, and reimagined within Australia’s creative sector.

Rhys Jones

Regional Identity in Timber Craft: Connecting Material, Technique, and Place

Rhys’ Fellowship investigates how timber craft practitioners across Europe and the UK are developing sustainable, place-based approaches to making. His research focuses on supply chain regionalism, material intelligence, and adaptive techniques that respond to environmental challenges.

By engaging with furniture makers, forestry experts, and research organisations, Rhys will build a comparative understanding of timber supply networks and experimental forming methods. This work will inform new approaches within Australian studio practice, encouraging stronger connections between material, technique, and place.

Ultimately, Rhys aims to diversify the timber sector, reduce reliance on imported materials, and foster a distinctly regional design language within Australian craft and design.

Gracie O’Malley-Welby

Rebuilding with Earth: Scaling Contemporary Compressed Earth Block Construction in Australia

Gracie O’Malley-Welby is an architectural graduate and design researcher exploring how low-carbon building materials can be more widely adopted in Australia. Her Fellowship focuses on compressed earth blocks, a construction method made from local soils and mineral by-products, requiring minimal cement and no firing. While widely used internationally, these materials remain underutilised in Australia due to limited production and design knowledge.

Through visits to leading European practitioners, Gracie will learn how earth-based materials are produced, tested, and applied at scale. Her work highlights the potential of earth construction to create buildings that are not only environmentally sustainable, but also deeply connected to place through their materiality.

Looking Ahead

Together, the 2026 Fellows represent a powerful cross-section of disciplines united by a shared commitment to preservation, innovation, and sustainability. From safeguarding digital histories to revitalising traditional crafts and advancing low-carbon design, their work will have lasting impact across Australia’s cultural and creative landscape. We look forward to following their journeys.