A Code of Practice for Craft-Design Collaborations
Someday humanity will owe its survival to handicrafts. Albert Einstein
Context: What s been happening lately Designers Meet Artisans publication Growth of world craft Climate change South Project Global financial crisis
Context: Designers Meet Artisans
Context: Growth of world craft
Context: Climate Change It is neither desirable nor remotely feasible to seek to remove environmental pressures through diminution of the aspirations of the world s people for higher material standards of living. GARNAUT CLIMATE CHANGE REVIEW INTERIM REPORT February 2008
Context: South Project Four year circuit of South reveals potential for south-south cultural exchange
Context: Global Financial Crisis Realisation of limits to abstract forms of equity Trust in more tangible goods Need to find local employment
SWOT STRENGTHS Richness of craft traditions Innovation of design OPPORTUNITIES Increased interconnectivity Rise of ethical consumerism WEAKNESSES Loss of local market for crafts Low value of handmade THREATS Victimary thinking Cynicism
The dilemma and potential solution We want to sustain cultural diversity Traditional craft is challenged by globalisation Loss of local market due to cheap imports Focus away from tradition and towards consumption Urban consumers are seeking to make positive choices Climate change prompts sense of responsibility Need to construct a cultural identity Opportunity to develop craft for urban markets Designers have capacity to help that development
It s time to get serious But there is a large cultural gap between designer and artisan Leads to suspicion of hidden motives And there is inevitable commodification of ethical products They become linked to the fashion cycle Eventually seen as marketing gimmick So we need something to underpin ethical craft products To assist designer and artisan to better understand each other To demonstrate to the consumer that this is serious
The craft-design exchange Globalisation Need for cultural identity Loss of local market Product development City Village
Goals To create an international Code of Practice for Craft- Design Collaborations that informs participants engaged in product development and those purchasing the results To develop trust between designers and craftspersons To share information between projects applying design to traditional craft practices To improve sustainability of craft practice To bolster market confidence in legitimacy of crafted design
Schedule Select five case studies from a range of regions across the world Collate information about the hopes and fears of participants in these case studies Produce a report on Issues Raised When Designers and Craftspersons Work Together Host a workshop to develop a draft Code of Practice informed by the report Disseminate the draft Code of Practice for comment Develop final Code of Practice (one page outline, with supporting text) Disseminate Code of Practice
Structure - Code of Practice Advisory committee Research team Funding Process Dissemination World Craft Council Anthropology Australian Research Fund Case studies UNESCO International Design Alliance Market research Consortium Report World Fair Trade Organisation Sociology Workshop NGOs Industrial design Draft code UNESCO Craft history Final code
A Code of Practice would provide Product development involving handmade objects Guidelines for agreements between craftspersons and designers Clear communication of hopes and fears Right to know
Interests Makers Slow movement NGOs Code Fair trade Retail Craft orgs
Activities in 2009 Selling Yarns conference, March 2009 After the Missionaries issue of Artlink, June 2009 The World of Small Things: An Exhibition of Craft Diplomacy, Craft Victoria, June 2009 Craft-Design workshop, Suva (Fiji) August 2009 Craft-Design workshop, Santiago (Chile) November2009
Partnership
Further information Visit: www.craftunbound.net/category/project/code-of-practice Or contact Kevin Murray on kevin@craftunbound.net 20 April 2009