Unboxing richer stories from Crafts Council Collection

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). Dafydd Powell Halls is in precisely that position as the second cohort of Young Craft Citizens placement holder, working to deliver an audit of Crafts Council Collection as part of the Craft for the People project. Across the life of the project, the work done by YCC placement holders will help Crafts Council engage people across the UK in the national collection for craft, delivering hands-on workshops, research events and collection tours.

Introducing Young Craft Citizens and Craft for the People

Young Craft Citizens (YCC) 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 twelve, six-month YCC placements (four for each year of the programme) embedded in Crafts Council’s collections team to deliver this transformation. The people coming into these roles from their YCC membership 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 Deborah Ridley, Crafts Council’s Senior Programme and Collections Manager, in building their skills and career networks.

The first two YCCs to undertake placements were Merle Nunneley, who came to the programme having studied architecture and Sabrina Chu, who studied arts administration after working in Taiwan’s cultural and music communities. Having completed their placement, Sabrina took up a permanent role as Collections Co-ordinator within the Collections team and has developed the first-ever public tour of the collection, to be held within the Collections Store they helped design and deliver.

Merle and Sabrina were instrumental in delivering the first phase of the YCC placement programme, while Dafydd’s work is fundamental in transforming the collections for better public engagement.

Dafydd has taken a moment to share his experiences so far.

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

Prior to joining Crafts Council, I worked in smaller collection environments. I wanted to expand on this professional experience and gain confidence to move forward with my career. I was already aware of the amazing collection at Crafts Council and jumped at the opportunity to become part of it. The Young Craft Citizens (YCC) placement provides the focused training and mentorship that I need. I knew I would be able to learn from professionals in a range of roles within the organisation. The variety of work I’ve done has set me up well for future opportunities.

Tell us about the audit you’re conducting.

I’ve been conducting an audit of objects in Crafts Council’s primary collection, as part of Craft for the People. The audit is basically a kind of collection condition check, something all collections must undertake. It involves making a detailed record of the condition of objects, to help understand their conservation needs and readiness to go out on loan or on exhibition. However, the wider aim of the audit is to uncover more, and deeper, detail about materials, processes and techniques – and to build a much better understanding of the makers. Then Crafts Council will be better able to tell the story of these objects through records and exhibitions. It’s been an exciting process, as I've been trusted with the project from start to finish, involving me doing a lot of planning, organising the safe transportation of objects between our Collections Store and our off-site storage and the use of collection management software.

The most rewarding part is being able to handle beautiful objects. I worked with Crafts Council’s communications team to create a list of ten objects for a public vote, as part of widening access to the collection. It’s been a pleasure to contribute to the story of these objects. I also took part in a series of consultancy workshops with a group of other YCC members, aimed at finding out what they would want from a public-facing collection. The sessions have been so rewarding and I'm glad I can help facilitate making Crafts Council Collection - and its newly-transformed collection store - a public resource with community consultation informing the approach.

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

I’ve had so many! The opportunity to help bring together and install the 5&20 exhibition and Halima Cassell’s solo show, both of which are presented in collaboration with Brookfield Properties, has been brilliant and has made me realise how much I enjoy the public-facing side of collection management. I’ve also loved unboxing objects that haven’t been on display for a while. Drawing attention to these items through our public object vote, content at our website and through our exhibitions has been really rewarding, especially as I get to interact with makers and can see first-hand how much this audit means to them. It’s nice to see the full extent of my work as I facilitate an object’s journey, from a box in the collection store to a work of art on display to the public. 

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

I previously worked in a shop that sold a range of craft items, such as textiles, pottery and rugs. That was my initial exposure to the artistry of handmade objects, their physical form combined with aesthetic appearance and designs. I started to appreciate the historical connections with craft, how materials and processes have been passed down and reused over millennia. All these aspects made working with craft items so stimulating, but I knew I wanted to work more with contemporary objects and makers. Crafts Council’s mission perfectly marries my previous experiences and interests. The variety of materials, ideas and creativity on display through the collection are so varied. I think the collection is truly unique.

What is a stand-out object, story or experience you’ve come across in the work so far?

A special aspect of conducting this audit has been the occasions I’ve met the makers behind a collection object - for example, I met ceramist Sara Radstone through helping to install her work Tamanavay as part of the 5&20 exhibition. Sara was seeing her piece for the first time in many years. Metal artist Michael Rowe came to the collections store to advise the team on how to photograph and install his piece SUBJECTivity and OBJECThood No.3. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how makers respond to a fresh encounter with their work: it’s like unlocking a memory, whether it’s a style they haven’t attempted in a long time or an association with a particular place. Seeing the cogs whirring about what they might attempt next is very special.

I’ve also grown attached to the work of Paul Astbury, a sculptor who I hadn’t come across before, who Crafts Council Collection has acquired ten works from. In the 1970s, he was making sci-fi-influenced “space strata” which were ceramic sculptures of futuristic technology found in space rocks. With more context and exposure, I’m finding myself drawn really strongly to these sculptures. Astbury invented this kind of cosmic archaeology; as perhaps was his intention, when looking at his work, I feel like I've made some type of discovery.

Dafydd Powell Halls is a 2024 Young Craft Citizens Collections Placement holder (Collection Reactivation Project). To apply for a YCC placement, you must be a member of YCCs. It’s free to join – find out more here.