Putting the Art into Craft : The Craftman's Art exhibition 1973

Putting the Art into Craft: The Craftsman’s Art exhibition, 1973 The 1970s were a unique period for craft in Britain, in which practice and idea experienced a significant renaissance. Sharing points of similarity with the previous century’s Arts and Crafts movement, the 1970s gave impetus to a new generation of craftspeople and crafts businesses. Crucially, it was supported by newly created government institutions, which attempted to redefine and shape the meaning of craft. This paper will focus on the newly created Crafts Advisory Committee (CAC - now the Crafts Council), and its flagship exhibition, The Craftsman’s Art, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1973. The CAC was a state supported, centralized body with overall responsibility for the development and management of craft activity in Britain. As an organization, it continues to play a key role in how the crafts in Britain are supported and defined. From its inception, the CAC chose to align itself with ‘fine art’ focusing its attentions on high-end studio craft rather than vernacular, traditional or amateur crafts. This ideological stance was boldly manifested in the title of The Craftsman’s Art, and was timed to coincide with the launch of its bi-monthly magazine Crafts (still in circulation). The exhibition was intended to change public attitudes by introducing them to the new, fine art crafts. The legacy of The Craftsman’s Art exhibition cannot be underestimated. This paper will explore the CAC’s attempts to elevate the status of craft, legitimising it in professional spheres, and introducing new ways of making, theorising, and exhibiting craft.