An international audience of over 100 attended the launch of the Craft Hub Exhibition in Visual (22nd August 2023).
The Craft Hub exhibition was officially opened by Mayor of Carlow Municipal District, Cllr. Tom O’Neill. In opening the exhibition Cllr. O’Neill said “exhibitions are an important way in which creative people connect with their audience, showcase their work and generate new interest. They are also a valuable educational resource for the public, and they can help to promote understanding and appreciation of different cultures and ideas.”
“For us as a Council it is important that we create conditions where a creative culture can develop, flourish and grow for the people who come to Carlow to work, live, visit and play. A creative culture is about creating a place both virtually and physically where people feel safe to be themselves, to take risks, and to express their unique talents. It's a place where people are encouraged to think outside the box and to come up with new and innovative solutions to problems. A creative culture is not about being perfect. It's about being open to new ideas, even if they're not your own. It's about being willing to fail, learn from your mistakes, and try again. The Craft Hub journey for us has been about embodying the creative culture of our own people and learning and sharing with our partners across Europe”.
VISUAL Centre of Contemporary Art & The George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Carlow is the venue for the Craft Hub International Craft Exhibition which now runs until 3rd September 2023 supported by Creative Europe & Creative Ireland. The exhibition commenced in Italy in April 2023 travelling to Greece, Germany, Portugal arriving in Ireland in August. The exhibition features work from across the whole spectrum of crafttechniques and uses an anonymous selection process, giving emerging artists an equal opportunity to be selected alongside the established makers. After Carlow the exhibition moves onto Wales in September and then Norway for the closing conference in October.
Craft Hub is a European project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme focused on Craft in the context of cultural heritage and its continuing relevance in contemporary practice. The project is lead by Carlow County Council with the support of eight other partners throughout Europe. It is a 3 year project concluding in October 2023.
The project activities involve investigating and documenting craft skills and processes; their differing application in creative practice across Europe; and questions of cultural specificity & individual motivations of practitioners. This was addressed through a comprehensive and exciting program to allow the creation of new craft work and experimental investigations into process and material supported by 42 transnational maker residencies, 305 days of outreach work, 1 festival, 7 exhibitions and 2 conferences.
Speaking at the exhibition launch, Sinead Dowling, Arts Officer with Carlow County Council spoke about the workshops which were held in Carlow Library in the build up to the exhibition. Craft Hub organised 16 workshops attended by over 100 people. The workshops were ‘Paint along’, ‘Make a Giant Paper Heart’ and ‘Make a "Pin Ball" Game’ with Dawn from Craft Central, ‘Print Your Own Tote Bag’ and ‘Bind Your Own Book’ with Ann Kenny (Ann Makes Books), ‘Sock it to me!’, ‘Get Buzzing!’, ‘I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice-cream!’ and ‘Cool Cactus Craft’ with Jean Robertson, ‘Handmade Jewellery Workshop’ with Megan Manning from "Create That Inner Spark", ‘Make a silver ring inspired by Irelands Ancient East’ and ‘Design and make your own silver pendant’ with Mary Bourke (DeBurca Design), ‘Make blended colour Earrings and Pendants’ and ‘Make vibrant pattern Earrings and Pendant’ with Liga Valge (Valg Studio).
Craft Hub in Ireland is co-ordinated by Carlow County Council’s Local Enterprise Office, Carlow Libraries and Carlow Arts Office. Speaking about the exhibition, Kieran Comerford, Head of Economic Development & Enterprise said “The creative sector is very important to Carlow for social and cultural reasons. It helps to create a vibrant and diverse society. It also provides opportunities for people to express themselves and to connect with others and we are delighted to work with our partners to delivery this exhibition and be part of the Craft Hub project."
