Duldig Studio
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From the outside,
looks like a regular house in Malvern. However, as you enter the gates behind the large green hedge, you are greeted by Karl Duldig's sculptures.
is the former home of Karl and Slawa Duldig (nee Horowitz) who escaped the war in Vienna to set up home in Australia. The home was redesigned to replicate a Viennese house with large wooden trussed beams and a pitched roof with polished wooden floors and windows to let in natural light. Not only is the house architecturally interesting, but it is also a museum and a house of stories and memories of the life of Karl and Slawa.
On my visit I joined the house tour, which runs for about three hours on the second Sunday afternoon of each month. Our volunteer guides were dedicated and knowledgeable, and we also had the pleasure of meeting Eva de Jong-Duldig, who is the surviving daughter of Karl and Slawa.
is a museum full of stories featuring romantic tales and heroic narrow escapes, with great efforts to rescue and preserve family, treasures and art. Eva de Jong-Duldig has since documented the story in her book
Driftwood, which was recently developed into a musical written and produced by Eva's daughter Tania de Jong at Chapel off Chapel. It is the account of Karl and Slawa's story through Eva's eyes and is a highly recommended read. You can buy Driftwood from
's online store. This amazing couple managed to hide all their wedding gifts, artworks and heirlooms in the cellar of their Viennese home, before moving them to Paris where Slawa's sister 'Rella' lived. Karl and Slawa's story show's the couple's resilience, passion for art and inventiveness to escape Vienna and re-establish themselves and their studio in Australia. This is back before mobile phones and the internet - when people relied on handwritten letters, and shipping to move furniture from continent to continent.
Meeting Eva in person was really special. Eva greeted us with a bright smile in her eyes and from speaking with her you can tell she is a forward and positive thinking lady. Eva was born in Vienna, and had to escape with her mother and father and move from country to country until they finally settled in Australia. Eva was a successful tennis champion who toured the world and competed on behalf of many countries including Australia.If you think about it, Karl and Slawa would have had to really hold on to hope to escape Vienna alive. Although they set up a new life in Australia, there was very little understanding or appreciation for contemporary sculpture as a profession, unlike in Europe.
But together Karl and Slawa created this beautiful home, sculpture garden and studio so that generations after them can visit and understand their story and share their own stories too.
One of the amazing stories about Slawa is that she invented an umbrella called the
Flirt.
This is celebrated at the studios on
Annual Umbrella Day , when everyone can come and paint their own umbrella and learn the story of Slawa's success in Europe with her newly invented umbrella. You can also see the original design drawings and beta models of the umbrella in the house tour.
You can also do a sculpture workshop in Karl's studio and there are many other activities and
events held throughout the year.
The studio is open for visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 4pm (except on public holidays) and on the second Sunday of each month, and you must book ahead. The next Open Sundays are 13 November and 11 December.You can also arrange bespoke group tours and a Viennese afternoon tea.
I must admit, I was really surprised by the immense array of stories, art and history that lies behind the unassuming doors of this house museum. Be sure to book ahead, visit, and enjoy this phenomenal home and sculpture garden and relish the courage and resilience of the refugee and asylum seeker experience as told through the Duldig family stories.
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211118 - 2023-06-16 06:33:58