“Contemporary craft has never been more sought after,” says Isobel Dennis, Director of Collect Art Fair. It is the leading international platform for contemporary craft and design, and, this year, the event returns to Somerset House, London, to foreground over 400 international makers working across an array of disciplines. Audiences can expect to see ceramics, glass, metal, textiles, wood and paper, as well as more unusual materials: beeswax, denim and well as reused and repurposed objects. The line-up is a who’s who of the contemporary craft movement, with numerous curated displays running alongside a public talks programme that is led by expert voices including curators, collectors and gallery representatives.
The idea of “craft” is often deeply tied to notions of cultural heritage and identity, going back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Across 40 galleries, Collect sees creatives hailing from over 30 countries including Canada, Cyprus, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, South Korea and more, many of whom reinvent and offer a contemporary take on tradition. Shinta Nakajima is one such name; the award-winning Japanese silversmith, based in Sheffield and presented by Goldsmiths Fair, utilises traditional hammering techniques to blend Japanese and British influences. There’s also First Of March, which represents world class Welsh makers who are telling stories through their work. Featured is Rauni Higson, another silversmith, who presents Chockstones, inspired by local mountainscapes and recently acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Elsewhere, Jenny Blyth Fine Art foregrounds Susan Moxley, whose textiles represent the artist’s strong connections to Greece, and AIFA shines a light on emerging, boundary-pushing women ceramicists from Japan. Collect maintains ties with Asia; Lee So-Ra of Lloyd Choi Gallery, Seoul, reinterprets Jogakbo, the traditional Korean patchwork crafted from segments of salvaged fabrics. Collect is a melting pot of creativity, bringing influences together from across the world.
There’s also a focus on curation, with many presentations tapping into prevalent conversations of our times. Candida Stevens Gallery, for example, presents an exhibition about displacement from the perspective of three female artists. Meanwhile, The Garden Room, put together by jaggedart, is dedicated to the plant world. HERE + NOW, from Craft Alliance Atlantic Association, celebrates the powerful Indigenous and immigrant histories of craft making in Canada, concentrating on the symbolism and connectivity of water. Collect Open takes a more personal approach; highlights include Darren Appiagyei, a wood artist whose Growth project touches on the story of his mother who lived with fibroids, a non-cancerous condition particularly prevalent in Black women. Another intimate story is represented by textile artist Michelle House. Her project, What you Stole from Me, focuses on Alzheimer’s, loss, love and anger, explored in a series of three hand-printed and stitched textile artworks. Here, craft is presented as a form of conceptual art: a way to make sense of our world and a lens through which to view life events.
Collect 2025 is a dynamic art fair that leaves attendees in no doubt: contemporary craft is thriving. This year’s edition tackles personal and universal topics head-on, showing how creatives across the world are not only keeping traditional methods alive, but reinterpreting them for a 21st century audience. This is the place to discover emerging and established talent – from Tomáš Brzon‘s light-refracting glass sculptures to hanging metal vases by Angela Cork – and to be immersed in the sheer wonder of human ingenuity.
Collect 2025 is at Somerset House, London, from 28 February – 2 March.
craftscouncil.org.uk/collect-fair
Image Credits:
1. Shinta Nakajima, Fugacious Vessel / Acanthus X, 2024, Silver, Photo Petr Krejč.
2. Rauni Higson, Chockstone, 2021, Sterling silver, Photo Stephen Heaton.
3. Angela Cork, Hanging Drop Vases, 2024, Sterling silver, Photo Sylvain Deleu.
4. Tomáš Brzon, Olive Green / Amber Study, 2024, Optical glass, cut and polished, Photo Alick Cotterill.
