Resources
The resources section provides provides essential background knowledge to contemporary craft practice in Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and Ireland and further afield.
In this section we have also included ‘signposts’ to key opportunities and resources. The information should be useful to individuals and organisations working in the contemporary craft sector as well as those involved in its development and support.
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Crafting Capital - new technologies, new economies
Research
A new resource from the Crafts Council highlights five innovations that demonstrate the value of collaborations between scientists, technologists and engineers, and makers.
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About: Thirty
Critical Writing
‘Thirty’, an elegant exhibition of craft makers which viewed daily during August 2011 at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart, celebrated the talents of some twenty craft makers from the island of Ireland and gave hearty support to August Craft Month, Craft NI’s annual celebration of making. Deborah Logan looks back at some of the exhibition highlights.
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ABOUT: Helen Moore
Critical WritingMoore argues that ‘although art and science have clear distinct boundaries’ these are not immutable and like all boundaries, these can easily be blurred. Having come into contact with ceramics at school, Moore was captivated by ‘its malleable and expressive qualities’ and returned to it after having completed courses in Modern History and, then, Criminology at Queen’s University.
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About: Holger Lönze
Critical Writing
Sometimes we gain a deeper appreciation of our own culture through a voice that comes from another place. Eleanor Flegg examines the work of German-born sculptor Holger Lönze and his recent commissions for Armagh City Centre and Portrush East Strand.
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Directory of Craft Fairs and Trade Events
Practical Guides
Craft NI has commissioned a comprehensive directory of craft fairs, retail exhibitions and trade events in GB as well as a list of international events.
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About: Collect 2011
Critical Writing
If craft can be said to have pinnacles, Collect – the international applied arts fair held annually at the Saatchi Gallery in London – must be one of them. Eleanor Flegg reviews the work of three makers from Northern Ireland represented by the Craft Council of Ireland’s National Craft Gallery at Collect 2011.
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The Festival of Britain in Northern Ireland
This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of The Festival of Britain. Held in 1951 the festival aimed to refocus national identity but also sought to introduce high modern ideas into architecture and design on a nation-wide scale. Joseph McBrinn recalls the events held in Northern Ireland which drew attention to the ‘positive relations’ between North Irish ‘Industry and Craftsmanship’.
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Wilhelmina Geddes - Belfast’s hidden treasure
Critical Writing
This year a plaque will mark the house in Marlborough Park South, Belfast where the artist, Wilhelmina Geddes (1887-1955), lived when she was attending the Belfast School of Art between 1903 – 1911. Nicola Gordon-Bowe explores the little-known works completed by Geddes in Belfast.
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Tactility Factory
Tacility Factory is a highly fruitful collaboration between Ruth Morrow, Professor of Architecture at QUB and Trish Belford, textile designer and Senior Research Fellow at UU. Drawing on their established expertise in architecture, textile design and academia the output of their successful working relationship has also been influenced by family roots in day-to-day construction.
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About: Jack Doherty
Critical Writing
In ceramics, the most philosophically articulate of the craft disciplines, there is a strand of thought that sees life and work as an integrated process. These ideas, most famously articulated by Bernard Leach, are linked to the branch of ceramics that refuses to accept the separation of beauty and utility. The conscious integration of living and working, with the intention of producing objects that combine the properties of art and the utensil, is a stubborn, demanding, vocational path. It has produced both remarkable ceramics and remarkable people; the Irish potter, Jack Doherty, among them.
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About: Anthony Scott
Critical Writing
Ceramic sculpture is perceptually linked to the idea of craft, and this is both embraced and resisted by those working in clay. Work in bronze, however, is more likely to be displayed and sold as fine art. Eleanor Flegg talks to the Fermanagh-born artist, Anthony Scott, who makes sculptural work in both ceramic and bronze.
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A Guide to Creative Innovation
Practical Guides
Craft NI has published two handy guides for creative businesses intended to spark ideas and support creative practice.
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A Guide to Business Development
Practical Guides
Craft NI has published two handy guides for creative businesses intended to spark ideas and support creative practice.
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The Journal of Modern Craft
Signpost
The first peer-reviewed academic journal to provide an interdisciplinary and international forum in craft. The Journal of Modern Craft is the first peer-reviewed academic journal to provide an interdisciplinary and international forum in its subject area.
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Creative Clusters and Innovation report
Signpost
The Creative Clusters and Innovation report shows the economic importance of the creative industries to the UK.
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Own-it: Intellectual property advice for creative businesses
Signpost
Free advice, events and information for creative businesses.
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WEA programme Creativity Thirst
Signpost
The WEA Creativity Thirst initiative is a support programme for people wanting to start their own creative business.
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Etsy - online trading community
Signpost
The Etsy community spans the globe with buyers and sellers coming from more than 150 countries.
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Belfast’s Forgotten Art Deco
Critical Writing
Art Deco architectural embellishment spread across the decades of the 1920s and 1930s. Dr. Joseph McBrinn explores the rich examples of Belfast’s Art Deco buildings; all of which are presently at great risk.
Resource Type
Opportunities
Programmes
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