Posts Tagged ‘Craft Council’

  • Assemble

    Date: 2010.06.24 | Category: Artforms, Crafts, Regions | Response: 0

    Assemble

     

    On Tuesday I was in a very hot London for the Craft Council Conference, Assemble. Set in the lovely surroundings of LSO St Lukes, I had high expectations for the day, hoping to come home inspired and informed!

    The Craft Council used the conference to launch research papers as well as the giving us opportunity to debate economic innovation and the social value of craft in the new economy.

     I was fortunate to have Gilly Langton from Plockton with me (she had been funded through our Go and See programme, see her report http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Crafts/go-and-see-visits-reports.htm) as I did not spot many other familiar faces. It is a pity, as one of the reasons for going to conferences is the opportunity to catch up with colleagues as well as making new connections!

    Although the Craft Council is billed as the national development agency for contemporary craft in the UK, I do find the London- centric slant of their programmes irritating. Every time they say that they are rolling out a programme for the UK I feel like saying ‘but not Scotland’ as whenever I have approached them about projects I would think could benefit our makers I have been told that they are only for England. Fair enough, as they are funded by Art Council England, but they should not say the UK when it is clearly not the case!

    Saying that, we do benefit from some of their programmes such as the work we have borrowed from their Collection for our exhibition, Made it – but it is very unusual for this to happen and certainly the first time work from their collection has been in the Highlands.

    As the day progressed I tried to make sense of what was being discussed and how it relates to the work we do here in the Highlands. So much talk of digital media and making sure we embrace it or we will be left behind! Possibly all true, but I do worry about the time and energy all this takes and how we are in danger of moving away from what craftspeople do –making beautiful objects with their hands- and hope we will not be left with makers with amazing skills in digital media who can throw a wonderful virtual pot but when faced with real clay are unable to do anything with it!

    I trust not and do have faith that makers are practical, realistic and love what they do, realising the huge importance of creating with your hands especially in these difficult economic times.

    By the end of the day I felt frustrated that I had heard so much before and that no clear idea of a way forward was being suggested, perhaps it was the heat but I felt the audience was not really engaging with the conversation and that it was a missed opportunity.

    However, as always it is important to go to events such as this, especially when you live in the Highlands, as it is too easy to get complacent about the work you do and forget about the rest of the world. Even if one comes away feeling slightly disappointed, there will still be benefits, even if they are just to confirm that we are on the right track here!

    As Gilly and I agreed on the train home, the best bit about going to London is getting the sleeper and waking up the next morning in the Highlands knowing that what we are doing is right for us in our area and that we are so privileged to be able to do this in such an inspirational place!

    Pamela Conacher

    24th June 2010

     

    www.assemble.org.uk   www.craftscouncil.org.uk

    http://craftresearch.blogspot.com/2010/06/assemble-london-session-1.html

  • Making Progress

    Date: 2010.06.11 | Category: Artforms, Crafts, Regions | Response: 0

    Eileen Gatt, beaker

    On the 4th June we had our afternoon event to Celebrate Craft and our Mentoring Project, Making Progress. It also saw the opening of our exhibitions, Made It! and Laura West’s Spotlight.

     As promised, the sun shone, tasty food, refreshing fizz and good conversation was in order!

    As part of the mentoring project makers have to curate their own spotlight exhibition and Laura was our second maker to go through this process.

    Our Spotlight makers have very rarely experienced installing an exhibition, so it can be a daunting prospect. However, the pleasure in seeing your work as a whole, having positive comment on it  from the public and breathing a sigh of relief as you realise that you really are making progress should make it all worth it!

     For the public who view exhibitions, few have any idea of the huge amount of work that goes into getting an exhibition to the Private View stage.

     From the initial idea, selecting work (and making it when you are the maker), getting it safely to the gallery, planning the layout, designing plinths and display material, making sure everything is all delivered on time and in the correct condition, labels, invites and posters designed- printed and sent out, lighting, security, Private view refreshments and finally installing it all and you then have to be in a fit condition to speak to your guests when it all opens!

    With the short changeover time in galleries, you very rarely have the luxury of days of time and more likely it is 24 frantic hours of painting plinths, unpacking and hanging work. It always gets done in time, thought sometimes floors are being brushed as the visitors arrived!

    Our exhibitions last week were no exception and we had the added stress of dealing with work from the Crafts Council Collection that had very stringent installation and handling requirements. Highland Council Exhibitions Unit have worked incredible hard to ensure that this exhibition has been given a professional and classy display that does the work justice. No easy task with limited resources and no access to the work until the last minute!

    As the work was unpacked, the excitement mounted as one of the great joys of pulling an exhibition together where the work is of this calibre is seeing it insitu and realising that it is going to look amazing!

    The Craft Council Collection work was selected by our makers and their mentors as work that has influenced them and seeing their work displayed alongside it, you can see this journey  clearly.

     For me, the greatest pleasure is seeing that our makers work sits on a level footing with the top makers work. A true indication of the quality here in the Highlands!

    If you have not already been, please go and see for yourself. And as you view the exhibitions, remember the months of preparation that has gone into making it all look so wonderful!

    Pamela Conacher

    June 2010

  • Collect

    Date: 2010.05.19 | Category: Artforms, Crafts, Regions | Response: 0

     

    Collect

    Our group visit last week was for makers who aspire to participate at Collect in the future. It was good to have a group who, once more spent time together catching up, discussing their own practice and wonderful to see them realise that their work is on a level with much that is on show.

    Collect is very much about selling to a high end market and to be able to see work from all over the world in one place is a rare opportunity. As usual, after a day or night of travel much of the first day is spent absorbing the atmosphere, people watching, forgetting to eat, resting weary feet and being amazed by all that is on display and the prices people are happy to pay!

    Visiting London is always hectic as you want to cram in as many exhibitions and gallery visits as you can in a short space of time, take that experience home with you and then digest it all in the relative peace and tranquillity of the Highlands!

    Collect is constantly inspiring, sometimes amusing and occasionally disappointing. The majority of the work is exquisitely made and pushes the boundaries of what is perceived as Craft, reflected in the fact that the show is called the International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects.

    To see work by makers who you have long admired is a real treat and one of my favourite occupations is to go round picking the work I would buy if I had unlimited funds. You find new makers, new work by makers you know and work that you do wonder ‘how on earth did that get in’! But generally the quality is of the very highest and the gallery stands beautifully displayed.

     Many red dots had appeared by the end of the Private View which goes to show that people are still buying; indeed both the Scottish Gallery and the National Craft Gallery, Ireland had sold most of their work by the end of the first day.

    As well as our visit to Collect, our group visited several other galleries including the V&A and work at Fortnum and Mason ‘Handmade’. This display was really interesting as it was a selling exhibition in a very well known retail shop. Work from 50 makers was of the highest level and featured work for the home and in particular, food and dining. Many displays were on old tables so you could see and touch the work and it took away the gallery feel making it all more accessible.

    It was a pleasure to see work by Tain based Glasstorm included as well as several makers from Cornwall that I had not come across before. I will be doing some more research as it is a wonderful way of retailing craft to an upmarket audience and an approach that is to be commended.

    Once more, it struck me that so much can be achieved by getting makers together at events such as this. I personally value the time I get to discuss makers practice and problems as well as feel that relationships are strengthened and anything is possible with such strong and creative people working in the sector in the Highlands!

    Pamela Conacher

    17/05/10