Treasures of Heaven jewellery
Jewellery by Alex Clamp
Crafts Council and the British Museum Company have collaborated to commission three jewellers to make limited edition jewellery inspired by the British Museum exhibition Treasures of Heaven: saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe, 23 June – 9 October 2011.
The open call competition resulted in three makers being commissioned to make new work – Alex Clamp, Joanne Daly and Rina Tairo.
All three makers took inspiration from the themes of the sacred and religious nature associated with Christian relics and each design plays on the makers own individual skill from hand-pierced detailing to strong graphic details and fine hand-crocheted work.
The limited edition jewellery pieces will be on sale in the Grenville Room gift shop at the British Museum in a Crafts Council designated display unit.
ENDS
For more information on the Crafts Council please contact Jill Read, Press Officer, tel: +44 (0) 20 7806 2549, Email: media@craftscouncil.org.uk
For more information on the British Museum and the exhibition please contact the British Museum Press Office at communications@britishmuseum.org or on 0207 323 8394 / 8593
Notes to Editors
• The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft.
o We believe that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life.
o We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
o We believe that the strength of craft lies in its use of traditional and contemporary techniques, ideas and materials to make extraordinary new work.
o We believe that the future of craft lies in nurturing talent; children and young people must be able to learn about craft at school and have access to excellent teaching throughout their education.
• 12% of the UK population visited a craft exhibition in 2009/10, and 18% participated in craft activity in the same year (DCMS/ACE Taking Part data update August 2010). (Taking Part is an ongoing survey being carried out by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England (ACE).
• More than 2.8 million visits were made to the Crafts Council website in 2009. To find out everything you need to know about where to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk and follow us on Facebook and Twitter
• Crafts Council Craft Champions are all active supporters of contemporary craft who signed up to the Craft Matters campaign at www.craftmatters.org.uk to say that craft matters to them. Current Craft Champions are; Linda Barker, Priscilla Carluccio, Sir Terence Conran, Siobhan Davies CBE, Duke of Devonshire, Norman Foster, Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, Tricia Guild OBE, Sir Mark Jones, Jude Kelly OBE, Cath Kidston, Corin Mellor, Michelle Ogundehin, Grayson Perry, Jon Snow, Sheila Teague, Sandi Toksvig, Sir John Tusa and Jeanette Winterson OBE and Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE.
• Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts. Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, Arts Council England will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and a further £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.
• The British Museum was established in 1753 by Act of Parliament and opened to the public in 1759. Governed by a body of Trustees, the Museum was from its beginnings a new type of institution, its collection belonging to the nation and freely accessible to all. The British Museum today is a museum for the world, holding a collection of seven million objects—one of the finest in existence—spanning two million years of human history. The British Museum is the most visited attraction in the UK receiving 6 million visitors a year and aims to reach a broader worldwide audience by extending engagement not only with these objects but with the cultures and civilizations that they represent.
