Over 365,000 embrace craft with the Crafts Council in its 40th year

The Crafts Council celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2011 with a bumper year of activity; 365,000 visitors saw its five current exhibitions, 27,000 people attended its two craft fairs Origin and COLLECT, and over 7,000 children and young people participated in its nationwide initiatives.

The Power of Making, a joint exhibition with the V&A was the highlight of a busy year attracting 265,000 in the first three months of its four-month run. Many critics have called it one of the exhibitions of the year and it sparked debate in the national media on the topic of skills and craft’s relationship to industry, manufacturing and growth.

Other Crafts Councile xhibitions across the UK included Lost in Lace, a joint exhibition with Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, touring exhibitions Lab Craft: Digital Adventures in Contemporary Craft and Breath Taking: Revealing a New Wave of British Glass Blowing, that travelled to ten venues across the UK; Aberdeen, Barnsley, Bilston, Carmarthen, Cirencester, Durham, Falkirk, Leamington, London and Plymouth, and Block Party: Contemporary craft inspired by the art of the tailor, that launched at London Design Festival in September. Over 100,000 visitors saw these four exhibitions.  

The Crafts Council’s two participation and learning initiatives Firing Up and Craft Club engaged thousands of young people directly with craft. And hundreds of volunteers were given training as part of Craft Club’s model of enlisting volunteers to pass on their skills to a younger generation.

The 40th anniversary year has been a fruitful one for all strands of theCrafts Council’s work including developing and presenting ambitious exhibitions, continuing to build the market for craft, engaging the next generation in making with their hands and supporting professional makers directly.

Quotes

“Congratulations on 40 years of support for designers and makers” Duke of Devonshire

“Happy Birthday Crafts Council, please continue to get ‘making’ a priority in schools, the home and the workplace, it’s really fundamental.” Priscilla Carluccio, Few and Far

 “Our 40th anniversary year has been an incredibly positive year for the Crafts Council. It has provided a platform for us to show how exciting and diverse contemporary craft is in the 21st century. The sheer number of people who have engaged in our activities over 2011 is testament to the public desire to know more about making, skills and craft.” Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council

Ends

For more press information please contact Jill Read on 020 7806 2549 or media@craftscouncil.org.uk. Follow @CraftsCouncilUK on Twitter and Facebook

The Crafts Council is supported by the Arts Council England who work to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts. Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better.  Between 2011 and 2015, Arts Council England will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and a further £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.craftscouncil.org.uk