Crafts Council summer round-up
Capacity by Annie Cattrel, Photo: Philip Sayer, 2000
The opening of Possibilities and Losses at mima in Middlesbrough is the highlight of the Crafts Council’s full programme of exhibitions this summer.
Exhibitions include three current partnerships with museums (with mima in Middlesbrough, the Crafts Study Centre in Farnham and the V&A), four touring exhibitions and a new online exhibitions initiative. Exhibitions opening over the next three months (May to July) include 67 pieces from the Crafts Council Collection and five works commissioned especially for those exhibitions. The exhibitions are;
• Possibilities and Losses: transitions in clay
mima, Middlesbrough
22 May – 16 August 2009
Private view: Thursday 21 May, 6-8pm
Possibilities and Losses: transitions in clay is a new exhibition in collaboration with mima curated by maker Clare Twomey. It positions itself at a moment of change in contemporary ceramic practice and features the work of Clare Twomey, Neil Brownsword, Keith Harrison and Linda Sormin. The exhibition will feature three major new commissions and will include thousands of ceramic shards cascading from the height of the eight-metre gallery space. The Possibilities and Losses conference will and catalogue launch will take place in mid-July.
• Three by One
Crafts Study Centre, Farnham
12 January – 19 December 2009
Three by One is an exhibition in collaboration with the Crafts Study Centre and British Council of over 90 pieces of craft made by influential and pioneering makers selected from each of the three public collections by curator and potter, Alison Britton OBE. The accompanying Crafts Council publication was launched on 7 May and is available from the Crafts Study Centre.
• Collecting a Kaleidoscope
artsdepot, London
8 May – 21 June 2009
Collecting a Kaleidoscope is a touring exhibition that features 19 objects from the Crafts Council Collection selected by renowned curator and writer Ralph Turner. The objects range across all disciplines and include ephemeral jewellery by Naomi Filmer that melts on the wearer, a serene glass portrait by Bruno Romanelli and Shin Azumi’s elegant wooden bench.
• Object as Muse
Fife Contemporary Art & Craft at Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, Fife
9 May – 21 June
Object as Muse is a touring exhibition that presents six artist responses to an object from the Crafts Council Collection; the Asentiamento Dress by textile maker Julie Cook. The responses include a poem, ceramic vessels and a drawing and all explore themes prevalent in Julie Cook’s piece including rituals, relationships and emotional and physical health.
• Deviants
Hove Museum and Art Gallery
6 June – 13 September 2009
Deviants is a touring exhibition of 16 curious pieces from the Crafts Council Collection by some of the UK’s leading makers. These maverick makers present us with playful, mischevious and bizarre aberrations of familiar objects including teapots with legs, a pot with ears and a glove with 25 fingers.
• Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft
A Crafts Council and V&A exhibition
Museums Sheffield: Millennium Gallery
25 June – 20 September 2009
Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft is an exhibition of work by eight artists who use traditional craft skills such as embroidery, wood carving and lace-making to re-work precious, ephemeral and everyday materials creating unexpected and dramatic results. These include a cloud laser-etched in a block of glass and exquisitely carved wooden weeds. It is on tour following its launch at the V&A in November 2007 to February 2008.
• Wood
Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen
11 July – 5 September 2009
The Crafts Council in collaboration with TEN and twentytwentyone present Wood; an exhibition of witty and ethically designed products for the home or garden designed by Studio Ten that follow the belief that designers should take a responsible approach to design and offer an antidote to society’s high level of consumption. Products include a frame bird feeder that celebrates a fleeting moment and a car-shaped door wedge that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
• Online exhibitions
To be launched on the Crafts Council website www.craftscouncil.org.uk in June 2009
A new programme of online exhibitions will feature four new online exhibitions every year with the first two launched in June.
*The Crafts Council Collection *
Representing the very best in British craft over the last 35 years, the Crafts Council Collection covers a wide range of contemporary craft practice with more than 1,400 fascinating objects from both established figures and up-and-coming names;
• The Crafts Council has just made their acquisitions for the 2008/9 financial year. The Collection has acquired 11 key pieces by makers at a significant stage in their careers. Pieces include work by glass maker Angela Jarman, furniture makers Wales & Wales, and jeweller Lin Cheung.
• The Crafts Council has just loaned seven iconic pieces to a new exhibition at The City Gallery, Leicester. The pieces by Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie and David Watkins will form part of the Pattern Recognition exhibition that looks across at pattern across all art disciplines including craft, photography, film, painting and sculpture.
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For more information and electronic images 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.
