Updates from Rosy Greenlees
12 September 2011
The weeks since my last update should, by virtue of the holiday season, have been quieter than those before them. But the whirlwind of activity as we built up to our autumn 40th anniversary events means that they have been anything but peaceful, with four major exhibitions opening over the next three months, Origin’s return to the London Design Festival and a special birthday issue of Crafts Magazine all on the go.
OUR 40th BIRTHDAY EVENTS IN FULL…
POWER OF MAKING AT THE V&A
First to open was Power of Making curated by Daniel Charny and presented in partnership with the V&A. Power of Making brings together 100 crafted objects – from a life-size crochet bear to a ceramic eye patch – in a cabinet of curiosities made by amateurs and leading international makers to present a snapshot of making in our time. An enthusiastic crowd of guests, including Culture Minister Ed Vaizey attended the private view on 5 September where Martin Roth, the V&A’s new Director spoke eloquently of “this celebration of making in our time … and the “brilliant and appropriate partnership” with the Crafts Council. With which sentiments I can only agree!
It has attracted some excellent reviews especially in The Times and The Independent and I do hope you will have the chance to visit. Also drawing much attention was the selection of films accompanying the exhibition, submitted by people across the world, offering more personal insights into the power of making and adding another dimension to the display.
LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL I: ORIGIN RETURNS…
In a couple of weeks, its over to Old Spitalfields Market for Origin’s return to the London Design Festival from 22- 28 September, with a strong mix of familiar and new makers amongst the 200 who will be gathering to sell their work direct to the public, enabling people to discover the stories behind their purchases. There are some fantastic new features at Origin this year including Lux Craft, showcasing lighting installations by craft makers, and five new display windows curated by Michelle Alger of Liberty and featuring work from participating exhibitors. As usual, the opportunity to see and buy the widest range of craft under one roof will be unparalleled.
We are very grateful to Nokia Design for its generous support of Lux Craft.
LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL II: BLOCK PARTY LAUNCHES
Next off the blocks is … Block Party, curated by Lucy Orta with the Crafts Council and exploring contemporary craft inspired by the art of the tailor. Block Party will have its first showing at designjunction as part of the London Design Festival from 22 to 25 September, prior to being seen at venues across the UK. Designed by architecture studio Carmody Groarke, Block Party includes sculpture, interactives, moving image, collage and textiles created by established artists including Shelley Fox, Charlotte Hodes, Dai Rees, Yinka Shonibare and Simon Thorogood and emerging artists such as Hormazd Narielwalla.
LOST IN LACE IN BIRMINGHAM… OUR FIRST FIFTY:FIFTY EXHIBITION
Then, it’s up to Birmingham for Lost in Lace opening on 29 October in Birmingham Museum & Art Galleries’ magnificent Gas Hall. On show until the middle of February, Lost in Lace, curated by Professor Lesley Millar, explores the relationship between textiles and space through large-scale installations by international artists who have been inspired by the language of lace – many showing in the UK for the first time.
Lost in Lace represents the culmination of two Crafts Council projects, our first Fifty:Fifty partnership to co-curate and co-fund a major exhibition with a partner museum, gallery or venue and the final outcome of one of our first Spark Plug curatorial awards which allowed Lesley to research and develop her initial idea.
TOURING EXHIBITIONS
Meanwhile our existing touring exhibition Lab Craft can be seen in Leamington Spa, Breathaking in Aberdeen and we are delighted that A White, A Blue, A Yellow, Red which has just closed was on show in Northern Ireland as part of Craft NI’s Craft Month in August.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE CRAFTS COUNCIL COLLECTION…
These “physical world” exhibitions are followed by a new online exhibition profiling 40 objects from the Crafts Council Collection which will be launched in November, marking the start of our plan to develop the best possible online resource to accompany all the 1400+ objects in the Collection. We have presented the Collection online for several years, but the accompanying information is limited and we want to do much more, giving online visitors deep, rich contextual information to accompany each object and creating a digital hub from which they can contextualise work held in collections across the country.
… AND LOOKING AHEAD TO 50…
This initial phase, with 40 objects profiled to celebrate our 40th anniversary, is generously supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. We will need much more support to complete this project and fulfil our other ambitions for the future presentation and use of the Collection. So please do look at the details of our new Ruby Circle and consider supporting this project to make the full richness of the Collection available to all. I am delighted that we have our first – anonymous – members of the Ruby Circle. Thank you!
CRAFTS MAGAZINE 40th BIRTHDAY ISSUE…
You can read more about our 40th birthday in Crafts magazine’s special 40th anniversary issue, on sale now, and keep up to date with all the news on our website and through our e-bulletins, facebook and twitter. Crafts magazine is on facebook and twitter too, complementing the bimonthly magazine with continually updated news and views, so, if you don’t want to miss anything this autumn, this is a good time to sign up for whichever appeals to you.
MAKING FUTURES AND DESIGN HISTORY SOCIETY CONFERENCES
I am very pleased to be attending the second Making Futures conference presented by Plymouth College of Art. With its focus, again, on sustainability, it promises to be a timely programme with relevance to all. We will be presenting two papers: Craft and the creative life-cycle: making in changing times drawing on the Making Value report published last year, and colleagues from BOP Consulting will be presenting early findings from the current UK-wide survey of the contemporary craft sector prior to publication later in the year. Last but not least, we are hosting a reception on Thursday evening. If you are attending, I look forward to seeing you there.
Just prior to Making Futures, we presented Activism at work – crafting an alternative business, also drawing on Making Value, at the Design History Society’s annual conference, this time focusing on makers’ changing roles as activists and social innovators.
I am very pleased that we have these two opportunities to profile Crafts Council research. Making Value has been widely noted, and the statistical evidence from the current survey will be important in building a detailed picture of contemporary craft today, giving us the first ever UK-wide profile of the sector, through our partnerships with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales and Craft Northern Ireland.
OUT AND ABOUT
All these preparations mean that I’ve been more London-based than usual, but it was a pleasure to visit Bishopsland and meet the students just as they are about to embark on their careers, and to visit the Leach Pottery in Cornwall which goes from strength to strength alongside Tate St Ives and Newlyn Art Gallery.
I wish I had been able to get to Firing Up’s celebration of the Liverpool cluster’s project alongside our Participation & Learning team which leads this important education programme, but I am looking forward very much to the launch of the West Midlands and Staffordshire cluster as part of the British Ceramics Biennial which opens later this month.
The coming weeks will, of course, be largely devoted to the above events and others too many to mention during the London Design Festival, although I must single out the opening of the show developed by the 2010 London Hothouse cohort for Pitzhanger Manor, Portraits in the Making.
HIDDEN ART
We are very sad to hear that Hidden Art is closing as a consequence of the reduction in public funds from a number of sources. This organisation has done so much to promote and support designer makers over the years under the leadership of Dieneke Ferguson and it will be missed throughout the sector.
VISAS
Another issue making the news alongside the challenges of reduced funding is that of the difficulty of obtaining visas for artists visiting the UK. We know that this is already affecting craft organisations wishing to work with overseas makers. We are working alongside others to continue the debate on this issue and it would be very helpful to know of specific examples where craft has been directly affected. If you have any direct knowledge, please email Marion Cable at m_cable@craftscouncil.org.uk.
AND FINALLY…to end on some good news…
Mark Williams MP has nominated the work of The Harp Centre of Wales to represent his constituency for Made by Britain, the parliamentary-led project to showcase the best of British manufacturing.
And, following Ed Vaizey’s long-standing commitment to displaying Crafts Council Collection objects at the DCMS – where we’re especially delighted whenever we spot them behind him on TV – we were thrilled to read that Janice Blackburn has curated a display at “No 10” itself.
