Crafting exhibitions…

Yesturday I attended a meeting at our local craft council. It was open to the public and aimed to discuss the upcoming and current programming presented by the gallery. I’m admittedly quite opinionated as anyone who knows me can attest, so I went with reservations over how to address what I felt were issues, but with a keen interest in voicing those opinions. In the end the discussion was, I think, quite successful and proactive. It was interesting to hear that the Council also viewed itself as somewhat locked into its role of showcasing traditional crafts, selected based primarily on their merit of excellence in craftsmanship, over and above innovation, experimentation and conceptual challenges. We had two members of local artist-run centers also attend and it was encouraging to see that all of the galleries were aware of the gaps between their mandates of what to exhibit and the awareness that much of craft based practice seems to be left out in the cold unable to fit within the traditional parameters of craft councils, the competitive and sometimes unversed in craft theory artist-run-centres and the public gallery system which brings a whole lot of other issues to the table. Nothing is going to change overnight, it never does, except maybe the weather, but I left feeling that feeling of possibility, that change could be around the corner as a result of partnerships, collaboration and greater communication between art organizations. I love the feeling of being in a room full of people wanting change and all contributing great ideas as to how to bring that change about. It’s as inspiring as going to see an amazing exhibition, and hopefully future amazing exhibitions will be the result of it all.