DESIGN & CRAFTS COUNCIL IRELAND LAUNCHES EXHIBITION AT LONDON’S COLLECT FAIR 2024

• Largest ever presence of Irish master craftspeople at Collect 2024, marking 20 years showcasing work in London
• Collect opens its doors to the public on Friday 1st March to Sunday 3rd March

29th February 2024: Design & Crafts Council Ireland has announced the largest ever presence of Irish master craftspeople at Collect 2024, the leading international fair for contemporary craft and design. 2024 marks the 20th year of Collect taking place at Somerset House in London from Friday 1st March to Sunday 3rd March. To celebrate this momentous anniversary, Design & Crafts Council Ireland’s (DCCI) is presenting an exhibition featuring the work of 23 distinguished Irish craftspeople. Each featured artist is a member of DCCI’s PORTFOLIO Critical Selection and have been a participant in Collect throughout its two-decade history. DCCI, supported by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, is working in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Craft NI and Crafts Council UK to display this spectacular exhibition of work to London. Collect 2024 offers collectors an opportunity to acquire new, museum-quality handcrafted artworks from some of this century’s finest craft talent. 

The representation of Ireland on such a large international stage with a display of exemplary craftsmanship and cross-border and channel collaboration is a key objective of the Government of Ireland’s Global Ireland initiative. It is particularly meaningful at the start of March, the month when we encourage countries all over the world to celebrate all that is Irish. Global Ireland is a government initiative to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint in the period from 2018 to 2025. This is particularly focused on promoting Irish arts, heritage and culture to new generations and new audiences across the world.  

Specialist galleries, dealers and collectives representing 400 artists will gather from across the globe at Collect. Ceramics, glass, lacquer, art jewellery, precious metalwork, textiles and fibre, wood and paper are all displayed side-by-side to create a unique opportunity for collectors and craft enthusiasts alike. Design & Crafts Council Ireland exhibitors include ceramicists, Deirdre McLoughlin, Antonio Julio López Castro, Alison Kay, Gráinne Watts, Marcus O Mahony, Susan O’Byrne, Mandy Parslow and Mike Byrne, artists Mary Nagle and Cathy Burke and sculptors Nuala O’Donovan, Jennifer Hickey, Mary Conroy, and Alan Meredith. Textile maker Helen O’Shea will exhibit alongside designers Annemarie O’Sullivan and Sasha Sykes. Other makers include John Lee, furniture designer, Jack Doherty, porcelain designer, Róisín de Buitléar, glass maker, Angela O’Kelly, Stuart Cairns, and silversmith Cara Murphy. On Thursday 29th February, Irish exhibitors Jennifer Hickey and Mike Byrne are set to engage in an insightful exhibitor talk. Joining them on Friday 1st March will be Sasha Sykes and Jack Doherty who will also be bringing their expertise to the stage. 

Independent architect and design curator, Maria McLintock of the Design Museum London, has curated the exhibition with DCCI and Kaye Toland was the exhibition designer. Maria works as an independent curator at the Design Museum, where she has co-developed the shows David Adjaye: Making Memory (2019), Designs of the Year (2019,2020) and Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers (2020). Maria has worked in a curatorial capacity within the Architecture and Design Department at The Museum of Modern Art, NYX and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.  

Commenting on the opening of Collect 2024, Rosemary Steen, CEO, Design & Crafts Council Ireland said, “Design & Crafts Council Ireland is delighted to celebrate the largest presence of Irish master craftspeople at Collect in collaboration with Crafts Council UK and Craft NI. Our partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs has been crucial to align our efforts with the broader objectives of the Global Ireland initiatives wider goals. The significant presence at Somerset House provides an exceptional opportunity to honour the breadth and innovation of Irish designs and craftsmanship, placing a well-deserved focus on our cultural narrative globally.”  

Adding to this, Tom Watts, Head of Design, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, said, “Collect 2024 is an exciting opportunity for makers and exhibitors to share their work at an international level. This fair has selected some of the finest craftspeople and designers of Ireland and we are delighted to bring them together for the 20th year in London.” 

Independent architecture and design curator, lecturer and writer, Maria McLintock, added: “I am so delighted to be displaying such an important roster of Irish artists and makers at Collect 2024. Their work reflects the immense contributions of Irish designers within craft and design, spanning emergent material processes, alternative ecologies and non-human agency, as well as fresh air around notions of beauty in making.” 

Irish Ambassador to Great Britain, Martin Fraser, said “I am delighted to support Design & Crafts Council Ireland in its attendance and exhibition at Collect 2024 at Somerset House. The work on display by the 23 master craftspeople is a fantastic demonstration of the quality of skill, design and innovation on which the international reputation of Ireland’s craft and design sector is built. 

It is also hugely positive that the DCCI has brought together the Crafts Council UK and Craft NI in creating this exhibition. This initiative is not only a great way to celebrate the twenty years that Irish designers and makers have been attending Collect, but also reminds us that we can achieve great outcomes through positive collaboration.  

I would like to congratulate Peter Hynes, Chair of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Rosemary, Natalie and Kim and all the makers involved for their work in bringing this important project together”. 

ENDS