P.E.I. potter and weaver part of 1st Atlantic Canadian booth at U.K. fine craft exhibit
'It allows our artists a stage to the world's best craft opportunities,' says head of crafts council
A potter and a hand weaver from Prince Edward Island were part of Atlantic Canada's first booth at Collect, the biggest fine craft exhibit in Europe.
Organizers of the trip to the March 1-3 fair said they hope there will be international spinoffs from the experience for years to come.
"It's a yearly show. It's run by the British Craft Council and it exhibits the most innovative, modern new crafts that you can get exposed to," said Ayelet Stewart, executive director of the P.E.I. Crafts Council.
"There are international collectors and museums and galleries that go through the show and purchase pieces. So it allows our artists a stage to the world's best craft opportunities."
The trip was organized by the Craft Alliance Atlantic Association, a Canadian non-profit with a mandate to provide marketing opportunities for and encourage the export of Canadian fine craft.
There were 18 Atlantic artists in total, with Isako Suzuki and Rilla Marshall selected to represent Prince Edward Island.
"We put out a call, and then there was a committee that selected the artists," Stewart said. "The U.K. Craft Council looked at the names, and they wanted to see that the artist had some history showing work, and exhibiting in juried shows."
It was constant questions, interest, photographing our pieces. It was lovely to have the artists there too.— Ayelet Stewart, P.E.I. Crafts Council
Stewart said between 12,000 and 15,000 people visited the exhibit, with the first couple of days open only to galleries and collectors, before the show was opened to the public.
"The response was very good. A lot of the people that came through the show were so excited to see Canadian work," Stewart said.
"It was constant questions, interest, photographing our pieces. It was lovely to have the artists there too."
Making sales
Fourteen of the 18 artists made the trip to London, bringing a total of 135 pieces to sell at Collect.
Marshall, a textile artists from Belfast, P.E.I., sold four pieces. Three of them went on the first day to an interior design firm shopping for a client in Switzerland.
"I was interested in having my work showcased in an international setting, and especially in the U.K. and Europe in general," Marshall said. "The Collect art fair is pretty much the art fair for contemporary craft and design internationally."
She added: "It was pretty wonderful to have four days in London being surrounded by other craft artists who are just as passionate as I am. It was an amazing opportunity."
Marshall said she would like to find gallery representation in the U.K. as a next step after her visit to London.
"I think being from a rural place like P.E.I., sometimes craft gets relegated to souvenirs, tourist shops, that kind of thing," Marshall said.
Going to an art fair like this just really exposed all of us to such a high quality of work and professionalism and dedication to craft.— Rilla Marshall, textile artist
"But going to an art fair like this just really exposed all of us to such a high quality of work and professionalism and dedication to craft," Marshall said.
"I mean, it was very gratifying. I think we all felt like we were definitely on par with everything else that was being exhibited there — which was a very empowering feeling not only for me, but I'm sure for everybody else in our group."
Growing exports
Innovation P.E.I. provided $20,000 in funding, which covered travel for three people as well as the cost of shipping the artisans' work to London and entering the exhibition.
Michelle MacCallum, director of cultural development with Innovation P.E.I., described it as good bang for the province's buck.
She said Innovation P.E.I. has a culture action plan, a five-year framework for growing creative industries, which includes the goal of exporting products from the Island.
"This was an amazing opportunity to get some of our really talented fine-craft makers on P.E.I. out into the global marketplace," MacCallum said.
"We'll keep in touch with the artists that attended the event. We know that they've already had more interest in their work."
MacCallum also said the event itself provides inspiration for the makers who attend.
"When our artists get into global spaces like this, they see what's possible, and what's being done in other places."
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