Updates from Rosy Greenlees
15 November 2012
Around (part of) the world in sixty days: London to Hong Kong via Bath, Bristol, Bornholm and Chennai
Autumn is always a busy time and the past couple of months have been a whirl of activity for me and Crafts Council colleagues both at home and away.
HOME…
… was, of course, dominated by the London Design Festival where we launched our new touring exhibition Added Value? at designjunction – drawing an audience of 17,000 over four days – and also presented Assemble 2012: the Crafts Council Conference.
Added Value?
Added Value? questions the value of contemporary craft within a landscape of branding and luxury and examines whether people’s desire for authenticity, quality and craftsmanship is redefining our understanding of these areas while looking at our perceptions of value, our emotional relationship with the things we own and the value of uniqueness to ask whether craft is a new language for luxury.
Find out more about Added Value? here and see it on tour at The Civic in Barnsley from 31 January 2013.
Assemble 2012
Where Added Value? interrogates the value of objects, Assemble’s focus was firmly on the use of craft knowledge and skills and their potential to make an impact on broader agendas, showcasing makers current work with science, technology and manufacturing and its potential to make significant economic interventions.
200 delegates including makers and representatives of craft organisations, agencies, venues; HEIs, funders, media, students and international organisations heard from Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, and the Arts Council’s Moira Sinclair at the beginning of the day. Later sessions included conversations between makers and surgeons about comparable processes, via the use of embroidered components in the aero and auto industries and discussions on “grown” fabric as a way-station to fully-grown garments.
All the content from Assemble is on the Assemble 2012 website along with additional information and media from the speakers. So, whether you were there or not, I urge you to browse.
and more…
Apart from our own contribution, colleagues and I attended as many LDF events as possible. It was great to see Charlie Whinney and David Colwell promoting new products at 100% Design, and, at designjunction, Lloyd Loom’s work with designers and makers including Gareth Neal, Carl Clerkin and others involved with Bodging Milano to develop new chairs for the company. At the risk of singling out some events over others – and at the other end of the scale – it was fascinating to see the digital projects showcased in the Sackler Centre at the V&A.
Back at base, this has been a period of intense development activity, with recruitment now completed for the four Hothouse cohorts for 2013, working with partners in the East, London, North and South West regions alongside the three craft and technology residencies in partnership with Watershed and funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation launched by Ed Vaizey at Assemble.
Read more about Hothouse here.
Read Maker Development Manager Beatrice Mayfield’s blog for the DCMS on the residencies here.
Elsewhere, the four AHRC funded Knowledge Exchange hubs established earlier in the year are gathering pace. The Crafts Council is a member of the advisory board for the REACT hub in the South West and we are very pleased that REACT has now announced Objects as one of its themes for 2014 – early days but keep an eye on their website or sign up for the newsletter here.
I also had the chance to meet up with colleagues at Bath Spa University and Bath School of Art & Design and to visit the Holburne Museum to see ceramic artist Bouke De Vries’ installation War & Pieces. Now, I am looking forward to our imminent visit to Bilston for our event co-hosted with CraftNet West Midlands exploring makers’ and craft organisations’ use of social media and launching our new case studies.
Collectors and buyers have been much in mind too, with selection for COLLECT 2013 also underway and, with Christmas approaching, Crafts magazine’s current edition including its very valuable Christmas Gift Guide.
AND AWAY…
Even given all the exciting activity above, my main focus in September and October was abroad as we seek to develop new international relationships for British craft and to increase the opportunities for British makers in emerging markets.
World Crafts Council
For the past few years, one focus of this activity has been our work with the World Crafts Council and I was honoured to be elected President of WCC-Europe in June. Having hosted the Europe AGM in London in the summer I have recently been to Bornholm as a member of the selection panel for European Glass Context 2012 and, alongside Jerome Harrington and others, to speak at the accompanying conference where I focussed on the ways in which British glass artists are contributing to industry and technology.
And then, on to Chennai to represent WCC Europe at the WCC International General Assembly over four days in October.
Chennai was a city of contrasts: full of the history of making but also central to India’s new economy, a collision of the old and the new which made it the perfect place for representatives from 39 countries to meet and discuss the future of craft.
There were differences between national interpretations of course, but also many areas where the challenges were similar for all. As Kevin Murray, the Australian academic, writer and editor noted, the craft world (and I use “world” literally here) needs to know itself better. It may seem dry to some, but we can’t just rely on good intentions to put forward our case to government and business. We need a statistical bedrock to prove the importance and popularity of craft to a wider audience. And we need to ensure that we develop that audience for the future, as well as the next generation of makers, by promoting craft education in schools. This is work that we have taken forward in the UK for the use of the entire sector – and it is work that we will continue to do.
There is so much more that I could say about Chennai – and in my next Crafts magazine column in the New Year that’s exactly what I’ll do – but meanwhile, onwards…
Hong Kong: Creative Britain Week
As part of the government’s Creative Britain initiative I was invited to Hong Kong, on a whistle-stop tour with UKTI as part of Great Week of Creativity. Along with Programmes Director, Claire West, I attended the Global Design conference and the launch of Mulberry’s Brilliant Britain initiative which promotes craft amongst a range of cultural interests. We were also able to meet with a wide range of people and to visit a number of cultural and educational institutions to get a better understanding of the opportunities for British craft. Overall, it was hugely informative and very useful as we continue to develop our plans to support makers in international markets in ways that are meaningful in the 21st century.
AND ONWARDS TO 2013…
It was good to be away. It’s good to be home. We know that British makers are world-leaders and these trips confirm that this is a truly international perception. In austere times it’s more important than ever that we are focussed as an organisation and that everything we do – from our exhibitions, conferences and professional development work to our work with the World Crafts Council, the UKTI, HEIs and policy-makers to our events – is dedicated to getting that message to collectors, audiences, funders and government or supporting makers and others in the sector to achieve their ambitions. That’s how we will go into the New Year and that is what we’ll carry on doing.
