Making the Connection: Craft Across Cultures
A tour of the newly renovated Crafts Council Collection Store and a workshop led by ceramic artist Rosa Nguyen
This engaging, interactive event celebrating the interconnectedness of creativity took place on 3 October 2024 at Crafts Council Gallery, London.
The event began with a behind-the-scenes tour of the newly renovated Crafts Council's collection store, led by the Collections team. Objects in our unique ‘handling collection’ were available to explore, offering a unique perspective on materiality and technique.
A special exhibition, Unboxing the Collection: Exploring the Vessel allowed guests to explore materials, styles, and techniques that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, sparking meaningful conversation about craft practises and culture.
Following the tour, guests took part in a workshop, led by ceramic artist Rosa Nguyen. Taking inspiration from the evening’s discussion and the craft works on display, participants made small organic vessel forms. These were combined with dried painted plants, which Rosa uses in her practice, in an Ikebana inspired arrangement (Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement).
Seed Pod by Rosa Nguyen. From the Crafts Council collection.
This event is part of Unboxing the Collection, an exhibition and events programming developed by guest curator Lewis Dalton Gilbert and Crafts Council.
Unboxing the Collection is supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a donor advised fund held at the London Community Foundation. The programme has evolved out of our work auditing Crafts Council Collection, which is part of our Craft for the People project, generously supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of its Dynamic Collections initiative.
