Craft research is flourishing. Explore the latest thinking from across the sector.

Follow the links below to discover the variety of projects and perspectives emerging from individual universities, collaborative academic research centres and networks, and amongst public sector organisations examining the wider creative and cultural industries.

• Research Programmes

  • CASE: The Culture and Sport Evidence Programme, DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

    Set up in collaboration with sector-leading non-departmental public bodies, the programme seeks to examine what value culture and sport add to society by asking two fundamental research questions: what leads people into or away from engaging in culture and sports?; and what do communities and individuals get from culture and sport?

    CASE: The Culture and Sport Evidence Programme, DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

  • Creative Graduates - Creative Futures, Institute for Employment Studies

    The largest ever study into the career patterns of graduates from UK courses in art, design, craft and media. The findings, due to be published in 2009, will include 'Crafting Futures', a detailed study focusing on craft graduates produced in partnership with the Crafts Council. For further details view our Research Strategy.

    Creative Graduates - Creative Futures, Institute for Employment Studies
    View our Research Strategy PDF (64 KB)

  • Digital Research Programme, Arts Council England

    Forming part of the Digital Opportunity strand of ACE's priorities for 2008-2011, the programme will explore the impact of digital technologies on the arts and the implications they have on content creation, distribution and ownership.

    Digital Research Programme, Arts Council England

  • Taking Part in the Arts, Arts Council England

    A continuous survey of attendance and participation in the arts by adults in the UK, Taking Part has been conducted since 2005. This website presents the ongoing findings in useful ways that can be more directly related to arts activities and organisations' programmes.

    Taking Part in the Arts, Arts Council England
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• Research Organisations

  The following organisations regularly produce research relevant to the contemporary craft sector. More information about the organisations can be found in our Craft Directory.

  • Arts and Business
  • Arts Council England
  • CHEAD (Council for Higher Education in Art & Design)
  • Cockpit Arts
  • Creative & Cultural Skills
  • Creativity, Culture & Education
  • Design Council
  • Design History Society
  • Design Research Society
  • European Academy of Design
  • NALN (National Arts Learning Network)
  • NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts)
  • V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) Research
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• Academic Research Centres

  Organised into regions of the UK, here we have compiled links to research institutes, centres and groups whose work is relevant to contemporary craft practice.

  • South East

    • Anglo-Japanese Textile Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Epsom
    • Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham
    • Surface Tensions Research Cluster, University for the Creative Arts, Rochester
    • Design Research Institute, University of Brighton
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  • South West

    • Ceramics Research Cluster, Bath School of Art & Design, Bath Spa University
    • Fashion & Textiles Research Cluster, Bath School of Art & Design
    • Interpreting Ceramics Research Collaboration, Bath School of Art & Design
    • Sustainable Design Research Centre, Bournemouth University
    • Crafts and Sustainability, Plymouth College of Art
    • Textiles Forum South West Research and Critical Writing Group, Textiles Forum South West
    • Autonomatic, University College Falmouth
    • Enamel, Textile and Ceramics Applied Arts Group, University of the West of England, Bristol
    • National Electronic and Video Archive of the Crafts, University of the West of England, Bristol
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  • London

    • Metropolitan Works, London Metropolitan University
    • Centre for Jewellery Research, Royal College of Art
    • Centre for the Study of the Domestic Interior, Royal College of Art
    • Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art
    • Attainable Utopias, Goldsmiths University of London
    • Centre for Cultural, Media and Creative Industries Research, King's College University of London
    • Constance Howard Resource and Research Centre in Textiles, Goldsmiths University of London
    • Design Against Crime, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
    • Materials and the Arts Research Centre (MATAR), London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
    • Research Centre for Fashion, the Body and Material Cultures, Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London
    • Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation, University of the Arts London
    • Textile Futures Research Group, University of the Arts London
    • Textiles Environment Design, Chelsea College of Art & Design, University of the Arts London
    • Centre for Research and Education in Art and Media, University of Westminster
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  • East

    • Art and Design Interpretation and Curation, Norwich University College of the Arts
    • Makers of Things, University of Hertfordshire
    • Research into Practice Cluster, University of Hertfordshire
    • tVAD: Theorising Visual Art and Design, University of Hertfordshire
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  • East Midlands

    • Design and New Product Development Group, De Montfort University
    • Textiles Engineering and Materials Group, De Montfort University
    • Design Practice Research Group, Loughborough University
    • Additive Manufacturing Research Group, Loughborough University
    • Textile Research Group, Loughborough University
    • The Horizon Digital Economy Research Hub, University of Nottingham
    • Fashion, Textiles & Knitwear Research Group, Nottingham Trent University
    • Centre for Practice-Led Research in the Arts, University of Northampton
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  • West Midlands

    • Jewellery Research Group, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham City University
    • Centre for Design & Creative Industries, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD), Birmingham City University
    • Centre for Art, Design, Research and Experimentation, University of Wolverhampton
    • Studio Theories and Practices, University of Wolverhampton
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  • North East

    • Inclusion through the Digital Economy, Newcastle University and University of Dundee
    • Centre for Design Research, University of Northumbria
    • Institute for International Research in Glass, University of Sunderland
    • International Research Centre for Calligraphy, University of Sunderland
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  • North West

    • Craft and Design Research Centre, Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design (MIRIAD)
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  • Yorkshire

    • Art and Design Research Centre Sheffield Hallam University
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  • Northern Ireland

    • Art & Design Research Institute, University of Ulster
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  • Scotland

    • Rural Digital Economy Research Hub, University of Aberdeen
    • STONE, Edinburgh College of Art
    • The Edinburgh Virtual Environment Centre, Edinburgh College of Art
    • Challenging Making, Research at Gray's School of Art, The Robert Gordon University
    • Past Present and Future Craft Practice Research, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee
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  • Wales

    • All-Wales Centre for Creative Teaching and Teaching Creativity in Art & Design, Wales Institute for Research in Art and Design, University of Wales in Cardiff
    • DIGIT, Wales Institute for Research in Art and Design, University of Wales in Cardiff
    • Centre for Ceramics Research, Wales Institute for Research in Art and Design. University of Wales in Cardiff
    • Smart Clothes and Wearable Technology, Newport School of Art, Media and Design, University of Wales in Newport
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  • International

    • The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, University of North Carolina, USA
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• Get Connected

  • Academics can make connections with each other through the web service www.academia.edu. It is free to register and enables you to create an easy-to-maintain academic webpage, listing your research interests and any papers you have written.

    Add a research link

    If you are involved in a crafts research group, centre or organisation that is not listed above, please get in touch. Contact us with details of your research group, your current projects and a link to your website.

    Email us
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