Design and Crafts Council of Ireland
The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland is another organization supporting craft and craft makers. As with similar organizations, the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland offers a number of programs and initiatives with the goal being to raise the standard and profile of Irish design and craft. Activities are funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation via Enterprise Ireland.
The council currently involves 64 member organizations and over 3,500 registered clients. A public directory of craft makers in Northern Ireland can be searched here, https://craftni.org/directory/, through several filters. The council also provides a list of member organizations through its website: https://www.dcci.ie
At the End of the Day
In reviewing the work and talking to the leaders of the above-mentioned organizations, it became clear craft is alive, well, and prospering
after the COVID-19 pandemic precisely because of the support offered by such organiztions. For individuals, organizations and
governments looking to support and promote craft should look to the Crafts Council of the United Kingdom and its affiliates for guidance.
As for the relationship between craft and art, the debate over what constitutes craft and what constitutes art will continue. But as we take into account the traditional definitions and comments of Teleri Lloyd-Jones made earlier, and think through additional comments to be found in the profiles of Kate Malone and Kate Daudy later in this magazine, there is a point where fine craft becomes art not only in the eyes of the beholder but within society more generally.
This more than anything is revealed in the upsurge of the craft market, where handmade goods, accompanied by stories of cultural traditions and maker interests and purpose, reposition the work as individual and intentional. And being embued with the soul of the maker, such work stands apart from objects generated in and for the mass market. There, in that space where the makers hand meets the collector’s eye, not only is an art of purpose and use defined but its value is justified as individuals and the community at-large find common ground in respect of skill and need.
Left
Make:Shift:Do - 2017 at Institute of Making
Photo Courtesy of:
Institue of Making and Craft Council
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