craft festival scotland

very exciting news from the craft scotland website!!!

"The first national festival celebrating Scottish craft is preparing to launch next month with a series of trailblazer events which will set the ambitious tone for the festival itself which opens in May.

craftscotland is delighted to have been awarded the marketing and pr contract for the festival. We will be working with Craft Festival Scotland's team to challenge the perceptions of craft currently held and to champion the diversity of Scottish craft intternationally.

Craft Festival Scotland is the result of a five year research project, Past, Present & Future Craft Practice (PPFCP), based at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at University of Dundee. The project explores new directions, practices and perspectives in contemporary craft with an ultimate goal of defining a new relevance for craft in the 21st century. Dundee is renowned within the academic sector as the leading city in Scotland for craft research. The festival will now showcase the outcomes of this research to the world at large with a programme of creative and informative events to be held across the country.

The Future Craft exhibition (26 March – 24 April 2010) opens in the Matthew Gallery at the Matthew Building at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design and showcases contemporary and innovative craft by practitioners who took part in Past, Present & Future Craft Practice research. Each practitioner takes a creative journey as they explore craft as a process, product, experience and service. The exhibition includes new work by silversmith Drummond Masterton, interactive jeweller Hazel White, weaver Tim Parry-Williams, product artist Geoffrey Mann.

The second trailblazer takes place in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Quilts 1700 - 2010 explores over 300 years of British quilting history. Over 70 beautifully crafted quilts, mostly from the V & A's collections, will be on show. Bed-hangings from the 18th century will be displayed alongside creative reinventions of the quilt by contemporary artists including Tracey Emin. As part of the PPFCP research project, a quilt by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design third year textile student Kirsty Fenton, will be shown in the exhibition.

The full programme of events will be available shortly. If you are organising an event, or know of something happening in your area, and would like to be included in Craft Festival Scotland's extensive programme please send the details to laura@craftscotland.org."