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Duncan Meerding, National Regional Arts Fellow '26 at Regional Arts Australia
Duncan Meerding / National Regional Arts Fellow '26
Hobart, Tasmania
Artform: Design
Project Title: Haptic design methodology – A studio-based exploration of creating from an alternate sensory world.
Creative & Professional Development Fellowship
Working from his purpose-setup studio, ready for adaptive design-making process as a vision impaired practitioner, Duncan Meerding will undertake a dedicated period of experimentation, material exploration and skill development, investigating new approaches to form, light, and making. The fellowship will provide dedicated development time, mentorship, and targeted accessibility support. Together, these will enable focused experimentation beyond the constraints of commissioned work. The project will strengthen Duncan’s technical and creative capabilities, support the long-term sustainability of his practice, and contribute to the ongoing development and sharing of disability-led approaches to design and making.
Duncan Meerding is a designer maker whose nationally and internationally recognised nipaluna/Hobart practice explores materiality, light, darkness and different sensory experience. Over 16 years, he has developed a distinctive approach to transforming reclaimed and underutilize timber into lighting and furniture that challenge conventional ideas of perception and sustainability. His recent large scale works include the Propeller Bloom Pendant Light, the immersive Light Forest and the Trunk Lights. In 2026, his solo exhibition Wild Light at Cradle Mountain integrated audio description into the creative development, while two one metre Propeller Blossom lights commissioned for the Burnie Arts Centre expanded his exploration of larger forms with different materials. Duncan’s work has been exhibited internationally at Euroluce in Milan, Venice Design during the Venice Biennale and Vivid Sydney. He has received SIT DARC and LIT Lighting Design Awards, and was a Guest Teaching Fellow for University College London’s pioneering Architecture Beyond Sight course.