Rosy Greenlees OBE, our executive director, steps down

19 July 2022

Staff pay tribute to a long-serving leader

19 July 2022

Rosy with Carol McNicoll. Photo: Sophie Mutevelian

Following an early career as a visual arts curator with a love of craft, Rosy joined the Crafts Council in 2006. At the time the organisation was going through a period of change, with a focus on working more regionally, and a commitment to close its gallery in London.

Rosy recalls that, when she started in her role, no one wanted to talk about craft or even use the word, but she knew it was the hidden gem of the creative industries. Early in her tenure she was contacted by a basket maker in Orkney who had heard her speaking on Radio 4 and told her that it was just what the makers of the country needed – visibility and profile. Ten years later the Crafts Council and the V&A would partner with Radio 4 to launch the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize, which received over 1,500 entries, resulted in an exhibition at the museum in 2017, and brought unprecedented national radio coverage to the topic of craft.

Rosy at the live announcement of the winner of the Woman's Hour Craft Prize
Rosy with Grayson Perry and Deirdre Figueiredo MBE

Through a truly expansive programme of activity, the profile of the sector has increased significantly over Rosy’s time leading the organisation. Rosy has never shied away from using the word craft and it now sits equally with the other creative disciplines, with more people than ever wanting to learn a craft skill and record numbers buying handmade objects.

Rosy’s significant achievements include a focus on craft innovation, connecting the skills and deep material knowledge of makers to healthcare professionals, technologists, manufacturers and architects. This innovation strand included events and symposiums that brought together engineers, designers and makers – with many of the resulting professional collaborations still active today.

Under her tenure, the learning and participation work of the organisation has grown significantly in reach and profile, and the research that underpins the Crafts Council’s advocacy work is widely admired for its rigour and impact. Crafts magazine has remained at the leading edge of contemporary craft practice and is now bolstered by a digital offering that together show the breadth, depth and extraordinary stories of craft and makers from the UK and around the world.

Rosy at Make: Shift conference in Manchester, 2016
Rosy at the launch of the Crafts Council's Education Maniesto at the House of Commons
Rosy receiving her OBE from Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

Major partnership exhibitions with the V&A have included Out of the Ordinary (2007), The Power of Making (2011) and What is Luxury? (2015). There have also been numerous significant additions to the Crafts Council Collection, including Grayson Perry’s Julie Cope: The Essex House Tapestries, which has toured the country non-stop since its acquisition in 2016 and been seen by millions of people. Collect, the international art fair for contemporary craft and design, has relocated twice and remains the pre-eminent international fair for contemporary craft.

At the heart of Rosy’s impact as a leader has been her commitment to and interest in makers and the community that nurtures them. Alongside supporting a raft of programmes to help them develop their businesses, Rosy has always found time to show up – to travel across the country to explore work, with little fanfare or advanced notice. This curious, compassionate and democratic approach is echoed in her relationship with Crafts Council staff: Rosy has always made time to talk to everyone, eager to know how they are doing personally and celebrating their successes.

Rosy at the launch of the Craft Matters campaign at Origin
Rosy at Design Days Dubai

Demonstrating true leadership during the pandemic, she convened makers and the wider sector to identify the most immediate priorities and, critically, to try and keep small businesses afloat.

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 she also acknowledged that the Crafts Council was a systemically racist organisation. This had led to profound change at the charity, with social justice and the climate crisis now driving our activity.

With the Crafts Council celebrating its own milestone anniversary of 50 years, Rosy leaves the organisation with a new sense of purpose and energy. The new Crafts Council Gallery is at the heart of the values that she has championed for the organisation: open, accessible, democratic and inclusive. It offers inspiration and provocation for makers, and encourages those new to craft to make, experiment and connect. It’s a blueprint that Rosy has championed, and one that we, the Crafts Council staff, feel proud to honour.

A school group visit Craft School at the Crafts Council Gallery. Photo: Steve Bainbridge
We Gather, at the Crafts Council Gallery, featuring five Black and Asian female artists, developed out of research into racism in the craft sector by Dr Karen Patel. Photo: Ben Deakin