Craft Scotland’s National Conference comes to Dundee on 5th/6th October in Dundee, presenting two inspiring days of presentations, discussions, debates, and workshops.
Whether you are a maker, a curator, a writer or enthusiast of craft, the Craft Scotland Conference 2013 will connect you with other craft champions and experts.
Guest programmer of the Craft Scotland Conference, Roanne Dods, said: “I have curated this conference in a way to be inspiring and practical, and seeking to looking at how practitioners are balancing that fine line between income generation and making great work.
“There is also a really interesting connection to be made about how we all work within an ecology of interconnections. I have seen many and I am sure delegates will recognise even deeper patterns. I am hugely excited by the people who are going to be presenting and work shopping, and feel very excited for the continuing potential for craft to play a major role in the way artists and makers work at this time of change.”
The conference will be opened on 05 October 2013 by Janet Archer, the new Chief Executive of Creative Scotland. Professor Hans Stofer, Royal College of Art, will start the day’s discussion with his keynote speech, Making: Practice and Passion.
Philip Long, Director of the V&A in Dundee, in conversation with curator Amanda Game, will explore the balance between large institutions and the ecology of small enterprises and the importance of contemporary making in the current cultural environment.
Curator and Designer Katy West will curate a series of discussions on the theme of Parallel Lines: how makers balance the artistic focus of their practice in relation to professional and commercial opportunities. She will be joined by Laura Spring, Catherine Aitken & David Murphy, Bakery 47 and Alex Dobbie.
There will be an opportunity for everyone involved to take part in a World Café-style event around the future of craft in Scotland.
Following their highly-publicised Make Works tour of Scotland, Fi Scott and Vana Coleman will give an update on their journey, and the future for Make Works.
Sunday will be a day for workshops and debate, with session leaders including Director of the Design Trust Patricia van den Akker, Dundee based jewellery collective Vanilla Ink, MAKLab Studio, Deirdre Nelson, Gillian Easson, and Sally Johnston, Starter for 6 Client Manager from the Cultural Enterprise Office.
To complement the Craft Scotland Conference 2013, emerging curator and Duncan of Jordanstone graduate Beth Lamont has been commissioned to present an exhibition of the diverse craft talent in the City. Beth has selected work from a variety of makers, from newly emerging to the well-established, including Jane Gowans, Vanilla Ink, Mitchell & Black, Nikki McWilliams, James Rice & Rebecca McGill and Judy Scott.
The Craft Scotland Conference 2013 is sponsored by Dundee and Angus Convention Bureau and Dundee: One City, Many Discoveries, and is supported through funding from Creative Scotland.
Tickets cost just £50 if booked before Monday 16 September 2013 (or £65 if booked after) for the two day event. Student tickets are available at £45. Tickets include lunch and refreshments on both days. Visit: www.csconference.eventbrite.co.uk
Keep up to date with the Craft Scotland Conference on: www.craftscotland.org/conference or follow @craftscotland
