Director of Bluecoat Display Centre reviews Symposium: 'Building the Market for Collectors of Contemporary Craft in the North West'

Saturday October 11 6-9pm at the
The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2014

Angela Mann, Co-Director of GNCCF opening the evening

Bravely billed to take place from 6-9pm on a Saturday evening, the organisers of the recent symposium accompanying the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair risked the pull of the sofa from the ubiquitous X Factor and Strictly, and instead challenged the brain cells of the invited 50 professional art world attendees to concentrate on the topic of “Building the market for collectors in the North West.”

The setting was the Old Granada studios where over 150 individual contemporary designer makers stands showed over the long weekend. The space itself was huge and cavernous, with a slightly industrial “New York” loft feel -and while it was occasionally just a little chilly, it offered an enviably spacious way to view the incredibly diverse range of exciting individual work by established and emerging makers. The symposium was further complemented by the Ornament exhibition curated by Kelda Savage, who worked with leading North West based galleries to show collectable contemporary craft along with key pieces drawn from the collections or recommended artists.

Stimulating presentations by James Beighton, the former curator of MIMA, Jo Bloxham, a collector and curator and Louise Gardiner, a practicing artist and maker, set the scene and opened the questions and discussions regarding the collectors market. My neighbour remarked how clearly and cleverly Beighton explained the way the context of a craft piece changed once it became part of a public collection in response to a question raised from the floor.
 
The final summary of the night by the Chair of the Crafts Council, Professor Geoffrey Crossick, impressed me personally. In it he referenced the regular euphemisms of “the collectors market” and emphasised instead the importance to individual artists survival rates from the sale of work. Crossick also made the relevant point of the role of the gallery in achieving these, and suggested that a useful addition for future similar events could be the perspective of a contemporary craft gallery with retail 
expertise.

Dr Maureen Bampton
Bluecoat Display Centre

Images: Chris Payne

Networking

The audience

James Beighton, former curator at MIMA

Top NW Museums bring stunning craft to Ornament at GNCCF

Propagation Project: Super Jumbo Nigella, Wave, Junk Mori (see below for more details)  

Some of our North West Museums are keen collectors of contemporary craft, and 2014 sees a unique event at Manchester's Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair that tells us something more about the top quality craft that can be found around the region.

Curated by Kelda Savage, ORNAMENT is a selling exhibition of contemporary craft by some of the UK's most eminent makers. It will run alongside the main fair and add something extra special to the mix of craft and design on display.  The show will tell the stories of some the UK's our best artists and makers, and of the North West Museums who have collected their work.


Not only that, there will be the chance to buy additional pieces by these artists - a fantastic opportunity to invest in a unique and remarkable handcrafted object to enrich not only your own life but future generations!

So go along and see mesmerising work by Alice Kettle (collected by the Whitworth); Bob Crooks (MMU Special Collections); Caroline Broadhead (Jo Bloxham); Kate Malone (Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House); Junko Mori (Touchstones Rochdale), Michael Brennand-Wood (Bluecoat Display Centre) and Walter Keeler (Gallery Oldham)

Great Northern Events is a member of the North West Craft Network

More image details - Propagation Project: Super Jumbo Nigella, Wave.  This is the largest piece of Junko’s work produced to date.  Photo courtesy of Junko Mori and Adrian Sassoon

How can we build the market for high quality contemporary craft in the North West?

Louise Gardiner (Speaker at the NW Craft Network Symposium) -

You Blow Me Away for COLLECT 2012 at The Saatchi Gallery

Key players within the national and North West craft community will come together on October 11 in Manchester for a vibrant symposium.

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair will be the host for this important event, and the symposium will be nestled right at the heart of this wonderful craft event in Old Granada Studios.

The participants will be around 50 invited curators, gallery owners, makers, collectors, museums (including many of the North West's most signficant craft venues), policy makers and educators – all people with a major part to play in building the market and their own unique perspective on how it can be done.

Three highly regarded speakers will set the scene

James Beighton, the former curator at MIMA 

Louise Gardiner, internationally renowned textile artist 

Jo Bloxham, Trustee of the Craft Council and an important collector and curator of contemporary Jewellery.
And then the group will go on to collectively and individually explore how we can all help to build the market for collecting of high quality craft.

The event is organised by the North West Craft Network in partnership with the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

Craft heaven! 9-12 October at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

160 makers; 'Ornament' a new selling exhibition by some of the North West's most collectible artists; the Great Northern Graduate showcase of what's new in the craft world, and much, much more. What's not to love about the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair!

Great Northern Events, the brains behind the fair, are part of the North West Craft Network. 

Three events to strengthen North West Craft

Louise Gardiner, You Blow Me Away DETAIL for COLLECT 2013

Three fantastic events are coming up that will help to boost contemporary craft in the North West: A symposium, plus two events for emerging makers and curators: 

In October 2014, The North West Craft Network will invite key players in national and regional craft to come to together for a symposium to explore; 'Building the market for collectors in the North West' at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in partnership with Great Northern Events.

And that's not all. In February 2015, an event for emerging makers will be hosted by the newly re-furbished Whitworth Art Gallery and in May 2015 the Network will organise an event for curators in conjunction with COLLECT at the Saatchi Gallery.

For more details about these events as they emerge, get in touch at craftnorthwest@gmail.com and we will send you the information when it is ready.

For more about the North West Craft Network, click here.


Image: Based in the North West, maker Louise Gardiner created the 'You Blow Me Away' series of Embroidered and appliqued tumbleweed for COLLECT 2012 at the Saatchi Gallery. Check out her website here, or follow her on Twitter @Loulougardiner
Louise is an opening speaker for the NW Craft Network's symposium 'Building the Market for Collectors of Contemporary Craft in the North West' at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, above.