Dig.ni.fy Summer 2023 | Page 46

•It publishes the magazine, Crafts, featuring stories about crafts and making across the globe.

Growing the market for craft

•It presents Collect, an international art fair focused on contemporary craft and making across the globe.

•It convenes Craft UK – a network of organizations with an interest in craft that provides a forum to share best practices, tackle challenges, and forge new partnerships for collaboration.

•It provides training, mentoring, and advice by showcasing makers in a directory.

Increasing education and access to craft making

•It undertakes research and advocacy.

•It provides learning and participatory programs for all age groups. https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/learning

The work of Crafts Council is funded through a combination of government support via the Arts Council, income generating activities, and contributions from companies, organizations, and individuals. It has an annual operating budget of approximately $2.5M.10

Craft UK

Craft UK is a network for organizations across the craft sector. Facilitated by the Crafts Council, it is free to join. Members of the network are organized around locations such as Ireland, London, Midlands, North, Scotland, Southeast, Southwest, and Wales.

Research and advocacy inform the creative programming and policy advice offered by the Crafts Council.

In terms of research, the council commissions and publishes research both “to make recommendations to government and partners

and to advocate for the value of contemporary

craft more widely.” In doing so, the council also

engages in a number of partnerships with organizations and academic institutions to facilitate this work. Examples of various research projects involving craft that have been supported by the council include publications involving the craft economy, diversity, curation, education and training, and innovation (see website).

In terms of policy and policy recommendations, the council keeps up to date with “the cultural, economic, political and technological policies that affect the crafts sector and individual makers.” If the council perceives any changes to policies that would have immediate or long-term implications for the craft sector, it records and shares via its monthly Policy Brief. It also produces formal responses, depending upon the nature and extent of the proposed change. To read the most recent publication on craft policy, click here: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/topics/craft-policy

One of the more interesting programs announced recently was a joint research award from the Centre for Cultural Value’s Collaborative Fund to the Crafts Council and Glasgow Caledonian University London in 2022. The aim of the award was to deepen understanding of the differences culture makes to people’s lives and to communities.

The global handicraft market is projected to reach approximately US$ 984.8 billion by 2023.

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