The Relevance of Craft
SYMPOSIUM ON THE OCCASSION OF THE FRANÇOISE VAN DEN BOSCH AWARD
Recent years have seen a surge of interest in the handmade, in the traditional ‘crafts’ which, in an increasingly digital and virtual world, satisfy our need for a closer connection with the tangible objects around us. This trend is encouraging a renewed appreciation of materiality and craft techniques among artists and designers without ignoring advances in new techniques and materials. Craftsmanship and the sensory experience and immediacy of working with materials like stone, clay, textiles and metals offer a counterbalance to the often rarefied conceptual art discourse.
This event will explore the place of materials and materiality and the relevance of the maker who, through mastery of the craft (paired with knowledge) and ‘material thinking’ performs an important cultural role. The symposium considers the expressiveness of traditional techniques and materials, such as those we encounter in ceramics, jewelry and other artistic expressions that largely fall within the domestic domain and are considered applied art. The Relevance of Crafts explores the direct relationship of both makers and consumers to materials and objects, and the role they play in everyday life.
LIN CHEUNG
This symposium is organized on the occasion of the presentation of the Françoise van den Bosch Award to the British jewelry designer Lin Cheung and is part of the festival Obsessed! which, throughout November, is dedicated to contemporary jewelry design.
Lin Cheung is a jewelry artist, designer and Reader in Jewellery at Central Saint Martins, London. She trained at the Royal College of Art and lives and works in the UK. Her approach to designing and making, questions the established and authorized uses and meanings of jewelry and objects. Her work is a personal response to everyday experiences and observations.
The library of the Stedelijk Museum will feature Lin Cheung’s installation “Jewellery Library” (2007-present) from November 10.
PROGRAM
1.45 pm: Doors open
2.00 pm: Welcome and introduction
2.10 pm: Keynote: Grant Gibson (UK)
2.45 pm: Presentation: Juliette Huygen (NL)
3.05 pm: Presentation: Jan Boelen (B)
3.35 pm: Interview with Lin Cheung by Grant Gibson
4.05 pm: Award ceremony
4.20 pm: Program ends and drinks at Zadelhoff café
6.00 pm: Museum closes
Lin Cheung, Delayed Reactions – Slightly Sad, 2018
Lin Cheung, Jewellery Library, 2007 – 0ngoing
