A Guide To London Craft Week 2024
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8 months ago
Time to sketch out your Craft Week plans
With art fairs galore, London is a hot spot for makers of all kinds. Next on the agenda is London Craft Week, which draws 250,000 visitors to London every year, hosting over 700 events all about craft. Here’s our guide to the 2024 action.
London Craft Week 2024: A Guide
© Maison Michel
What Is London Craft Week?
Craft Week is an annual London festival celebrating all things creativity, design and exceptional craftsmanship, showcasing the work of over 750 established and emerging makers, designers, artists and luxury brands across a curated program of events, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations. Everything takes place in the British capital, with almost 250,000 visitors making the trip in 2023, enjoying a schedule of over 400 events hosted by over 700 makers from 40 countries.
The 2024 edition is the tenth anniversary special, so you can expect London Craft Week to be even bigger and better than ever. Indeed, this year’s LCW curated programme reflects on the evolution of the craft sector over the past decade and pays tribute to the hero makers who played a crucial role in the sector’s transformation. So, as well as the annual showcasing of high-quality, one-of-a-kind products, visitors can expect reflections on the last decade, as well as musings on what we can expect in the decade to come.
© Natural History Museum
‘It seems like yesterday that The King & Queen launched the first London Craft Week in 2015,’ says Guy Salter, Chairman of London Craft Week. ‘Now, in our tenth year, we host over 225,000 visitors, 520 events and 700 artists and makers. Our aims remain the same: to bring alive exceptional craftsmanship from across the UK and around the world by tapping into the energy, diversity and serendipity of our city.
‘In a small way, I hope we have in turn contributed to London’s cultural credentials and reinforced the importance of making,’ Guy adds. ‘One of the many things I personally love about our journey is the way in which the festival welcomes artist-makers from so many nations and backgrounds, who are brought together through shared creativity and the joy of making.’
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What’s On In 2024?
Secret Ceramics
This new charitable initiative will feature more than 100 single-stem vessels created by leading artist-makers, celebrities, influencers and graduate talents sold anonymously for a fixed price of £300 to support the opening of a new ceramic studio in White City called FiredUp4, which will introduce young people to working with clay. Artists involved include Kate Malone, Hitomi Hisono, Aneta Regel, Zandra Rhodes, Kit Kemp, Nina Campbell and plenty more.
Details: 15–19 May 2024, 10am–5pm at SoShiro Gallery (23 Welbeck St, London W1G 8DZ). Free to visit, and booking is not necessary.
Modern Masters
The inaugural Modern Masters will take place as part of London Craft Week 2024, a free outdoor programme of contemporary art curated by the cultural placemaking and public art agency New Public. The first edition will take place at Chelsea Barracks, and will feature vibrant, grand-scale sculptures by renowned American glass artist Dale Chihuly, under the title Chihuly at Chelsea Barracks.
Details: 13–19 May 2024 at Chelsea Barracks (SW1W 8BG). Free to visit, and booking is not necessary.
© Dale Chihuly
New International Pavilions
Every year, LCW’s International Pavilions bring important global perspectives to London, spotlighting exceptional artist-makers from around the world. This year LCW will have six International Pavilions, including China, South Korea, Malaysia and Austria.
V&A South Kensington
It’s a London Craft Week takeover at the V&A, with artist-maker demonstrations across six separate galleries, as well as an international craft symposium addressing contemporary craft concerns.
Details: 13–18 May 2024 at Victoria and Albert Museum South Kensington (Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL).
© Christian Louboutin
RESELFRIDGES
One for the sustainable fashion lovers: at Selfridges, RESELFRIDGES – a curated edit presented by and for LCW – will highlight the makers and innovators using creativity and craftsmanship to give new life to unwanted items and waste materials, keeping products in circulation for longer.
Details: 13–18 May 2024 from 10am–10pm, and 11.30am–6pm on 19 May 2024 at Selfridges (Accessories Hall on level G, 400 Oxford Street, London W1A 1AB).
Pimlico Road Series
For the best of high-ed crafted interiors, don’t miss the Pimlico Road Series, which features workshops, demonstrations and talks with world-class craftspeople, designers and curators, including Rose Uniacke, Nina Campbell and Martin Brudnizki’s And Objects.
Details: See the full series of events here.
Chelsea Barracks sculpture trail
Where?
London Craft Week takes place all across the entirety of London, from Ealing to Stratford, Highgate to Clapham. (Click here to see the full map of events.)
When?
London Craft Week returns 13–19 May 2024.
How?
Some events are drop-in and free to attend, while others (especially talks and workshops) should be booked in advance. Click here to see the full line up of events, plus all the booking details. londoncraftweek.com
