craft invested: 10,000 hrs

craft invested: 10,000 hrs - Celebrating 40 years of investing in makers and the art they create!

The Craft Council of British Columbia is pleased to announce a 40th anniversary conference, “invested: 10,000 hrs,” October 17-20, 2013 at various locations in Vancouver.

The theme of the conference is “invested.” The practitioners of craft and the objects they produce embody a long-term investment of skill, knowledge, ingenuity, and time. Writer Malcolm Gladwell cites 10,000 hours as a threshold of proficiency – not an automatic recipe for success and virtuosity, but a significant down payment on understanding one's chosen discipline. As new projects are undertaken, new materials explored, new mistakes made, absorbed and overcome, the investment grows into greater vision, capability, and commitment.

More than 50 experts who play various roles in the craft community will take part in sessions, panels, and workshops.

Where:

Thursday Sessions:

Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island

Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia, Vancouver

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Sessions:

Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island

Carousel Theatre, 1411 Cartwright Street, Granville Island

When: October 17-20, 2013

Info: info@craftcouncilbc.ca, www.craftcouncilbc.ca

Registration: www.eventbrite.ca/event/7966709643?ref=ebtnebregn

Admission: www.eventbrite.ca/event/7966709643?ref=ebtnebregn

Conference participants come from near and far – parts of BC, New Zealand, Nunavut, Newfoundland, and more – and include: Rowena House, Executive Director at Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association; JJ Lee, author of The Measure of a Man; Peter Pierobon, wood artist; Ted Lederer, owner of the Elliot Louis Gallery; Kim Werker, founder of Mighty Ugly; Diane Carr, founding Director/Curator of the Canadian Craft Museum; Liane Davison, Director of the Surrey Art Gallery; Heather Deal, Vancouver City Councillor; Carol Mayer, Head Curator at the Museum of Anthropology; Denis Longchamps, Exhibition and Publication Manager, The Rooms Provincial Gallery (NF); Jenna Herbut, co-producer of Make It craft show; Kim Werker, Mighty Ugly (kimwerker.com); Sarah Murray, Fashion Capusle (fashioncapsule.ca); Victoria Henry, Director, Canada Council Art Bank; Jonathaon Bancroft-Snell, Jonathan Bancroft-Snell Gallery; and, many more.

More information about all sessions and participants can be found at: www.craftcouncilbc.ca/conference-2013

Conference sessions include:

• Craft & British Columbia’s Economy;

• Craft – Origin, Place, and Influence;

• JJ Lee – Craft Invested: 10,000 hours;

• Craft and Cultural Migration;

• The Function of Function;

• Making Noise About Craft;

• Picture Perfect: Online Portfolios and Applications;

• Successes in Online Promotion;

• Pitching a Show/Getting Funding.

• Craft Consumerism and Sustainability;

• Technology and Craft – Thinking with Tools;

• Craft: A Scary Word;

• Crafting Culture;

• Craft and Retail: Who’s Buying?;

• Marketing Forum – Round Table;

• Saidye Bronfman Award;

• Connections and Collections – The Canadian Crafts Federation presents an evening conversation featuring Jonathon Bancroft-Snell (Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, Ontario), Denis Longchamps (The Rooms Provincial Gallery, Newfoundland) and Victoria Henry (Canada Council Art Bank, Ontario), moderated by keynote speaker, Dr. Sandra Alfoldy (Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University, Nova Scotia).; and,

• Etsy Me Workshop.

The conference is designed to explore the various aspects of investment in craft while engaging the wide range of individuals that make up the craft sector from the hobbyist to the professional artist.

Raine McKay, Executive Director of the Craft Council of BC, says “The Council believes the idea of investment extends to many aspects of the craft community – not only to the makers, but also to patrons (who cherish the objects themselves) and supporters (individual, institutional, government) who assist in other ways. Craftspeople's works speak to those who, while not makers themselves, engage with the quality and expressiveness of the objects. A patron's and a society's investment celebrates the maker.”