Throwing light on Crafts Council’s collections

If being part of the craft community provides any perks, spending your days working within the national collection for craft is surely a top-tier one (even if we do say so ourselves). Merle Nunneley and Sabrina Chu are in precisely that position as the first cohort of Young Craft Citizens (YCC) placements, working to transform Crafts Council's collections store into a more accessible space - part of Crafts Council’s Craft for the People programme.

Introducing Young Craft Citizens and Craft for the People

Young Craft Citizens is Crafts Council’s collective of young people between 16-30, often from backgrounds that have been under-represented in the arts, who are interested in shaping the future of craft, design and making in the UK.

Craft for the People is Crafts Council’s three-year programme to transform its collections store into a space for public access and learning, generously funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. As part of that programme, there are 12 YCC placements (four on each year of the programme) embedded in Crafts Council’s collections team to deliver this transformation. The people coming into these roles bring their valuable perspectives to bear on the programme, as early-career arts and culture professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, helping to shape how the project is conceptualised and delivered. In turn, they make use of a unique opportunity to work within a national collection, closely supported by Crafts Council’s Senior Programme and Collections Manager Deborah Ridley, in building their skills and career networks.

Merle, who recently graduated from studying architecture and Sabrina, who recently graduated in arts administration after working in Taiwan’s cultural and music communities, joined the YCC placement programme in November 2023. They have been instrumental in delivering the first phase of Craft for the People, decanting the collection of objects from the collections store, located behind Crafts Council Gallery on London’s Pentonville Road, to prepare for significant renovations to the space. They have become intimately acquainted with the collection through helping to document, care for and relocate objects, as well as updating curatorial records, shining new light on our understanding of makers and their stories. Across the life of the project, the YCC placements will help Crafts Council engage people across the UK in the national collection for craft, delivering hands-on workshops, research events and tours in the newly- refurbished Collection store.

Merle and Sabrina took a moment to share their experiences so far.

What attracted you to apply for a YCC placement role within Craft for the People?

Merle: I graduated last year, having studied Architecture and Interdisciplinary Studies at University College London. I’ve always loved making and at university I became really interested in museums and how they work, so this placement is ideal for me. It provides an insight into collections management, involving objects that I really love working with.

Sabrina: Although I’m not a very crafty person myself, it has been my long-term aspiration to facilitate the sector and the artists, based on my passion for exhibitions, museums, and galleries. I recently graduated from Goldsmiths with a focus on arts administration. After working for several years in the cultural and music sectors in Taiwan, it has been my vision to come to London to dive deep into collection management. I’m so happy to be given the chance to work with the amazing Crafts Council collection, which I am excited for everyone to see.

What have you worked on during your placement?

Merle: From November to December last year, our main goal was to decant the collections store as much as possible, for the planned renewal construction and installation to happen in the coming months. Since then, we’ve done many hands-on tasks, from preparing packing materials and object condition checking, to repacking objects and co-ordinating their delivery. For me, it's amazing how, before every task, we receive proper training to ensure that we’re doing it the right way without harming the objects or ourselves.

Sabrina: As we worked through these tasks, we honed our skills and deepened our knowledge of collection management, which was the exact reason why we both applied for the YCC placement programme. We were given the autonomy to take on specific parts of project management while being offered supportive guidance along the way, which is a very nice balance. Based on this solid start, we very much look forward to seeing this project enter its next phase.

What has been a highlight of your time as a YCC placement?

Merle: As part of our research, we’ve visited some collection stores at other museums such as the Horniman Museum and Museum of the Home, to learn about how they use and display their collections. This has helped us to create a plan for our Collections Store, to make it a more exciting and usable space. We’re going to improve the lighting, change the arrangement of furniture, and install new cabinets for the handling collection - finally freeing objects from their dark boxes.

I would definitely recommend this placement to those who might consider it - it’s been a really good experience. It would be good for them to think about what they want to get out of doing the placement: it can be very specific skills you’ll learn, so consider what you want to do and how this placement would help you get there.

Sabrina: In terms of the logistics that go behind managing a collection, we’ve learned about the basic paperwork regarding moving objects safely, as well as how to use the collection database, essential in keeping keep track of every object, making sure they are safe and right where they need to be.

Why is a collection focused on craft of particular interest to you?

Merle: I’ve been making things since I was very little: craft collections offer such a rich resource for learning about processes and materials. It’s exciting to interact with objects made in new ways, and I’m often inspired to go away and create something myself.

The Armitage Shanks toilet mould in the handling collection is the most intriguing object I’ve come across in the collection. It’s so different to what you’d expect to find in a collection like this, and I think if a group of children visited the collections store it would really engage them - something fun, playful and stinky! I hope we can find space to keep it rather than sending it to off-site storage, as it’s so big. Luckily, it’s difficult to move! It would be cool to display it opened up, so you can see all the parts of the mould.

Sabrina: As something so entwined with our daily lives, craft should be experienced up close - not only through our eyes, but also through touch. I’m honoured to have the chance to bring this project to life, for more people to explore both the tangible and intangible magic of craft.

If you are aged 16-30 and interested in shaping the future of craft, design and making in the UK, you can join Young Craft Citizens. You’ll be informed when the next round of recruitment for YCC placements will open. Learn more here

To learn more about Craft for the People, head to our Craft for the People page