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Crafts CouncilWhat's on

Gaining Ground exhibition

13 April – 25 June


Crafts Council Gallery, London

Free

Book tickets

Kilubukila - Jess Kilubu's Crafting Futures project with artisan weavers and linguists in the Democratic Republic of Congo

A new exhibition at the Crafts Council Gallery explores craft as a form of living knowledge that shapes global cultures and our relationship to nature.

Curated by Ligaya Salazar, Gaining Ground foregrounds global craft practices that value soil, biodiversity, local materials and production systems. Nine making projects are highlighted in this exhibition through a display of films, photography, audio, handbooks, raw materials, and craft objects.

The exhibition draws on the British Council’s Crafting Futures programme and features work by artisans and researchers from countries across the globe, including Bangladesh, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Argentina, Nicaragua, Guyana, Brazil, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.

The Crafts Council Gallery has been transformed into a site for learning, where visitors can engage with craft processes from across the globe. In particular, the exhibition draws attention to territories where colonialism and extractive capitalist processes have disrupted craft knowledge being passed onto future generations. Each project, although geographically and socially distinct, questions what we can learn from craft to inform climate action and in our quest to build a more sustainable future.

Plan your visit

  • The Crafts Council Gallery is free to attend.
  • Tickets are available in timed entry slots and we recommend you book in advance.
  • Please refer to our Visitor Information.

  • Artisan Voices: Dialogues for Sustainable Practices. Artisans Bernarda Martínez, Lucrecia Cruz and Sabina Cruz from Tejedores Andinos. Photo: Celeste Valero

  • The Seawall Pottery in the Rupununi, Guyana is supported by Wabbani, an Indigenous-led craft social enterprise promoting sustainable artisan-based livelihoods. Photograph: Jay Mistry

  • Making Nature - An Indonesian artisan making a traditional broom (sapu ijuk)

  • Making Nature - Willow weaver Annemarie O'Sullivan

Curated by Ligaya Salazar
Ligaya Salazar is a curator who focuses on contemporary interdisciplinary practice at the intersection of design, fashion, art and graphics. Her approach is shaped by an interest in how audiences can be positioned at the heart of curatorial practice, enabling a human-centred take on storytelling. Ligaya is one of the 2021 Stanley Picker Fellows.

About Crafting Futures
Crafting Futures is a global initiative supporting research for a sustainable future through making and collaboration. The programme provides education and training opportunities, connects artisans from rural communities with international designers, creates international partnerships and increases access to new markets and audiences.     


  • Untitled, Jay Mistry, terracotta and collected wild London clay. Displayed as part of 'Promoting Indigenous identity through pottery'. Photo: Ben Deakin

  • Kuba textiles from the Kilubukila Crafting Futures project. Photo: Ben Deakin

About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education, and the English language. In 2019-2020 we reached over 75 million people directly and 758 million people overall including online broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 14.5 per cent core funding grant from the UK government.


Gaining Ground exhibition at the Crafts Council Gallery. Photo: Ben Deakin

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  • Crafts Council event

    What's on

    Gaining Ground: How ancient craft knowledge can shape our future


    Online and in-person
    10 May

    • Crafts Council Gallery
    • Crafts Council exhibition
  • Stories

    New exhibition Gaining Ground showcases craft in harmony with nature, says curator Ligaya Salazar

    • Sustainable craft
    • Crafts Council exhibition
  • Visitor information

    • Crafts Council Gallery
    • Crafts Council exhibition

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London N1 9BY

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+44 (0)20 7806 2500

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