“..it made me think that I could do anything…”
Be Curious with Us…
Craftspace is a charity and we rely on donations. All of the money we raise is used to deliver opportunities to see, make and learn about craft.
With your support we can continue to deliver extraordinary encounters with craft and invest in talented makers who reveal the breadth of possibilities for contemporary making.
Our projects deliver creative excellence, enjoyment, material knowledge, skills, pleasure and professional development . Your donation will help us to nurture more talent and reach more people.
Investing in the arts
Public investment in the arts fell by just under 30% in the 5 years from 2013; this means fewer opportunities for makers to risk take, to deepen their knowledge of materials or apply them to new contexts. It also means fewer opportunities for the people least able to access arts and culture to take part in high quality arts activity.
“Over the past 10 years our public funding has reduced. Only with your support can we continue to deliver extraordinary encounters with craft and invest in talented makers who reveal the breadth of possibilities for contemporary making.” Deirdre Figueiredo, Director, Craftspace
8 ways you can support Craftspace today
Join our new community of supporters and get priority access to events and activities which get behind the scenes.
A donation of £250-£1000 pays for artists’ time to take risks, experiment with different materials or collaborators to make new work for our next major touring exhibition: We are Commoners! – exploring how craft contributes to shared public resources and places.
A regular donation of £20 a month could make it possible for a woman to attend Shelanu by supporting their travel costs into Birmingham.
Shelanu supports migrant and refugee women to develop craft skills, enterprise and wellbeing through social enterprise.
A gift of £500 means that a professional artist can share their skills and enthusiasm for making at a series of workshops: encouraging confidence and inspiring future creative professionals.
Leaving a gift in your will is simple. Download our info sheet for ideas.
A fundraising activity raising £60 buys materials for local families to experience the joy of making at free community workshops that encourage creativity, communication and relaxation.
You can now support Craftspace while you shop at no cost to yourself – click the button to give using Easy Fundraising.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the net purchase price to Craftspace if you support us using AmazonSmile. Everything else is the same as normal Amazon.
Why is craft important?
Craft generates £3.4billion pounds for the UK economy; its growth requires risk taking, education and experimentation. Growth of the creative industries is higher than any other industrial sector however young people will not benefit when fewer young people are choosing to study craft and design related subjects at GCSE. Our exhibition and learning programmes deliver opportunities to see craft as a route to enterprise and employment and supports makers to profile their work.
The experience of a child’s early years (0-5) will impact their social mobility; almost half of all children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not reach their expected level of development when they start school. Increasing numbers of children are entering school without the manual dexterity to hold a pencil. Our work with children and carers introduces open ended exploration of materials and tools to those at most disadvantage.
Whilst wellbeing continues to rise the inequalities of wellbeing appear to be widening. How connected we are to others, how able to contribute actively to our communities or how empowered we feel to bring about positive change all impact on our health and wellbeing. The role of participatory opportunities around creative activities is shown to have positive impact on self-reported feeling of well-being. We see this in action through Shelanu Craft Collective and Women’s Maker Movement.
How are Craftspace funded?
Our income comes from grants we apply for including from the Arts Council of England and private Trusts & Foundations. We receive donations from individuals who want to see the impact of our work continue and we earn income from the knowledge and experience we have developed through consultancy work.
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