I love planning my ‘must-see craft events’ for the coming year; 2019 looks like being a particularly great year of craft (including an excuse for a weekend in Paris), so here’s my top 5:
Organised by The Crafts Council, Collect kicks off the 2019 events. Collect is the only gallery-presented art fair dedicated to modern craft and design, and provides an opportunity to discover and invest in exceptional work produced in the last five years by living artists, much of which is made exclusively for the Fair. Alongside the galleries, Collect Open returns providing a platform for 15 individual artists to show ambitious and conceptual craft-led installations. Collect will occupy the whole of the Saatchi Gallery for four days with over 30 galleries, selected by an independent panel of experts, selling the work of over 400 artists. (Early Bird tickets on sale now).
London Craft Week 7 May 2019 – 11 May 2019: London Craft Week is an annual event that showcases exceptional craftsmanship through a journey-of-discovery programme featuring hidden workshops and unknown makers alongside celebrated masters, famous studios, galleries, shops and luxury brands. I’d recommend the Glass artist Jochen Holz solo exhibition of the rarely practiced glassblowing technique of lampworking at Flow Gallery.
The Contemporary Craft Festival is one of the UK’s most prestigious and much-loved craft events. Over 200 of the UK’s finest makers will be exhibiting and - as always - the programme is brimming with workshops, demonstrations, children’s activities and entertainment, street theatre, festival food and live music, giving it a true festival feel. Maybe I’ll sign up for a workshop; I love the sound of a knife-making demonstration by Pole and Hunt, or learning about boatbuilding with the Boat Building Academy . Advance tickets are available now.
My final recommendation is a bit further afield but, as excuses go, to have a weekend in Paris it’s a good one. The 4th edition of Révélations will take place from 23rd to 26th May 2019 at the Grand Palais in Paris. Every two years, Révélations provides a showcase for fine craftworkers and craft workshops along with an ambitious programme of events that highlight the diversity of creative skills. As Revelations put it ‘”the exhibitors are expected to come from around 20 different countries and will include over 400 craftworkers, craft workshops, galleries, fine craft centres, foundations and institutions, who will each help to demonstrate the effervescence, splendour and vitality of contemporary crafts” – how very continental, I’ll book my Eurostar ticket!