Craft Blueprint response
The Crafts Council aims to promote the value of contemporary craft in the 21st century, to provide support and opportunities for craft professionals and to demonstrate the ways in which craft can contribute to national priorities.
We believe that the continual development of skills is vital to enable the wide range of businesses making up the sector to thrive, and much of our work already reflects the emphasis that we place on this. We have run successful programmes to enable makers to develop their creative and business skills for many years. Since 2006, we have undertaken a major evaluation of all our schemes and are currently re-launching a refreshed portfolio of skills development for makers, retailers and curators.
Working on the Craft Blueprint in partnership with Creative & Cultural Skills has been timely, allowing us to benefit from the rich research and consultation that has created the Blueprint in considering our own future programmes. This has made us well-placed to respond to recommendations that are already informing our future plans;
Support for makers, retailer and curators
Our future maker development programme will build on the success of the existing awards while increasing flexibility and accessibility to makers at all points in their careers. Our new suite of support for retailers and curators includes a range of awards (including the Spark Plug awards launched in 2006 for curators and the new Take Stock award for retailers to be launched imminently) alongside an extended programme of themed development days which is being rolled out across the UK.
Support for craft in formal education
In formal education, we are also refreshing our portfolio, following pilot projects since 2006 with Ofsted, CHEAD (Council for Higher Education in Art and Design), NSEAD (National Society of Educators in Art and Design), NALN (National Arts Learning Network) and a number of Higher Education Institutions. We continue to develop our relationships with CHEAD and NSEAD in particular, to ensure that teachers and craft makers working in schools are supported to teach craft confidently and give students the early skills to gain entry to the sector as makers or in other roles and will be developing further programmes with new partners in the education sector over the next year.
Research
We have refocused and revitalised our research activity, producing a new research strategy in consultation with other research bodies across the UK. We will be launching an annual conference for the sector in 2010 to provide a central focus for our own and other research. Continuing active research is also key to our advocacy programme through which we will actively seek to engage a range of stake-holders, notably government, other cultural areas, the education sector and the public with the best of contemporary craft.
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For further information please contact Jill Read in the Crafts Council Press Office on Tel: +44 (0) 20 7806 2549, Email: media@craftscouncil.org.uk
Notes to Editors
• The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary crafts. It aims to position the UK as the best place in the world for making, seeing and collecting contemporary craft.
• For further information about the Crafts Council visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk
• The Crafts Council is supported by Arts Council England. Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. As the national development agency for the arts, it supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts. Between 2008 and 2011, Arts Council England will invest £1.3 billion of public money from government and a further £0.3 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.
Download documents
Craft Blueprint Report
Craft Blueprint Report (1726KB Pdf File)
