- Midlands-based charity Craftspace is celebrating their 40th year by looking to the future of craft making and urging people to donate to their 40th crowdfunder.
- With a target of £10,000, with match-funding for the first £2500 raised, everyone who donates will be able to choose a craft themed reward to start their own craft journey.
- Donations could cover materials, pay artists for their time, cover participants’ travel costs or fund running costs of Craftspace’s workshop.
- Donate today via: https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/access-to-craft
Midlands-based charity Craftspace is celebrating their 40th year by looking to the future of craft making and urging people to donate to their 40th crowdfunder with the aim of supporting artists and communities and sustaining Craftspace’s mission of developing people, ideas and opportunities through contemporary craft for years to come.
Deirdre Figueiredo MBE, Director of Craftspace, said: “As we celebrate our 40th anniversary we want many more people to express themselves though the power of crafts. Sustaining Craftspace will secure access to craft for all. As one of the only dedicated and specialist charities in the region we provide a crucial role in bringing artist and communities together to make, discover and connect through craft.”
With a target of £10,000, with match-funding for the first £2500 raised, donations could cover materials, pay artists for their time, cover participant’s travel costs or fund Craftspace workshops. With 40 years’ experience to-date, Craftspace has already seen the impact of their work supporting over 250,000 people to get making, commissioning work from 2500 artists and curating more than 500 exhibitions viewed by over two million people.
Everyone who donates to Craftspace’s 40th Crowdfunder will be able to choose a craft themed reward to start their own craft journey. Deirdre explained: “We are developing new income streams and Workshop in a Box is one of these – donors to our campaign can pick one as a reward which we hope will spark new ideas through collage, weaving, paper and stitch.”
“Developed by professional artists they provide a creative space for making that can be so positive; helping to understand materials, learn new skills and create a tangible, tactile object. These impacts can last a lifetime.”
One of the Workshop-in-a-Box craft kits has been developed by Sarah May Johnson, a textile artist who exhibited in Craftspace’s recent Made in the Middle Exhibition.
Talking about the power of craft, Sarah May Johnson said: “The first time I tried weaving was on a simple cardboard loom at my primary school when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I vividly remember weaving a scene featuring a cactus in the desert beneath a bright blue sky. My mum recalls that during parents evening, my teacher at the time, Mr Wood, showed her my creation. She was delighted until Mr Wood pointed out that the assignment had actually been to weave coloured stripes inspired by a place.”
Sarah May added: “It seems that even at a young age, I was already pushing the boundaries of what you can, or should, be making on a loom. Little did I know then that years later I would still be experimenting on the loom as a woven textile artist, and Mr Wood will be happy to know I’ve come around to liking stripes!”
The Workshop in a Box ‘Off-Loom Weaving’ craft kit is one of the reward’s donors can choose, the other Workshop in a Box craft kits include ‘Collage, Mark Making and Stitch’ and ‘Paper Craft’.
To donate to Craftspace’s 40th Anniversary Crowdfunder and help sustain the future of craft making in the region visit: https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/access-to-craft
The fundraising campaign runs from 25 September until 25 October.
To find out more about the work of Craftspace visit: https://craftspace.co.uk/