Seriously good Craft in the UK's North West this December

Natural Makers, Touchstones Rochdale

A host of seriously good Craft exhibitions and events that span pondering the meaning of art, making, material, process through to brilliant possibilities for Christmas presents. And making stuff. Enjoy...

You can also see and (if you're an organisation) add new events in our publically available Google Calendar here

Opening this month
Modern Japanese Design at Manchester Art Gallery. 4 Dec to January 2017. http://manchesterartgallery.org/


The Pilcrow: launch. More about the pub that Manchester built (or is building, to be precise) here 4 December. http://www.thepilcrowpub.com/

Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. Altrincham Town Hall, Market St., 
Altrincham
 WA14 1PG (NEW venue!) 6 December.
http://www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk/1082#.Vl1Te3tv6dE

Natural Makers at Touchstones Rochdale 12 Dec To 27 Feb 2016. Stuart Cairns, Laura Ellen Bacon, Adam Buick, Sharon Adams.
www.link4life.org/centres/touchstones-rochdale

Sculpting Stories at Gallery Oldham, including studio ceramics from their collections. 19 Dec to Summer 2016
www.galleryoldham.org.uk/

On now

Art_Textiles at the Whitworth. To 21 Jan

http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/upcomingexhibitions/

Back to Black. Contemporary jewellery at Manchester Art Gallery - extended to 31 January
http://manchesterartgallery.org/

Jarred: Ceramics from the Collection is on at Touchstones. To Spring 2016
http://www.link4life.org/whats-on/touchstones-rochdale/exhibitions/2505-jarred-ceramics-from-the-collection

'All Wrapped Up' & 'Esben and Wolfe Screen Prints' The Craft Shop at the Royal Exchange Theatre. To 3 Jan at   www.royalexchange.co.uk/craft-shop

All That Glitters at The Bluecoat Display Centre to 16 Jan 2016 www.bluecoatdisplaycentre.com

Exploring Wonderland at MCAD to 14 Feb
www.craftanddesign.com

Coming soon

New gallery space opens in January 2016 at MMU MarketPlace Studios, Stockport. Keep an eye out here

Super Jumbo, Super Ace!

Junko Mori, Super Jumbo. Image courtesy Adrian Sassoon, London

Back in May 2012, I spent an intense hour running around the Saatchi Gallery in search of the best thing I could possibly find at Collect, the Craft Council’s international fair for contemporary objects.

I was one of nine curators from across the UK shortlisted by the Art Fund to have the chance to pitch to their acquisition committee in situ, next to the object you wished them to purchase for the collection you represented, in the hope that they would. After a nervous wait in the café with all the other curators, one by one everyone’s phone rang and the news, positive or negative was passed on. For me, the day turned out to be an enormously exciting one. The Art Fund’s committee agreed to purchase my chosen object, Junko Mori’s Propagation Project; Super Jumbo Nigella, Wave presented at Collect by her representing gallery, Adrian Sassoon 
 

Junko Mori making

I had followed and loved Junko’s work since it started to appear after she graduated from Camberwell in 2000 and Super Jumbo was (and still is) her largest work to date. Made following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in her home country of Japan, it mimics the form of a wave; her signature repetitive elements this time being petals of the Nigella plant.

Almost as soon as it arrived at Touchstones Rochdale in summer 2012, the piece went on display in an exhibition of contemporary work from the collection called A Century Later. It was an immediate hit with both our visitors and our staff. Everyone had their own interpretation of what it was; a sea urchin, a bear and a myriad of other things. The following spring it came out again, this time in an exhibition combining historic and contemporary work from the collection on the theme of the sea.

And it hasn’t just stayed in Rochdale. In October 2014, the piece went on loan to Ornament, at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair and later this year it will return to Manchester – this time to Manchester Art Gallery’s exhibition Eastern Exchanges: East Asian Craft and Design which runs from Thursday 2 April - Sunday 31 May 2015.

Ever since acquiring Super Jumbo at Collect I had been pursuing the idea of a show which would bring more of Junko’s work to Rochdale, working with both Junko and Adrian Sassoon. This became A Common Ground which is currently on display at Touchstones Rochdale and runs until Saturday 7 March. It also features two other Japanese-born, UK-based artists, the ceramicist Ikuko Iwamoto and the jeweller Kayo Saito. All three have a shared interest in the natural environment as a source of inspiration for their work.

If you’d like to hear Junko Mori talk about Super Jumbo and her practice more generally, join us on Saturday 21 February from 2pm to 3pm at Touchstones Rochdale. Junko will give an informal talk in the exhibition space. The event is free, but pre-booking is required by phoning us on 01706 924492.

Through the acquisition of one piece, we have brought fresh perspectives to existing works in the collection, curated a contemporary exhibition bringing together three artists for the first time in a public gallery and are enabling opportunities for it to be seen by a wider audience through loaning to other exhibitions. It has also had a huge impact on my life in another way too, but that’s a whole other story!

Yvonne Hardman
Art Gallery Officer
Touchstones Rochdale
January 2015

Images courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

Two fabulous exhibitions of contemporary craft at Touchstones Rochdale

September sees two exhibitions of unique contemporary craft open at Touchstones Rochdale one of the North West's key galleries showing top craft from international and regional makers. 

Rosa Nguyen - Sanctuary. 

26 September - 22 November 2014

The preview is on Thursday 25 September 6pm-8pm and will be opened by Professor Stephen Dixon, ceramicist and Professorial Research Fellow in Contemporary Crafts at Manchester School of Art.

The exhibition is part of Asia Triennial Manchester 2014

And if that weren't enough, there's also an exhibition of Jilly Edwards’ Wanderlust tapestries opening the same evening. The exhibition runs 26 September - 22 November 2014

Both shows are part of our Contemporary Forward series supported by Arts Council England.

Touchstones Rochdale are part of the North West Craft Network. Click here for more.