June 2022
This month:
- News of our new Collaborate funded research on the cultural value of craft
- Recommendations and actions to improve creative education; and
- Evidence of the need for renewed support for UK/EU trade, freelancers (and sole traders) and artisans more generally
- Lastly, the brief usually takes a break in August, but this year we’re taking a July break and will be back with a bumper brief for you at the end of August.
Tackling racism and inequality - Collaborate research funding
We’re delighted that Crafts Council and Glasgow Caledonian University London have been awarded a research grant from the Cultural Value Centre’s Collaborate fund.
To address structural omissions of the experiences of makers of colour from the cultural space of craft our project will co-develop authentic research tools grounded in the reality of individuals’ and local communities’ lives. Holding two place-based craft making events we will develop and test research tools that investigate the meanings and cultural value of craft and specifically the impacts of race, racism, immigration and migration on cultural production, making and value. Our aim is to generate more nuanced understandings of the difference culture makes and promote creative practices and research with social justice central to measures of cultural value.
To address racism in craft identified in our earlier partnership research with Dr Karen Patel, Making Changes in Craft, we need research that identifies and recognises the value of the knowledge, experience and cultural heritage of makers of colour in professional, community or other crafts spaces. Our 10-month Living Lab project will explore, develop and test measures of the cultural value and wellbeing attached to craft by racially minoritised communities who are excluded from the cultural space of craft.
Our study is one of five innovative new partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics and was selected from 183 expressions of interest. Collaborate aims to deepen understanding of the differences culture makes to people’s lives and to communities.
In other research, Fostering Equity in the Visual Arts Sector is a key part of CVAN's Fair and Equitable programme. The focus of this pilot year is on intersectional practice and the barriers and opportunities for artists and arts workers from marginalised and underrepresented communities. Recommendations focus on building cultures of belonging, removing barriers in work environments and consulting artists on actions needed.
And the Welsh government has published an Anti-Racist Action Plan to “eliminate discrimination and barriers to the full enjoyment of all aspects of culture, heritage and sport, and to recognise and celebrate past and present racial and ethnic diversity in Wales”. Plans include anti-racist education and learning and working with organisations on their responsibilities to set right the historic narrative and on how they use their spending powers to embed anti-racist practice.
Recommendations to improve creative education
Sky Arts recommends that primary school aged children should be spending an average of 65 minutes a day dedicated to the arts, including 14 minutes on art. The Recommended Daily Allowance for the arts drew from insights from 504 primary school teachers surveyed across the UK.
The University and College Union (UCU) has written to the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, highlighting, “A dangerous assault on higher education which will damage careers and severely restrict student choice.” The letter follows recent threats of job losses at the Universities of Roehampton, Wolverhampton and De Montfort.
Dr Heidi Ashton, from Warwick University, argues in a blog for the Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) that education policies are systemically undermining inclusivity in the creative talent pipeline. While the private sector recognises the economic and social benefit of investing in their cultural facilities, the state sector has seen a significant reduction in provision for arts and culture over the last twenty years.
The National Trust and the Hamish Ogston Foundation announce a new partnership programme to train apprentices in key heritage skills. The programme will offer 52 apprenticeships in stonemasonry or carpentry & joinery at Levels 2 and 3 under the government’s formal apprenticeship scheme.
Calls for a rethink on how art and artists contribute to innovation are set out by the Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) in the book The Next Renaissance. The essay explores how to revitalise the usual ways of learning about the world.
Evidence of the need for renewed support for UK/EU trade, freelancers (and sole traders) artisans more generally
International Connections: The impact of the UK departure from the European Union on the Visual Arts Sector investigates how visual arts workers have been affected by the post-Brexit regulations redefining our interactions with Europe. The report from a-n The Artists Information Company and the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) England highlights problems ranging from increased shipping costs to the loss of access to European networks and development opportunities. The average loss of income for a visual arts worker during the pandemic was just over £7,000. This financial hit has been compounded by the loss of freedom of movement of goods between the UK and the EU.
CVAN is calling for business investment for visual arts SMEs to offer new opportunities and profile work internationally and knowledge exchange opportunities to share best practice about post-Brexit international exchange work.
New research on the impact of Covid on freelance cultural workers shows that while some freelancers experienced small changes, others underwent big changes including leaving the sector completely. It calls for bespoke financial and psychological support, as well as a need to rethink what cultural value is for this workforce.
The new UK four day week pilot has begun at over 70 companies and organisations involving 3300 staff. The six-month pilot, which includes the creative organisation 64 Million Artists, involves no loss of pay.
A report by Nicole Vaugeois of Vancouver Island University about the challenges facing Canada’s Traditional Craft Trades sector will resonate with the UK craft sector. The study considers the sector’s value to Canada, noting that,
‘Artisans are values-based producers but economic development agencies often focus on dominant economic growth models as a measure of success; artisans tend to focus on quality of the product and quality of their lifestyle. This indicates a need for ground-up economic development models that have a triple bottom line approach, which identifies economic, environmental, and social impacts considerations. Recognizing that not all artisans are pursuing a typical growth model in their business is important to ensure that supports and metrics to measure success fit with their goals.’
