Heritage Craft

Promoting the cultural survival & revival of the British heritage crafts sector

Straw crafter, Veronica Main MBE, kindly gave us permission to use her photographs. Find out more about her work here.

We believe that heritage crafts are a valuable source of income and culture in the UK. However, the current infrastructure does not value the economic and cultural potential of heritage crafts. We suggest that a closer relationship between local government and heritage crafts could safeguard the future of this intangible cultural heritage.

Background

Our project partners, the charity Heritage Crafts, define heritage craft “as a practice which employs manual dexterity and skill and an understanding of traditional materials, design and techniques, and which has been practised for two or more successive generation”. Examples of this are varied, from basketmaking to brickmaking and so many more. Our website uses images from craftspeople to showcase the diversity of the sector.

Through the work of Heritage Crafts, we now understand that many of these crafts are at risk of being lost. Every two years they compile a Red List of endangered and critically endangered crafts. British heritage crafts are at risk for a number of Reason, including the lack of funded training pathways and the devaluation of manual work in society. The UK Government has recently ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is the knowledge, skills and practices and that embodied within human activity, as opposed to tangible cultural heritage in the form of buildings, monuments and museum artefacts. UNESCO identifies 5 key forms of ICH such as oral traditions and expressions (including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage), performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and, most importantly to us, traditional craftsmanship. This will hopefully rejuvenate interest and investment in the heritage crafts sector.

Our plan

Heritage craft practitioners rarely require ongoing subsidy. They would much rather operate within an open market, providing economic and cultural value that we can all benefit from. What they need is the removal of unnecessary barriers, as well as buy-in from policymakers and the public that what they do is worth safeguarding. This project hopes to help our local authorities see this. Current infrastructure is ineffective in supporting craftspeople, so we believe that with some changes craftspeople will fulfil their potential. A thriving craft industry can benefit a local community by reinvigorating the local economy, tackling climate change and upskilling the workforce. On our UK Craft Regions you can find out more about