Report on racism in craft launches

On Tuesday 29 June 2021 the Crafts Council co-hosted an event presenting the findings from Making Changes in Craft an important study from Dr Karen Patel of Birmingham City University’s Craft Expertise project, in partnership with the Crafts Council. The research aims to support greater diversity in craft.

With a foreword from Rosy Greenlees, our executive director, Dr Patel highlights the challenges faced by women of colour in the sector. These include racism and microaggressions in craft spaces, the challenges presented by social media, and issues with gaining recognition as expert makers. The work is informing the Crafts Council's approach to tackling racism and inequality in the craft sector.

The recommendations are relevant to craft and to the wider cultural and creative industries. They call on craft organisations, retailers, local and national government, Arts Council England, funding bodies and craft guilds, to:

1. Reframe the narrative to tackle the way histories and stories about craft are dominated by a Eurocentric perspective
2. Establish industry codes of conduct to change the culture of racism and microaggressions in craft organisations, craft fairs, markets and galleries, retailers, guilds and creative industries and arts organisations
3. Improve our evidence base to ensure data about the crafts sector accurately represents the breadth of makers and build a detailed picture of key challenges to find potential solutions and networks that could help
4. Embed and support craft in education to address inequalities in staffing, in support to students from ethnically diverse backgrounds and in opportunities and careers education and advice to pursue craft courses at all levels of education
5. Enhance financial support for makers to prioritise positive change in the sector, revisit funding criteria and ensure panels are ethnically diverse for funding decisions, application processes and language.

As part of the project, Dr Patel has commissioned five black and Asian female makers to produce new work that each give creative expression to the challenges that they face in the sector. The exhibition will take place in the Crafts Council Gallery in Angel, London, from November 2021 to January 2022.

The commissioned artists are:

Shaheen Ahmed
Lorna Hamilton-Brown
Francisca Onumah
Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings
Onome Otite