FACTORY, lecture for Womans Hour Craft Prize

FACTORY Neil Brownsword public lecture for the Woman's Hour Crafts Prize at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery 'Neil Brownsword creates installations using ceramics, film and performance. His work takes the ceramics industry of his native Staffordshire as its primary subject, observing its people and production systems. He has sought to challenge the marginalisation of craft skill in industrial contexts, and to highlight the danger of specialist knowledge being lost. Recent work has been made in collaboration with former industry artisans, revealing their people-embodied skills and exploring the value of the industry's intangible cultural heritage. Brownsword was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2015 Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea'. This talk will outline his work shortlisted for the Womans Hour Crafts Prize along with broader debates within his artistic practice. FACTORY will also be accompanied by two performances by Brownsword's collaborator Rita Floyd: Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 July Drop in during the weekend Watch Rita Floyd, one of Stoke on Trent Potteries’ last fully trained ceramic flower makers, at work in Neil Brownsword’s installation