Cork's annual craft showcase celebrates 15th anniversary landmark

A landmark celebration of the craft community will come to an end this weekend as Cork Craft Month wraps up a highly successful showcase of exhibitions, workshops and talks which have been underway for over four weeks.

The month-long festival this year marked its 15th anniversary and it has been a hectic four weeks of crafty collaboration and connection, according to director Ava Hayes. “This festival is a fun and interactive occasion for the entire family, from toddlers to teens, parents to grandparents,” said Ms Hayes.

“Our programme is curated to emphasise the connection between traditional and contemporary crafting, inspiring the next generation of makers and supporting the local community.”

A key event during the month has been the annual showcase exhibition, entitled ‘Glimmers’, at Kinsale Library, which itself celebrated its first year since opening with a new space which has won many architectural plaudits for its innovate design. Another focus has been supporting new makers and designers which is fundamental to the ethos of the event, according to Cork Craft Month chairperson, Mary Palmer. The Emerge exhibition is one of the focal points of this support and has benefitted from a substantial award sponsored by the Friends of the Crawford Gallery.

“This kind of support is instrumental to the confidence and development of new craft and design enterprises which are vital to our local communities,” she said.

The Cork Craft Month home has been the Douglas Woollen Mills for the past eight years and, writing in the Craft Month Brochure, Ms Palmer said the historical connection to the woollen trade is an important touchstone for Cork Craft’s creative community.

This year, for the first time, the Craft Month hosted a pop-up shop in the Douglas Court Shopping Centre. And if you miss the Craft Month events in Cork, you can catch up by visiting the exhibition Cork Craft and Design which is open in the National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny, until the end of October.