Supporting craft education in the UK

SENIOR figures at the Manchester School of Art have thrown their weight behind an education manifesto for craft and making, launched in the House of Commons.

Prof David Crow, Dean of the School, and Michael Eden, a researcher in MIRIAD, were amongst the signatories of a letter to The Times calling for a change in attitudes towards craft in Britain.

In the letter, a host of academics and artists say: “The UK is a world leader in craft, yet craft education is at serious risk.”

They point out that craft generates £3.4billion for the UK economy, but that the benefits of making are not only financial – craft contributes to cognitive development and general wellbeing.

Supporting craft

The campaigners say that while elsewhere in the world investment in creative education is rising, in the UK higher education craft courses have fallen by 46 per cent.

In the letter, they say: “We make five calls for change: put craft and making at the heart of education; build more routes into craft careers; bring the entrepreneurial attitude of makers into education; invest in craft skills throughout careers; and promote higher education and artistic and scientific research in craft.”

The manifesto was launched by the Crafts Council, the national development agency for contemporary craft in the UK.

Grayson Perry, Sir Terence Conran and Kirstie Allsopp are also among the names who signed the letter.

Craft at MMU

Six students from the Manchester School of Art were among the select few to show their work at this year’s Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. 

The graduates chosen to display their work were Rosemary Booth, Claire Florey-Hitchcox, Josie Cawdry, Siobhan Doran, Megan Ocheduszko and Felix Bell.

MIRIAD is also the home of the Crafts Research Centre, led by ceramicist Prof Stephen Dixon. 

Staff and students have also shown their craft skills for the past two years at RHS Tatton.