CeremonyCast is proud to have helped the family of an acclaimed Australian artist with funeral streaming. Graham Oldroyd was admired for his passion and appreciation of the global history of ceramics. He leaves a lasting legacy with one of Australia’s most visible artworks commissioned for Parliament House in Canberra.

People sitting in chairs at Wollongong Art Gallery — A memorial at Wollongong Art Gallery

Funeral streaming for an acclaimed artist

Without a doubt, choosing somewhere that contains meaning and relevance for a funeral or memorial ceremony is key to honouring the person who has died. With this in mind, the family of Australian artist Graham Oldroyd did so magnificently by choosing Wollongong Art Gallery. Because some of his work is housed there, it’s the perfect place to bid farewell.

We were honoured to be asked to live stream his memorial ceremony to those who knew, worked with, studied under or simply admired Graham and his work. And they were spread all over the world. For example, a large contingent of people in Bali logged on to watch the many tributes shared in the gallery.

Celebrating life and legacy

Artist Graham Oldroyd standing in front of a ceramic mural — Artist Graham Oldroyd (left)

Graham Oldroyd (1953-2022) is acclaimed as an influential ceramicist and painter. Undoubtedly known for his large ceramic mural in the Members Hall of Parliament House in Canberra, he also displayed a passion for teaching, research, glazes and travel.

Especially created for the opening of the Parliament House in 1986, the impressive mural is made up of six separate multi-panelled works.

As well as his interest in Islamic ceramic forms and experimental glazes, his expertise was coupled with travels to Egypt, Iraq and Turkey.

Significantly he was awarded a Research Scholarship to study Islamic Glaze and Ceramics with Said El Sadr in Cairo. Equally important was his invitation to become Overseas Guest Lecturer at Camberwell School of Art in London. Oldroyd also left a lasting mark as a lecturer, holding several positions including Head of the Ceramics Division for TAFE NSW.

Following that work, his partnership with Philip Lakeman led to several architectural commissions in Asia, where he became Lead Designer at the Pesamuan Ceramic Studio in Bali.

Oldroyd’s works are held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Artbank, Powerhouse Museum, Australian Embassy Cairo, Manly Art Gallery, and Wollongong Art Gallery.

Words of thanks

“I recently used CeremonyCast to live stream my brother’s memorial service. I was extremely happy with the result and that it was so easy to book and use the service. I needed the live stream to be a strong connection. There were a lot of people in Bali that were going to view and this was successful. I love the fact that the live streaming stays online for a month after the service. Additionally, you receive a video version to keep and a list of all those who checked in to watch. Overall, a very professional and outstanding service which I would highly recommend.”
GRAHAM’S SISTER MICHELLE