Guide to public craft collections
A new guide to contemporary craft in national and regional public collections is now online on the Crafts Council website
The guide is still growing and ultimately aims to include information on every publicly accessible collection of contemporary craft in the country.
The resource is a useful and easy way to find out more about some of the treasures held in contemporary craft collections in numerous institutions across the country; from iconic Lucie Rie pieces at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge to newly acquired monumental pots by Julian Stair at mima in Middlesbrough. The easy to use guide splits the country into regions and provides a map, information on how to get there and a summary of the collection, so users can quickly find the best contemporary craft in their area.
At present 38 institutions are represented, including the Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery, the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead, The Manchester Art Gallery, the Embroiders Guild in Surrey, the Aberystwyth Ceramic Collection and Archive, the V&A, London and the British Museum, London.
The Crafts Council is currently developing its website in order to provide a comprehensive and unparalleled resource on contemporary craft. This includes a new online exhibitions programme that encourages people to see pieces from the Crafts Council Collection in a new light. Object in Focus: Chain & Red Chain by Christoph Zellweger and A White, a Blue, a Yellow, Red: poetry by Jeremy Reed are the two inaugural online exhibitions and focus on disintegrating jewellery and avant-garde poetry.
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For more information and 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.
