Implementation period: 2020-2021
Funded by: British Council's Crafting Future Programme
Partners: Plymouth College of Art and Georgian Arts and Culture Center
Crafting Futures supports the future of craft around the globe. This British Council programme strengthens economic, social and cultural development through learning and access. Crafting Futures’ projects support practices and people, through research, collaboration and education.
Through international collaboration, Crafting Futures creates new networks and opportunities for shared learning between the UK and other countries around the globe. The programme supports research and education in craft, ensuring our projects are relevant and the quality of the creative practice is preserved and continues to develop. Crafting Futures offers designers and artisans access to knowledge and expertise, new markets and new audiences, ensuring the value of a craft is appreciated more broadly and knowledge can continue to be shared within the sector.
The partnership is central to the programme design and outcomes, which aim to build international collaboration to support the future of craft and address shared global challenges in the sector. We work with a Partner Network in the UK and match them with overseas partners to design and deliver projects.
Crafting Future Programme was launched as part of the UK/Georgia 2019 Season, on 7 and 8 November with the Crafting Futures Networking Forum for Central Asia, South Caucasus and the UK Country Representatives. The forum was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia, in partnership with Georgian Arts and Culture Centre. The forum was attended by the representatives of the crafts sector from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, UK and Uzbekistan.