Outreach Philippines - [e]merge

It was the success of [re]frame Manilla that lead to the current project ‘[e]merge’ run under the banner of Omnium Outreach: Philippines.

Rick Bennett has facilitated the ‘[e]merge’ project, working alongside a group of fourth year design students from the College of Fine Arts, Sydney. The students have designed a range of embroidered products that aim to further commercial business opportunities for the collective of women embroiderers (PML) in Lumban. This site allows you to see the latest News, Design Development and behind the scenes work of Omnium Outreach: Philippines.

Outreach Uganda - Triune

Triune is the first international fully online education initiative designed to link students, teachers and professionals from Health Sciences disciplines globally with a rural community in Uganda.

The project will challenge a diverse, international body of students, educators and professionals - from the fields of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, sociology and anthropology - to address important global health issues through the production of written reports and creation of subsequent key health messages for people in rural Uganda.

Through these messages Triune aims to emphasise the importance of collaboration amongst these allied disciplines in the health and welfare of social communities in the developing world. This unique and innovative approach to collaborative education, research and ethical debate will promote increased social awareness and proactive involvement worldwide amongst students, teachers, health professionals, health organisations, professional bodies and education institutions.

Outreach Philippines - [re]frame Manila

[re]frame - manila is the latest Omnium Outreach Project and specifically aims to assist a local collective of women embroiderers (PML) from the town of Lumban in the province of Laguna in the Philippines.. The project intends to help open up new commercial opportunities and sustainable business practice for the local artisans, while staying true to their traditions, culture and heritage.

[re]frame - manila focuses on the detail and intricate nature of existing traditional and cultural Filipino embroidery techniques, by framing off small sections of the work and placing them in an entirely new contemporary context –. Omnium has been working on the project for over a year in collaboration with the Social Action Office of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Manila.

The outcome of the [re]frame - manila project is a large wall installation (4.8 m x 11 m) comprising over 2500 individually framed embroidery pieces that is now installed as a permanent artwork in the foyer of DLS-CSB’s School of Design and Arts in Malate, Manila. The project was a large scale collaboration and provided many months ongoing employment for over 60 embroiderers and woodworkers in the province, at a time when work was scarce and difficult to attract.

[re]frame - manila opened to the public on May 15th, 2008.

Outreach Kenya - Visualising Issues in Pharmacy (VIP ‘07)

VIP ‘07 was the first fully online international education initiative designed to link students and teachers in Pharmacy and Graphic Design departments from universities and colleges around the world.

The project challenged a diverse body of students and educators and professionals to address important global health issues by producing detailed research reports and subsequent visual communication campaigns for implementation in specific local hospitals and health centres in Kenya, Africa.

Outreach Sri Lanka

The aim of this project was to assist Sri Lankan artisans affected by the tsunami disaster. The beginnings of this project occurred in 2006, when an Omnium member Caroline Falconer was approached by an agency in Sri Lanka who was interested in having designers come together and develop products that would be of an economic interest to a Western market.