New Positions for Crafts Council Collection

This exhibition has now closed, but many of the objects can be experienced as part of History In The Making, an exhibition at Compton Verney, Sat 21 October 2023 – Sun 11 February 2024. More information below.

With support from the Art Fund, Crafts Council launched New Positions - a contemporary capsule that aims to broaden the depth and diversity of the national collection of craft - an exhibition that took place at Crafts Council's gallery in October 2023.

All works have been acquired by the collection in the last two years by artists and makers who identify as Black, Asian, dual-heritage, or from the Global South, thanks to the philanthropic support of donors and partners. The New Positions acquisitions assert a commitment to reflect a greater diversity of making and makers within the collection.

Founded in 1972, the Crafts Council Collection holds nearly 1,800 objects in its Primary Collection and a library, archive and handling collection. As the national collection for contemporary craft, it acquires work from established and emerging makers practising principally in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Many of the works in New Positions are among 70+ objects from our collection to join History In The Making, an exhibition at Compton Verney, opening Saturday 21 October 2023. The exhibition is an exploration of materials and making across the ages and this loan represents the largest single loan Crafts Council has undertaken to date. Read about the exhibition here.

In the past two years, 27 more exquisite works have been acquired from makers emerging and established. The works cross materials, interests, disciplines, career stages and models of practice, opening a future programme shaped by many hands.

As well as expanding the national collection to include makers from historically underrepresented groups, New Positions aims to stimulate conversations about inequalities in the craft canon. "This is a first step in welcoming new voices and perspectives on craft into the collection," says acting executive director Natalie Melton adding, "Over the coming months and years, we hope to explore new ways in which we can increase the visibility of the collection, ensure that these works are widely shared, and consider the ways in which how and what we collect in the future can be shared with our communities."

Selected artists and makers:

• Matching Pairs, Bharti Parmar, 2019
• Two Legged Vessel, Bisila Noha, 2020
• Botanical Silk (Soft Turquoise), Botanical Silk (Amber), Botanical Silk (Ruby), Botanical Silk (Burnt Orange), Ballet Russes: Sunset Ballet & Mellow 2 Waltz, Ballets Russes: King with Beads and Pearls & Girl with Feathered Cape, Ballets Russes: Circus Costume on Stage, and Feathered cape, Christian Ovonlen, 2018, 2021, 2022
• Banksia Vessel, Darren Appiagyei, 2021
• Pinch, Open and Pressed I, Open and Pressed II, Open and Pressed III, Fran Onumah, 2009, 2021
• WISH and Beavers, Liaqat Rasul, 2021
• We Mek Magazine, Lorna Hamilton-Brown, 2021
• The Sacrifice by Moses Quiquine, 2018
• Untitled, Onome Otite, 2021
• Threads II by Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings, 2021
• Fortress Displaced by Shaheen Ahmed 2021
• Hold on to your confession and tell your neighbour's, Two red cents for your last dime and What's taking you so long, Shawanda Corbett, 2021
• Cut out Brush, Textured Brush and Texture and Shape Study, Sophie Sellu, 2021

Each acquisition has been made possible through the generous support of donors, partners, and those who wish to remain anonymous. In particular, Art Fund, whose generous contribution enabled the charity to purchase 18 of the 27 pieces.

Reflecting on their contribution, donors Preston Fitzgerald and Cedric Smith said “Most of our lives we’ve been active contributors to the digital era and its celebration of ‘disruption’. Our support of the Crafts Council allows us to play a role in crafts place as a tool to reconnect to the heritage of the past; particularly, the rich and varied heritages in the UK that have contributed so much but have been under-represented.”

For more information on the collections and how to hire and borrow, please email collection@craftscouncil.org.uk

With special thanks to Art Fund, Brookfield Properties, Preston Fitzgerald and Cedric Smith, Nicholas and Judith Goodison’s Charitable Settlement and TOAST.