Crafts Council at 50

In Partnership With

The Crafts Council launches Make! Craft! Live! to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021

In Partnership With

Margate Knot, Anna Ray, 2017. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England through the National Lottery.

As the Crafts Council turns 50 in October 2021 we launch Make! Craft! Live! - a year-long programme of nationwide exhibitions, learning events, fairs, and digital activities that celebrates the value of craft to empower, enrich and connect our society.

Running from October 2021 to October 2022 - we will be working with partners up and down the country to present 50 craft activities at venues across the UK, including craft studios, museums, galleries, cultural venues, schools, community centres and online.

Activity

As part of Make! Craft! Live! the Crafts Council will be doing the following:

'We Gather' a new exhibition at the Crafts Council gallery curated by Griffi and Rosie Ross exploring themes of identity & community amongst craftswomen working in the UK, with new commissions by Francesca Onumah, Lorna Hamilton-Brown, Shaheen Ahmed, Omeima Mudawi-Rawlings and Onome Otite.
Running a series of participatory making workshops on Saturday 30 October taking place at newly re-opened cultural and community venues across the UK focusing on working with audiences who are under-represented and underserved in the cultural sector.
Hosting a series of talks and discussions exploring crafts transformational power to connect and support.
Running a social media campaign profiling the nation’s makers.
Launching a new digital directory of craft shops and venues across the UK to help connect the public with making in real life.

All-ages pottery workshop led by the Crafts Council
Young visitor to Crafts Council automata exhibition

Become a partner

We want Make! Craft! Live! to be a joyous celebration of craft - connecting the public with craft work across the country.

We are inviting proposals for new or existing activity to form part of the Make! Craft! Live! programme running from October 2021 to October 2022, across the UK.

We are particularly interested in projects that can demonstrate that they engage with one or more of the following areas:

Spotlighting, supporting or showcasing makers from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ makers and makers who identify as having a visible or non-visible disability.
Championing ideas of equity and social justice.
Highlighting new cutting-edge practice that seeks to push or challenges the boundaries of craft.
Prioritising collaboration and collective ways of working.
Exploring crafts’ positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.
Demonstrating how craft can help protect and restore our environment and address issues of climate injustice.

For more information and to start an application, please download the 'Invitation to partners' document.

Download

Crafts Council at 50: Invitation to partners.pdf (2mb)Download

Adult participants at Crafts Council clay workshop. All photos: Iona Wolff