Florence Jaukae Kamel is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

artist and designer, particularly known for her work in the traditional medium of

bilum ''Noken'' (from Biak: ) is a traditional Indonesian multifunctional knotted or woven bag native to the Western New Guinea region, Indonesia. Its distinctive usage, which involves being hung from the head, is traditionally used to carry various ...

, plant fibres woven into yarn, and then looped or crocheted to make bags or dresses and other garments. Kamel is known locally as the "Bilum Meri". Kamel is also "an outspoken advocate for women's rights".

Early life

Kamel was taught how to make bilum by her grandmother.

Career

Kamel was elected to be a local government councillor in 2002. Kamel is one of the founders of Jaukae Bilum Products. She is the managing director of the Goroka Bilum Weavers Cooperative. In 2011, Kamel's bilum work was "recognised as an important statement of gender empowerment" by the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

, who acquired examples of it for their Pacific Collections. Her work has also appeared in the

Queensland Gallery of Modern Art The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an art museum located within the Queensland Cultural Centre in the South Bank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. GOMA, which opened on 2 December 2006, is the largest ...

exhibition ''Threads Contemporary Textiles and the Social Fabric''. In 2016, Kamel exhibited her work in New York and London as both art and fashion in runway shows, with the support of Women Empowerment, a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

program which helped her and women from six countries with a two-week workshop before the New York and London events. Kamel said, "After the training, the organisers of the event asked me if I could sew two bilum dresses in five weeks for the runway show and I did it right away using vines from Okapa (Eastern Highlands) and fibre from

Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...

(New Ireland)."

Personal life

Kamel lives in

Eastern Highlands Province Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Goroka. The province covers an area of 11,157 km², and has a population of 579,825 (2011 census). The province shares a common administrative boundary w ...

, and has five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamel, Florence Jaukae Living people People from the Eastern Highlands Province Papua New Guinean women's rights activists Papua New Guinean women activists Year of birth missing (living people)