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First round of Heritage Crafts Awards 2024 now open

Deadline: 24 May 2024, 5pm

President's Award 2023 made by Eddy BennettThe first round of the Heritage Crafts Awards in 2024 are now open for nominations, with 12 prizes over seven award categories up for grabs. The Awards, which have been running since 2012, celebrate and highlight the traditional living crafts that contribute to British heritage. 

The President’s Award for Endangered Crafts, now in its fifth year, was established by Heritage Crafts President The Former Prince of Wales. Each year the President’s Award presents £3,000 to a heritage craftsperson who will use the funding to ensure that craft skills are passed on to the future.

The second annual Environmental Sustainability Award, in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), will this year award two £1,000 prizes, open to craftspeople working with traditional craft skills or materials who have demonstrated an innovative approach to environmental sustainability or transformed the environmental impact of their craft business through a series of incremental changes and improvements.

Florence EganThe tenth annual Maker of the Year Award will this year award four £1,000 prizes, to heritage craftspeople in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, who have made an outstanding contribution to their specific crafts within the previous 12 months, with support from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. An overall UK Maker of the Year will be selected from the four national winners, with their prize topped up to £2,000, with support from the Marsh Charitable Trust.

The Marsh Charitable Trust will support four other awards, including Trainer of the Year, Trainee of the Year, the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the new Community Activist of the Year Award.

List of awards open until 24 May 2024:

Anyone, including the makers themselves, can nominate for this award. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 24 May 2024 and you can find out more about each award, as well as how to apply, at awards.heritagecrafts.org.uk. The award winners will be announced at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November 2024.

A second round of awards will open for nominations on 17 June, including Woodworker of the Year, Precious Metalworker of the Year, Fashion and Textile Maker of the Year, Leatherworker of the Year and others, as well as range of awards for young makers aged 25 and under.

 

President’s Award for Endangered Crafts

President’s Award for Endangered Crafts

The President’s Award for Endangered Crafts was established in 2020 by Heritage Crafts President The former Prince of Wales. Each year the President’s Award presents £3,000 to a heritage craftsperson who will use the funding to ensure that craft skills are passed on to the future. 

The Heritage Crafts published the latest edition of its groundbreaking Red List of Endangered Crafts in 2023, which revealed that there are 146 endangered crafts in the UK. Crafts deemed critically endangered range from bell founding and damask weaving to orrery making and silver spinning. Other endangered crafts include a number of musical instrument making crafts, including brass, woodwind and percussion instruments, harps and Northumbrian pipes.

Applicants for the President’s Award are invited to submit proposals to help secure the survival of their craft, which must be listed as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ on the 2023 edition of the Red List of Endangered Crafts. Applicants must explain how they will use the £3,000 award to help secure the survival of their craft.

The Award judges are renowned advocates of craft skills:

  • Jay Blades MBE, Co-Chair of Heritage Crafts;
  • Kate Hobhouse, Chair of Fortnum and Mason;
  • Patricia Lovett MBE, former Chair of Heritage Crafts;
  • Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of The Prince’s Foundation; and
  • Lucy Barlow, straw hat maker and 2023 President’s Award winner.

Jay BladesKate HobhousePatricia Lovett MBESimon SadinskyLucy Barlow

 

 

 

 

The President’s Award will be presented at a special Winners’ Reception in November 2024.

Heritage Crafts / QEST Environmental Sustainability award

Abigail Booth - sustainable/natural pigmentsDeadline: 24 May 2023, 5pm

Heritage Crafts and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) are again running an Environmental Sustainability Award in 2024, this year with two £1,000 prizes, open to any craftsperson or micro-business, working with traditional craft skills or materials, who has improved their environmental sustainability within the last 12 months.

This prestigious award is divided into two prizes, each honouring a distinct aspect of environmental stewardship. One of the prizes will be given to a craftsperson or microbusiness demonstrating an innovative approach to environmental sustainability, rarely before seen, that can act as inspiration for others to explore new ways of thinking and working. The recipient of this prize will have pioneered a truly innovative solution, technique, or process that challenges conventional wisdom and inspires others to explore new horizons in sustainable craftsmanship.

The other prize recognises the achievements of a craftsperson or microbusiness that has made substantial and measurable progress in transforming the environmental impact of their craft business through a series of incremental changes and improvements. The recipient of this prize will have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to sustainability by implementing practical initiatives that reduce waste, conserve resources, and mitigate environmental harm over time.

QEST and Heritage Crafts believe we can (and must) all play a role in building a sustainable future – big ideas can have wide reach, and small changes by many can amount to big changes for all. Both prizes aim to celebrate and reward excellence in environmental sustainability within the crafts sector, acknowledging the diverse approaches and contributions of craftspersons and microbusinesses towards a more sustainable future. The winners of this award serve as role models and catalysts for positive change, inspiring others in the crafts community to embrace sustainability as a core value and guiding principle in their practice.

Judges will include renowned environmental craft advocate Katie Treggiden, author of Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020) and podcast Circular with Katie Treggiden, as well as Kerryn Harper-Cuss, independent editor, brand consultant and QEST ambassador, with extensive experience in the interior design sector.

Anyone (including the craftsperson or business themselves), can nominate a craftsperson or microbusiness working with traditional craft skills or materials, for the Heritage Crafts/QEST Environmental Sustainability Award. The winners will be invited to attend a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November 2024, where the results will be announced and the two £1,000 prizes awarded.

Deborah Pocock LVO, CEO of QEST said:

“QEST believes in the potential of craft to contribute to a better, more sustainable environmental future, and we know that there are many talented and pioneering makers leading the way. Through this new award, we are looking forward to seeing how their ideas and approaches might impact their craft sector, and inspire others to make a change.”

Daniel Carpenter, Executive Director of Heritage Crafts said:

“In the 259 crafts (and counting) that Heritage Crafts represents, we know that there is a huge body of knowledge that will be vital in helping both current and future generations tackle the environmental challenges ahead. We are delighted to be partnering with QEST to celebrate our shared sustainability pioneers and role models.”

Nominations are now open and close on Friday 24 May 2024 at 5pm. To apply, visit awards.heritagecrafts.org.uk.

 

Heritage Crafts awarded £158k grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Made possible with Heritage FundHeritage Crafts has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £158k to capitalise on the heightened interest in traditional craftsmanship in the UK. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the two-year project will increase the charity’s capacity to support craft skills as a vital part of the UK’s heritage.

With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Heritage Crafts will invest in additional staff and freelance consultants to help it achieve long-term sustainability. This will include broadening and diversifying its funding and supporter base, mobilising a network of volunteers all around the country, and ensuring that equity and diversity remain at its core.

Heritage Crafts is the national charity for traditional heritage crafts in the UK. Working in partnership with government and key agencies, it provides a focus for craftspeople, groups, societies and guilds, as well as individuals who care about the loss of traditional crafts skills, and works towards a healthy and sustainable framework for the future.

This news comes on the back of the announcement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport that the UK is to ratify the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), something that – as a UNESCO-accredited NGO for ICH – Heritage Crafts has long advocated for.

The charity has also increased its direct support to practicing and aspiring heritage craftspeople in recent years, with 66 small grants awarded since 2019 through its Endangered Crafts Fund, and 22 training bursaries for new entrants and early-career practitioners distributed since 2021, with a further 24 on offer in 2024.

This project will help ensure that the organisation builds on these successes.

Daniel Carpenter, Executive Director of Heritage Crafts, said:

“We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players, which will allow us to make the most of the opportunities afforded by the UK’s growing appreciation for craft skills, and increase our support for under-represented and marginalised communities in the sector. With UK ratification of the UNESCO Convention, this is a key moment for the promotion of heritage crafts, and we are keen to make the most of it… for everyone.”

‘Culture in the Making’ – The Museum of Making, 16 March 2024

‘Culture in the Making’ – The Museum of Making, 16 March 2024

When: Saturday 16 March 2024, 10am to 4pm
Where: Museum of Making, Silk Mill Lane, Derby DE1 3AF

As the UK prepares to join the 2003 UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, join Heritage Crafts and Derby Museums to celebrate!

In December the UK Government announced the historic decision that the UK would be joining 182 other countries around the world in ratifying the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But what is Intangible Cultural Heritage? Quite simply it means the knowledge, skills and practices that make up our cultural heritage… traditions that exist within humans and that come to life through performances… whether that be music, dance, festivities or MAKING!

Join Heritage Crafts Co-Chair Jay Blades MBE and others for a celebration of craftsmanship and how it crosses over with other domains of living heritage, such as folk music and puppetry performances, and meet craft demonstrators and performers from across the UK talking about the skills they have inherited and hope to pass on to the future.

Learn how the decision to ratify the Convention might reinvigorate the way in which the UK thinks about itself and its heritage in its broadest sense, and how diverse communities from all across the country will be empowered to celebrate their distinctive making traditions.

This event is part of an ongoing partnership between Derby Museums and Heritage Crafts. Tickets range from £20 for members  to £30 for non-members.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE

 

Programme

Speakers include:

  • Jay Blades MBE, Heritage Crafts Co-Chair and BBC Repair Shop
  • Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Minister for Arts and Heritage
  • Daniel Carpenter, Heritage Crafts Executive Director
  • Oliver Hymans, marionette maker and performer
  • Andrea Chappell, kilt maker
  • Imogen Bright Moon, weaver and Heritage Crafts Trustee
  • Daahir Mohammed, lime plasterer

Demonstrators and performers include:

  • Andrew Grundon, sign writer
  • Chris Tummings, bamboo sax maker
  • Nicholas Konradsen, Lincolnshire smallpipes maker
  • Lawrence Dodd, lute maker
  • Katie Sims, weaver and textile designer
  • Sane Mafa, furniture designer / material developer
  • Joel Aspinall, digital maker / product designer
  • The Smallprint Company, letterpress printing

Other speakers, demonstrators and performers to be confirmed.

 

Pop-up members’ gallery

Members are invited to bring an object they have made, to showcase at our pop-up gallery.

If you would like to participate, please email info@heritagecrafts.org.uk with details of the object you wish to exhibit, before Friday 8 March to allow enough time for us to print attributions/descriptions.

Objects need to be able to be displayed on a flat surface, so please ensure to bring a table stand if you want your object to be displayed in that way.

Reviving the craft of cricket ball making in the UK

Dukes cricket ballAs Co-Chair of Heritage Crafts, the UK charity set up to support traditional crafts skills, Jay Blades MBE is leading a new initiative to bring cricket ball making back to the UK.

Cricket ball making has been listed as extinct in the UK since the first edition of the Red List of Endangered Crafts was published in 2017. While some of the processes that go into make a cricket ball are done in the UK, the highly-skilled hand-stitching is usually outsourced to other countries.

Heritage Crafts Co-Chair Jay Blades MBE said:

“We are putting a national shout out to trainers and wannabe cricket ball makers. Get in touch! We need to find retired makers, or anyone with knowledge of how to make cricket balls, to contact Heritage Crafts so we can capture those skills and hopefully pass them on to a new generation of cricket ball makers in this country. Come on Britain! Let’s get the ball rolling and bring cricket ball making back!”

The aim is to find serious trainees, perhaps with saddlery skills or a background in leather work, who want to learn how to make cricket balls. Heritage Crafts and partners, including Duke’s Cricket, are raising funds to support the training, so we can bring the craft of making top-level cricket balls back to the UK, the birthplace of cricket.

To register your interest as a potential trainer or trainee, please contact Heritage Crafts at info@heritagecrafts.org.uk.