For four decades, Birmingham-based Craftspace has provided a platform for artists to showcase their work. Along the way, the organisation has curated more than 500 exhibitions and inspired hundreds of thousands of people to become involved in creating and crafting.

This year sees the charity celebrating its 40th birthday with the launch of a new artwork and an exhibition featuring leading contemporary makers from across the Midlands. What’s On recently caught up with Craftspace Director Deirdre Figueiredo to find out more...

Craftspace - a charity which aims to create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to see and make contemporary crafts - has commissioned a textile mural by Stewart Francis Easton to tell its four-decade story. 

Now on display at Birmingham’s Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), 40 Objects For 40 Years features illustrations of objects which have been significant in the organisation’s journey. 

Showing alongside the mural is Made In The Middle, an exhibition featuring 37 craft artists working in a vast array of media.

40 Objects For 40 Years is made up of four quilted wall hangings displaying images of, among other items, a biscuit tin, calculator, jewellery, cutlery and ceramics. All the images have a close connection to the charity’s projects with artists and communities.

Over the decades, Craftspace has commissioned and curated work by more than 2,500 artists in over 500 exhibitions seen by 2.8 million people. In terms of promoting community activities, the organisation has brought 265,000 people into making and engaging in crafting. 

For Craftspace Director Deirdre Figueiredo, 40 Objects For 40 Years is a way of bringing all those achievements into a single artwork which can be enjoyed by everyone.

“There was a round-table discussion amongst my colleagues about what we could do to celebrate 40 years that would be both symbolic and also exemplify our values,” she says. “By visualising our story, we hope our values shine through and reflect the diversity of people we reach, and the things we need to make it happen. A beautiful hand-made object embodies the essence of what Craftspace, craft and making is about.”

Once the idea of the textile mural was cemented, the team then had to condense 40 years of work into 40 objects.

“My colleagues decided it’s not necessarily just about a crafted object, it’s about any object that tells the story of Craftspace. That’s why we’ve included things like a big calculator. Behind the scenes we spend a lot of time fundraising, and our operations manager has a running joke about getting her ‘big calculator’ out for funding applications and budget discussions. We also have a gazebo, as that is symbolic of the way we take our offer out to people wherever they are and provide a safe space for them to be creative.”

Alongside items fundamental to the organisation, 40 Objects For 40 Years also features illustrations of pieces by artists who have taken part in Craftspace exhibitions in the past. These include Claire’s Coming Out Dress by Grayson Perry. The brightly coloured outfit - co-commissioned by Craftspace and Nottingham Castle Museum for the national touring exhibition A Sense Of Occasion in 2000 - was about much more than simply making a fashion item: “A Sense Of Occasion was trying to highlight and make objects to celebrate occasions that were marginalised by society, where people may be celebrating in hiding or amongst themselves or within a sub-culture. In those days, you couldn’t buy a coming-out card, and coming out could be a very fearful thing that was very hidden. You couldn’t buy Eid or Diwali cards. You couldn’t easily buy an outfit with the LGBTQ+ flag to celebrate Pride, so you had to make your own.” 

Grayson collaborated with a digital embroidery company to create a coming-out dress for his alter-ego Claire, which she wore at a coming-out party attended by a small group of friends and family. The exhibition featured both the dress and a film of the party. 

“This was before Perry won the Turner Prize. The style of party dress he created then has since become an iconic feature of his transvestite alter-ego Claire’s image. The context created by the exhibition theme gave artists permission, an opportunity and a platform for self-expression.

“Craftspace had a role to play in making that happen, and we’ve always worked to spot the gaps and elevate those marginalised voices of artists, artforms and types of making that are underrepresented in our culture.” 

Once people have seen 40 Objects For 40 Years, they can explore more examples of the work promoted by Craftspace by checking out the Made In The Middle exhibition.

“With Stewart Easton’s quilt downstairs and Made In The Middle upstairs, there’s something for everyone. Each of the 37 artists featured in Made in The Middle has an individual story to tell. You will see a wide range of crafts, materials, a lot of different stories, and imaginative, innovative and inventive ways of exploring ideas. 

“We have a handling trolley so that people can get a tactile experience. If you’re curious, you can pick it up to understand more about how it was made. We’ve tried to make it as accessible as possible by providing an audio tour for visually impaired people and a BSL tour for deaf people.”

Visitors are also being encouraged to have a go at crafting and making during a special ‘celebration weekend’ at MAC (Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March). The event features drop-in textile activity, which is free to attend, and artist-led workshops. 

For Deirdre, the combination of 40 Objects For 40 Years, Made In The Middle and Celebration Weekend is an opportunity not just for Craftspace to share its work but also to motivate everyone to find and develop their own creativity.

“There are so many life experiences to connect with in the artworks in Made In The Middle, and I think people will feel some comfort and joy as well as a sparking of the imagination. The array of unusual techniques will inspire people to have a go or pick up something they’ve done before. We hope it will inspire people to take up making and explore it for themselves.

“A lot has changed in the world over 40 years, but the value of craft has continued. It’s unifying because everyone has an association with craft in all cultures. You might remember your grandmother or your mother making things. Every culture has to make things to subsist; it’s one of those art forms that is so connected to human existence and activity.”

Looking forward, Craftspace is continuing to grow and develop, with a recent move to the Argent Centre in the Jewellery Quarter giving the charity a new opportunity to support artists and engage communities of interest in creative activities on their premises.

“We have the ambition of having a more fluid, flexible space that we can welcome people into and create a community with an ongoing connection. People will be able to come together to access and share resources and activate the space for social making and conversations.”

Craftspace’s 40 Objects For 40 Years and Made In The Middle are free to visit at MAC until Sunday 12 April, with Celebration Weekend taking place at the venue on Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March. See macbirmingham.co.uk for details. For more on Craftspace, visit craftspace.co.uk

By Diane Parkes