irish craft 2008: the annual craft edition of the "irish arts review" || craft tour 2008

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Irish Arts Review Craft Tour 2008 Author(s): Cornelia McCarthy Source: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 25, Irish Craft 2008: The Annual Craft Edition of the "Irish Arts Review" (2008), pp. 10-11 Published by: Irish Arts Review Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20493443 . Accessed: 18/06/2014 04:18 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Irish Arts Review is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Irish Arts Review (2002-). http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.79.69 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:18:54 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Irish Arts Review

Craft Tour 2008Author(s): Cornelia McCarthySource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 25, Irish Craft 2008: The Annual Craft Edition of the"Irish Arts Review" (2008), pp. 10-11Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20493443 .

Accessed: 18/06/2014 04:18

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Irish Arts Review is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Irish Arts Review(2002-).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.69 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:18:54 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Craft

tour

2008

The inaugural

US Craft

Collectors Tour

will raise

awareness of

Irish craft in an

important

target market

and encourage

collectors to

visit Ireland,

writes Cornelia

McCarthy

10

Some of the most influential

figures in the US collectors

market recently completed an

intensive 'Craft Tour' of Ireland. This

group of collectors, gallery owners and

cultural journalists visited the studios

of craftspeople whose work they had

first seen at Sculpture Objects &

Functional Art (SOFA) in Chicago in

200?. The Crafts Council of Ireland

(CColI ensured that there was serious

curatorial support at SOFA to

demonstrate to the US market that

this work is important and here to

stay. Audrey Whitty of the National

Museum of Ireland gave an

illuminating lecture on purchasing and

contemporary acquisitions by the

Museum. Brian Kennedy, curator of

the Irish exhibit at SOFA, also gave a

series of talks. This curatorial support is important to the US collector and

adds credibility to the Irish offering.

Following on from the success at SOFA

and the subsequent enquiries about

visiting Ireland, CCol contacted tour

organisers and galleries in the USA and

started discussions with key partners

to plan a familiarisation trip to Ireland in

spring 2008. The 'Craft Tour' was

organised by CCol and Failte Ireland in

conjunction with Craft Northern Ireland

and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

Failte Ireland has recognised the

importance of showcasing contemporary

Irish craft: 'Cultural tourism, of which

craft is a key component, is the fastest

growing form of tourism', according to

Damien O'Brien of Fhilte Ireland. 'It is

growing at a rate of 15% per annum,

three times the rate of all other forms of

tourism, and estimated to be worth

E5.1 billion to the Irish economy.'

This tour, then, was an important step

in developing Ireland as a desirable'arts

destination' for US collectors of

contemporary craft. Now that they have

returned home, this key group will

encourage discerning collectors to travel

to Ireland, visit craftspeoples' studios

and purchase their work. Bringing US

collectors to Ireland to experience and

purchase Irish craft is a valuable spin

off from CCol's strategy of raising the

profile of Irish craft internationally. From

CCol's exhibitions and touring

programme, to the Portfolio selection

and the development of international

exhibitions, such as SOFA, the word is

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.69 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:18:54 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

out that the value of Irish craft is high.

'We are trying to find more centralised

ways to promote the work of Ireland's

finest craft artists, many of whom are

living and working in remote, scenic

areas', says Una Parsons, CEO of CCol.

'One objective is to work with partners to

develop exchanges and tours, which

allow collectors to meet craftspeople

and experience the beauty of the

settings that influence their work'.

Nine individuals took part in the

recent trip. They were offered a packed

itinerary from which they could design a

bespoke trip that matched their

collectors' needs. The visitors were taken

to craft studios, workshops and galleries

all over the island, from Kilkenny's

National Craft Gallery and the Design

Tower on Dublin's Pearse Street to the

remote shores of Connemara's lakes and

up to the Ards Peninsula in Northern

Ireland. One of the social highlights was

a reception in Kilkenny Castle where

they met artists, collectors, crafts

administrators and local dignitaries.

The enthusiasm of all those on the

trip was palpable, as articulated by

Wendy Rosen, President of the Rosen

Group and AmericanSty/e magazine:

'My biggest impression of Ireland is

that you have the perfect balance of

high tech and low tech, carefully

preserving the best of both without

sacrificing one for the other. In the US,

we have allowed Wall Street to

cannibalise Main Street. It is obvious

that you have worked to keep both

strong and viable. The juxtaposition of

the old and the new is so amazing. The

acceptance and even celebration of

handcrafted items is so interwoven in

your culture. There is a quiet pride in

everything Irish. It feels like a natural

part of society, not pushed.' Beverly

Sanders, Senior Editor, American Craft

said: 'It was an extraordinary trip. It was

necessary to get a good overall look at

the crafts scene in Ireland and it was

wonderful to get to the countryside and

to see people in their settings.

Everybody involved was extraordinarily

helpful'.

'Your efforts at SOFA are paying off',

said Clemmer Montague. Clemmer and

her husband organise international

tours for collectors interested in

visiting galleries and artists' studios.

Following the Craft Tour, AmericanStyle

magazine is currently advertising a trip

to Ireland in spring 2009. The Montagues

will also be back with their collectors in

2009. In each case, the collectors like to

travel in small groups and visit makers

as well as meet artists in gallery shows.

Unlike the more private European

collector, the US collector likes the

'alumni' of their peers.

The Craft Tour has successfully laid

the foundation for future cooperation

and interaction between US collectors

and galleries and Irish craftmakers.

Perhaps it is fitting then, to finish with a

quote from David Montague: 'In terms of

the calibre of the craft artists we

visited, our time spent in Ireland was

worthwhile. We will be back.'W

Cornelia McCarthy is a consultant and project manager working with creative Industries.

1 Emily Kearnes, Mary Childs and Stanley

Wooley at CCol exhibition at SOFA 200?

2 The US Collectors Dinner at Kilkenny

Castle

3 Sara Flynn in her ceramics studio

4 Mary Childs and Joe Kelly, Director of

Craft Northern Ireland, in Karl Harron's

glass studio

5 Baskets by Joe Hogan

I

, i

A

1 -

1 :1 7a

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.69 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:18:54 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions