Learn/ Ceramics in Scotland - Conference Review/ 15 July 2008
General Information
Overlooking Loch Long on the Rosneath peninsula in Western Scotland, Cove Park is a centre for national and international artists working in all art forms – the performing arts, visual art, craft disciplines, and so on– to undertake research and develop new projects through its annual residency programme. Such is the beauty of the location that it’s a wonder any work of substance is created at all – yet according to many of the artists currently on residency, the regular interaction and discussion stimulates a productive environment, despite the enticing landscape outside.
The importance placed on discussion was evident during a recent event marking the end of Frances Priest’s three-month Scottish Craft Residency. Together with Director Alexia Holt, Priest invited a variety of craft-related individuals representing different roles within the craft process –the gallerist, the curator, the collector, the writer, the official representing the funding body, and of course the maker – to preview her new work, and to discuss the current status of ceramics in Scotland.
Originally from Wakefield but currently based in Edinburgh, Priest presented a series of ambiguously shaped clay ‘prototypes’ and paper drawings, the function of these remaining hidden. Like a conversation, the objects felt curiously open-ended, as if a handler could alter their state just by touching them. Meeting in the context of her studio seemed deliberately to amplify this absence of resolution, as it let others participate in the conceptual process, which countered the coldness of the ‘closed’ object.
The discussion that followed Priest’s presentation, chaired by Amanda Game, former Director of the Scottish Gallery, allowed for a different kind of participation. Its purpose was to map current craft activity in Scotland, and to think of ways to sustain the practice of making. For a relatively small country, Scotland has a surprising number of prominent makers, and also of museums and galleries with historic and contemporary craft collections. Yet remarkably, many of those present hadn’t met before. Scotland’s geography holds some responsibility for this, as does the invisible wall separating the creative communities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, yet how can craft in Scotland – and specifically, ceramics in Scotland – be expected to thrive when its main protagonists barely know each other?
This may seem a little unfair, particularly with ceramics in Scotland experiencing a period of change. The country’s educational ‘hubs’ – which attracted international makers and researchers who contributed to its vibrant ceramic community – are being dismantled, which will make maintaining skills difficult. This in turn will reduce the facilities available to makers; there is already a lack of group studio provision. The effect for the maker is one of isolation. Scotland being small, it is all the more important that its makers gather into a critical mass, to retain their international reach. The discussion held at Cove Park addressed just these issues, and thus went some way to resolving them. As long as the discussion remains open, the future of ceramics in Scotland is positive.
Reviewed by Ellie Herring
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