Impact Arts

Impact Arts would like to congratulate Home Tutor Graeme Douglas who was Highly Commended at the inaugural Craft Skills Awards. His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, awarded prizes to a range of British craftspeople for their contribution to the UK crafts industry on Thursday 2nd of May.

The Craft Skills Awards 2013 were set up by Creative & Cultural Skills and partners, to reward and encourage best practice in passing on craft skills.

Entries were received from companies and institutions, teachers, tutors, workshop leaders, masters and individuals and categories include ‘Encouraging Craft Skills in the Workplace’, ‘Encouraging Craft Skills in an Educational Setting’, ‘Encouraging Craft Skills in an Informal Setting’ and ‘Engaging New and Diverse Audiences in Craft Skills’.

Graeme and Impact Arts were honoured in the Engaging New and Diverse Audiences.

Graeme said:

“It was a real honour attending the ceremony. I was unprepared for the scale of the event, the hall was beautiful! We met some really interesting individuals and i found the whole thing really inspirational!”

During the ceremony it was revealed that the UK crafts sector now contributes £4.4bn (GVA) to the economy, making it equal in size to the British petrochemical industry. However, eighty percent of craftspeople admit they don’t pass on their skills and some skills, such as parchment making, are at risk of extinction in the UK. With 25,000 new jobs anticipated in crafts between now and 2022, it is vital that the best practice shown by the award winners is maintained and developed.

Award winners received their prizes from HRH, The Prince of Wales and the ceremony was attended by the awards ambassadors and judges, including Sir Christopher Frayling.

The ceremony was held at Glaziers Hall in London and compered by crafts champion and ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, Kirstie Allsopp.

Lady Frances Sorrell, Chair of the Judging Panel said:

“This diverse and exciting group of award winners illustrates the wonderful skills and creativity we have in the UK – both traditional and in new forms. By highlighting these skills we can introduce them to young people who may be inspired to become the next creative generation.”

Minister for Skills, Matthew Hancock MP, added:

“Britain leads the world in many creative industries and skills. The crafts are something we can be proud of and with its contribution to the UK economy it is important to keep these skills alive, generating employment.

“These awards acknowledge that contribution and reward innovation and I am pleased to see craftspeople recognised for taking the time to pass on these skills and ensure that we continue to increase the importance of this sector.”

The Crafts Skills Awards have been developed by Creative & Cultural Skills in partnership with the Crafts Council, The Heritage Crafts Association, The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The judges for the 2013 Awards were Lady Frances Sorrell (Sorrell Foundation, Jerwood Prize Judge and Chair of Judges), Lida Cardozo Kindersley (letter carver and crafts apprenticeship training mentor), Daniel Charny (Professor of Design, Kingston University), Hank Dittmar (The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community), Monica Grose-Hodge (Art Workers Guild), Peter Ting (Crafts Council Trustee and Ceramicist), and Robin Wood, (The Heritage Crafts Association).