Making meaning through craft
Craft can boost wellbeing, celebrate culture and help build communities, according to a new report produced by academics from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) London, working with the Crafts Council, the national charity for craft.
However, more needs to be done to ensure racially minoritised and excluded communities have access to creative resources.
Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, of the British School of Fashion, based at GCU London, worked with colleagues and a team from the Crafts Council, led by Julia Bennett, to measure the cultural value and wellbeing attached to craft after securing funding from the Centre for Cultural Value.
Inspired by objects from the Crafts Council’s collection, researchers held focus groups with makers of colour in craft-making workshops in East London and Birmingham to gather insight on what craft means and explore the value craft brings to individuals and communities.
The Living Lab method of Making Meaning through Craft brought together academics, cultural partners, and communities in cross-cultural, cross-generational research that better reflects the diverse range of experiences and craft practices present in our communities and the impact of immigration, migration and displacement on cultural production and making.
Professor Radclyffe-Thomas said: “In these sessions, craft was frequently mentioned in relation to the value of family and tradition. Many participants talked about the strong links that exist between identity, cultural heritage and craft practices, but they also highlighted a number of barriers to taking part in craft, including lack of access to networks. To eliminate barriers to participation in craft, we must ensure the stories of makers of colour are there. We need to look for them, listen to them and learn from them.”
Rose Sinclair, Chair of the Crafts Council’s Equity Advisory Group, said: “To those who will read this report, the challenge is to no longer have nameless makers of colour in your archives and spaces, but to seek to move forward in opening the doors and make change happen. As minoritised groups and global majority makers, we have knowledge, we make, we craft, we have history, we share stories − come on the journey, be part of the change.”
Professor Ben Walmsley, Director at the Centre for Cultural Value, said: “We are delighted to fund this vital and under-explored area of cultural value through our Collaborate fund. Through the lens of social justice, the Crafts Council and their academic partner, Glasgow Caledonian University London, have undertaken research on how to decolonise craftmaking and make it more inclusive. This will provide insights that will support the wider arts, cultural and heritage sectors to address structural inequalities and celebrate the diversity of cultural practitioners.”