2014-2016

Crafts development organisation & creative producer – 30 years

•Pioneering creative producer commissioning exceptional, world class contemporary craft•Connecting creative practice with diverse communities •Cultural, social, economic value of craft in society (contributing to social/human capital)

Outcomes:For artists Artistic and personal development, increased capacity to engage with audiences, increased employment and profile, experimentation, stimulating innovation and sales of work.

For craft in venues and unconventional spacesIncreased market share and profile for craft, increased knowledge and awareness of what the artform can offer, cross over audiences, new audiences, enhanced knowledge for existing audiences and increased relevance of craft.

For audiences and participants:Creative learning, transformation, well-being, skills development and social cohesion.

For Non-arts partnerships:Building capacity in non-arts sector partners to engage with professional artists and use creativity to achieve their objectives.

Evidence of Impact:Feedback received from community venue partners for Making Moves (MM). “The venue has benefitted hugely through the residency. It opened their eyes to their potential, opened their mind to what they could do with their venue. They now have an artist in residence which has united their customers. This has become a feature for the pub and given the pub a different image, almost softening this edgy pub.”

“MM was successful in changing venue staff’s negative perceptions about having exhibitions in their spaces, in addition to the possibilities of contemporary craft in engaging communities.” Christine Maloney, Area Librarian South Leamington Spa Main Library

•We received positive feedback from individual visitors who do not usually engage with contemporary crafts. Visitors were fascinated by the techniques, ideas, processes and diversity of the craft exhibited.” Hereford•“Exciting and strange use of materials - refreshing.” visitor•“Really enjoyed seeing how crafters are developing their practice in modern and innovative ways. Very inspirational!” visitor•“Loved seeing craft techniques I’d never encountered before.” visitor•“Delighted and thoughtful about what constitutes craft.” visitor•“I enjoyed the balance of fine making skills and a clear intellectual position.” visitor•“It made me feel inspired to make pieces like these or rather using the methods exemplified - dialogue; collaboration and time.” visitor

Participants

•“It‘s made me so much more confident with art and I am so pleased with my piece. I just want to come back and do something else. ..I now know you don’t have to be good at drawing to produce something.” participant•“Just wanted to drop you an email. It was about this time 4 years ago when I went to the Custard Factory the day before my birthday to an event of Craftspace involving free jacket potatoes and xmas stocking kit, sugar craft, speed pom pom making, badge making, string art and a computer game involving an owl and an electric guitar! Anyway had an awesome day met an artist…(four years later). Today I ran a speed pom pom making and weaving workshop at Friction Arts with 6 people.” Sara Fowler, member of youth craft collective•“It wasn’t overpowering by the people running it, you could just drop in and they would start you going, get the first few weaves going and then you could sit and do it by yourself. You didn’t have anyone watching over your shoulder, you could be independent and take it where you wanted.” Craftspace youth craft collective•“The whole experience, meeting all these new people, learning all these new skills. I especially like the group of us now as everyone is from different backgrounds. I’ve been doing loads of wire work that Roger started and I can’t stop doing it. Getting involved in it, it is so nice to see people who want to have a go and then they start and they get really in to it.” Craftspace youth craft collective•“I learnt I usually got a short attention span but I can engage and get proper into it, (I’ve gained) knowledge to become independent when it comes to DIY. I’ve always relied on my dad.” Kelly Making My Home project•“I’ve been looking to go to college. I might do something in music or art. This course has made me think about that.” Martin Making My Home project

Audience Development Goals:

Increase opportunities for audiences/people least engaged in arts and culture to encounter and experience contemporary craft practice and process. We will do this through:

Breadth of programming which includes commissioning work and activity in range of unconventional, non-gallery, non-traditional places and spaces in the public realm.Co-devised participatory and socially engaged artists’ residency based projects developed in partnership with other organisations.

Provide further opportunities to enhance the depth and quality of people’s cultural experiences We will do this through:

Co-devised participatory and socially engaged artists’ residency based projects developed in partnership with other organisations.Providing enriched content and a range of interpretation methods within touring exhibitions.

Increase and diversify the range of people experiencing or engaging in contemporary craft We will do this through:

Commissioning interdisciplinary work which interacts craft with a range of other artforms and media through a ‘craft in an expanded field’ strand.

Audience Development Goals:

Provide opportunities for a greater range and number of artists and participants to make and show craft for public viewWe will do this through:

Curating a touring exhibition of ‘Outsider Craft’Continuing to develop Shelanu women’s craft collective and social enterprise as a model to transition people from being beneficiaries of arts activity into creative producers.

Increase the number of people engaging with digital content We will do this through:

Redesigning our website as a hub for all digital content Investing in artistic digital commissionsProviding a range of enriched content linked to exhibitions and projects

Making My HomeVulnerable young people 16+

Partners: St Basils (working with homeless people), 6/8 Kafe

In:Site Festival 2014Site specific artwork made by new graduates in Cathedral Square

free to watch and take part

Partners: Colmore Business District, Birmingham Cathedral, 6/8 Kafe, A-N website. Supported by John Feeney Trust

Shelanu collective, migrant women’s craft social enterprise Birmingham Souvenir Project

Co-creating CraftAHRC funded action research project to test & develop a methodology for co-produced

community learning through creative practice, skill-sharing and storytellingPeople aged 50+

Partners: Falmouth University, Bealtaine Festival Dublin, Office of Public Works Dublin, Soho House Museum, Wesleyan Community Centre

Phase 2 bid: crafting around the stimulus of a heritage location, building on the nationwide networks of Fab Labs and Scrap Stores to bring the means of production back to being a local community asset, and rooting making within a community through a local economic model.

Making Moves IIToured 7 community venues across the West Midlands including a hospital,

railway stations & a shopping centre

Partners: 4 regional HE colleges (BCU, Staffordshire, Coventry and Wolverhampton), 6 Local Authorities (Birmingham City Council, Staffordshire County Council, Warwickshire County Council, Warwick District

Council, Dudley Metropolitan District Council and Wyre Forest District Council)

Making Moves III - 2015-16Artists residencies hosted in community venues, graduate placements,exhibition touring to community venues eg railway stations, hospitals, leisure centres. East & West Midlands & piloted in Plymouth. Led by Craftspace & Staffs County Council Arts Dev – 9/10 partnerships between HEI/FE + local authority.

Self taught artists “…extraordinary works created by people who are in some way on the margins of society, and who, for whatever mixture of reasons, find themselves unable to fit into the conventional requirements – social and psychological, as well as artistic – of the culture they inhabit.”

Radical Craft – March 2016touring exhibition 8 venues nationally

Partners: Outside In, Pallant House Gallery, Actionspace

35 artists from the Midlands, selling exhibition, symposium

Made in the Middle – Dec 2016Eight in the series: touring exhibition East & West Midlands

Partner: Herbert Art Gallery and Museum Coventry