Woman’s Hour to run Craft Prize with the Crafts Council and the V&A as part of 70th Anniversary Celebrations
BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour has today (10 October 2016) announced that the show will run a new Craft Prize, in association with the Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).
Published: 10 October 2016
As we enter our 70th year, Woman’s Hour is keen to spotlight the work of the exceptional craft makers who are leading their field; we plan to support innovation, explore the history and variety of crafting practices and, of course, to celebrate the everyday creativity of our listeners.
The new prize was announced in a special 70th anniversary edition of the programme by presenters Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey.
The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize 2017 aims to find and celebrate the most innovative and exciting craft practitioner or designer-maker resident in the UK today, in the most comprehensive prize of its kind. Applications for the prize open on November 1 2016.
The prize will be judged by experts in the craft field, with twelve finalists exhibiting their work at the V&A and in a planned touring exhibition of the shortlisted work. The Crafts Council will organise successful entries into seven categories, consisting of ceramics, metals, textiles, jewellery, glass, wood and other (including but not limited to paper, stone work, lettering and leatherwork).
An overall winner will be chosen from the twelve exhibiting finalists and awarded a prize of £10,000 at a ceremony in November 2017. The prize will reward originality and excellence in concept, design and process. It will seek to recognise an outstanding craft practitioner or designer-maker with a track record of public display or showcasing of their work, and who has demonstrably contributed to craft practice in the last five years.
Over the past 70 years Woman’s Hour has championed and celebrated both the craft of listeners and of craft practitioners and in that tradition the launch of the prize coincides with the celebrations for the anniversary year.
On air Woman’s Hour will cover highlights of the crafting calendar, profile the history of the seven craft prize categories, interview the finalists and reflect the impact craft can have on health and innovation. Craft will also be celebrated on the programme through coverage of exhibitions, discussions, demonstrations and practitioners, hoping to inspire the audience to make and create.
Alice Feinstein, Woman’s Hour Editor says: “As we enter our 70th year, Woman’s Hour is keen to spotlight the work of the exceptional craft makers who are leading their field; we plan to support innovation, explore the history and variety of crafting practices and, of course, to celebrate the everyday creativity of our listeners. We are delighted to be working with The Crafts Council and the V&A to run a prize in 2017.”
Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director at the Crafts Council says: “The Crafts Council has been championing craft for over five decades through our exhibitions, publications, developing the talent of makers and getting young people inspired by craft. Craft skills contribute £3.4 billion to the UK economy and our craftsmanship is revered around the world. It is incredibly timely to be launching this prestigious new Woman’s Hour Craft Prize to recognise the creativity and calibre of British craft. And we are very proud to be doing so partnering with Woman’s Hour and the V&A.”
Bill Sherman, Director of Collections and Research at the V&A says: “Craft has always been at the core of the V&A’s purpose and we engage with the whole spectrum of craft disciplines and materials from ceramics to metalwork, glass to jewellery and textiles to woodwork. We work closely with contemporary practitioners whose work we collect and present and for whom our collections are a major source of inspiration. There is currently an immense fascination with materiality and process in art which chimes with the values of craft and the idea of making holds huge popular appeal. We are proud to be partnering with Woman’s Hour and the Crafts Council to celebrate the enormous contribution of women and men to contemporary and historic craft practice.”
The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize is open to British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over on the submission deadline (6th February 2017) only, who are leading practitioners with at least five years’ experience in their particular field of craft in the United Kingdom.
The prize is open for applications from November 1st until 6th February 2017. The twelve shortlisted applicants will be announced in April 2017, and their work will be exhibited at the V&A from September until the winner is announced in November 2017. The judging panel will be announced in due course. The exhibition will then be available to venues across the UK to hire.
Applications and images showing relevant work will be submitted via the Crafts Council website.
Further information about the terms and conditions and judging process can be found on the Woman’s Hour website.
You can find out more about the Craft Prize at the V&A.
For further information about the planned UK touring exhibition of the shortlisted work and details of how to hire it contact Dr Catherine Putz, V&A.
Notes to Editors
- Woman’s Hour
The Woman’s Hour 70th Anniversary is 7 October 2016. A special programme to mark the beginning of the 70th year, presented by Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey will broadcast on Monday 10 October at 10-11am.
Woman’s Hour broadcasts Monday-Friday, 10-11am and Saturday, 4-5pm on BBC Radio 4, and online at bbc.co.uk/womanshour. The podcast is available to download via the BBC Radio iPlayer app. - The Crafts Council
Founded in 1971 and incorporated by Royal Charter, the Crafts Council is Britain’s national agency for contemporary craft. Through exhibitions, publications and curating the national Collection, we champion the UK’s foremost makers and present contemporary craft in new ways, challenging perceptions of what craft is and can be. The Crafts Council is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. - Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections, which span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world, continue to intrigue, inspire and inform.
SW
