xyXV4

PERSPECTIVES
Deirdre Figueiredo,
director, Craftspace
1
2
Plenty has changed in applied arts in the time Deirdre
Figueiredo has been going to degree shows – particularly in the
last decade. “Ten years ago we would have focused on ceramics,
glass, furniture, textiles,” says Figueiredo, director of
Birmingham-based development organisation Craftspace.
“Now, because we’re working in what I call ‘craft in an
expanded field’, we’re not limiting ourselves. Craft makers are
working in many different areas – video, animation, digital
media – so we’ve widened the scope of where we’re looking
for talent quite dramatically.”
The last few years have seen major changes in craft education,
with discipline-specific courses closing down and new,
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary courses replacing them.
“People are working across media in different ways and
practices are much more blurred than they ever were,”
adds Figueiredo.
The loss of specialist courses has made it increasingly
difficult for new makers to learn age-old craft skills. Yet while
Figueiredo laments their closure, she also believes that craft
is in an exciting place as it responds to the changes and
embraces new technologies.
“In craft, using new technology stretches from fantastic access to all
sorts of digital tools that a lot of labs are now equipped with –
digital sewing machines, jack looms, etc – to the use of social media
and interactive and open source technology. It also cuts across into
performance craft, which goes beyond just demonstrating and into
something that explores making in a live way.”
Degree shows, says Figueiredo, offer a first-hand insight into
how these developments are influencing makers, providing a
perspective on new trends. “I really enjoy them – it’s just good
to see a sense of renewal and something fresh coming through
every year.”
3
The shows also form a key part of the Craftspace research
cycle. “What we do in terms of strategy is informed by what our
interests are, but of course our interests are really informed by
what makers are doing. So visiting degree shows is a very
important part of a research and planning process, and thinking
about who we might be working with in three to five years time.”
Figueiredo’s focus tends to be on shows in the West Midlands,
with Birmingham’s School of Jewellery singled out for its
vision, direction and open approach. (“I know there’ll be a
range of conceptual works there,” she says, “it’s not just
jewellery as you’d imagine it to be.”) A trip to the New
Designers exhibition in London covers a lot of the other
new talent.
Crucially, though, she believes that what you see at a degree
show often doesn’t tell the full story. “Applied art students are
much more savvy than they used to be about using degree
shows as an opportunity to sell work. What a student might
show is something they hope will be a selling range, while
actually their interests lie elsewhere, such as socially engaged
practice. So it’s important to look beyond the object, to delve a
little deeper.”
1
Deirdre Figueiredo
2
Work by Penny Allen, part of the
Craftspace/Hereford College of
Arts collaborative project, Field
Notes, led by artists Matthew
Harris and David Littler, 2014
3
Amber Wakely, Lace Tree,
produced at Craftspace’s In:Site
festival for new graduates, 2013
25