2024 marks 20 years of Collect as the leading authority on collectable contemporary craft & design, presented by the UK’s Crafts Council and taking place at Somerset House from 1st to 3rd March 2024.
Launched in 2004 as the first international fair dedicated to contemporary craft and design, Collect is committed and continues to raise the profile of exceptional contemporary craft to the collectors’ market on an annual basis. At a time when contemporary craft has never been more sought after with an active buying market, Collect continues to offer an unparalleled opportunity to acquire new, museum-quality work from living artists internationally – all made within the last five years, and many commissioned especially for the fair.
Focusing on exclusivity, reputation, rich narrative and thoughtful curation – seeking variety and diversity in its content and vision, a line-up of 40 specialist galleries from across the globe, representing over 400 artist-makers, have been selected by an expert advisory panel for this milestone edition.
Collectors, interior designers, art advisors and wider enthusiasts, will be vying with arts institutions, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, to buy and commission the very best in contemporary craft. As well as the seasoned collectors buying at the luxury end of the market, Collect encourages visitors at the beginning of their collecting journey with works starting as low as £500 presented side by side with pieces ranging up to £50,000+.
The range of disciplines and materials at Collect spreads widely including ceramics, glass, lacquer, furniture, art jewellery, metalwork, textile and fibre, wood and paper, and pieces embracing more unusual materials such as resin, mica, corn-starch and plastics – as well as reused, repurposed, and recycled materials.
Alongside the international galleries, Collect Open, the fair’s platform for experimental proposals and installations by individual artists and collectives, will present 14 exciting new projects by artists hailing from Canada, Portugal, and from all over the UK including Northern Ireland. Collect Open participants are selected by a separate expert advisory panel and are invited to produce work that challenges material, social, political or personal perceptions.
Reaching this milestone edition reinforces not only Collect’s pivotal position as the authority for contemporary craft and design but also strengthens London as a leading cultural destination for the craft and design sector. The fair has continuously pushed boundaries to bring the best in class of new artworks to the market allowing collectors to buy with confidence. The diverse range of galleries for this edition, representing the most exciting international artists making work today, provide yet again exceptional rich content to explore,
shares Isobel Dennis, Collect Fair Director.
The Collect 2024 talks programme will bring together leading experts and voices to celebrate craft, explore contemporary issues and inspire audiences. The talks programme will be announced in due course.
Alongside the exhibitors, the fair is delighted to welcome back longstanding partners including Brookfield Properties who will announce the winner of the Brookfield Properties Craft Award during Collect, the 5th year of its collaboration at the Crafts Council and selected from artists presented at Collect.
Long-standing partner, LOEWE FOUNDATION returns for its 7th year of partnership. The alignment between the LOEWE FOUNDATION and Collect is strong as evidenced year-on year by the growing numbers of LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize alumni who are presented at Collect. LOEWE FOUNDATION will once again present its very popular talk as part of Collect Talks Programme.
In addition, an exciting new partner to the fair is OCHRE, designers of furniture, lighting and accessories for interiors who will design a luxury space for the Collect VIP Lounge at Somerset House.
Designed especially for Collect 2024, British textile artist Margo Selby, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery (England) will present a large-scale hand-woven artwork, which will hang down the impressive, architecturally distinct Stamp Stair, a five-storey period staircase at Somerset House.
Gallery and Artist Highlights for Collect 2024:
For its 20th edition, Collect welcomes new galleries alongside a dynamic and diverse roster of established gallerists nurturing emerging talent, including:
Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections (England), as special mention for Joanna who has participated in Collect for every edition over the past 20 years, will present new works by London based Insta-hot ceramicist Florian Gadsby.
Founded in 2018, common sense gallery (Austria) will be the first Austrian gallery to exhibit at Collect presenting the works by two artists including New York-born Spencer Chalk-Levy who uses tapestry and sculpture to explore themes of mortality and ideas of society, alongside new ceramics by Lebanese artist Tamara Barrage.
Craft Alliance Atlantic Association (Canada) will curate an exhibition entitled “Here & Now”, celebrating the powerful indigenous history of craft making in Canada including carved masks by Gordon Sparks, ceramics by Nancy Oakley and sterling silver woven baskets by Shane Perley-Dutcher.
Design Craft Council Ireland (DCCI) will present a collection honouring Irish makers who have participated in Collect over the past 20 years.
Founded in 1999, Vessel Gallery aims to be a major London destination for all those who appreciate contemporary artglass sculpture and decorative lighting. Steven Edwards – First-time exhibitor to Collect, represented internationally and in the Chatsworth collection. Olivia Walker – creating a triptych for Collect which is her biggest wall installation to date. Enemark &Thompson – New series. James Devereux – New glass sculptures of shipwrecks from one of Vessel’s best glass makers and professional diver. Claire Malet – New sculptures in repurposed metal tin cans with 24ct gilded interiors.
The line-up of artists at this year’s fair features powerful narratives around identity expressing complex messages through their artistry, including:
Alveston Fine Arts (England) will curate ‘A Voice’ in a multi-artist presentation including Julia Hall’s hand embroidered paintings of marginalised and refugee women telling their stories of fleeing their countries to come to the UK; ceramic artist Anne Athena whose practice expresses her unmasked, ‘true voice’ as a female artist diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and ceramic artist Simon Dredge, whose current body of work is inspired by the use of Polari in the 1950s, a secret language used within gay communities in the UK.
New to Collect, The Stratford Gallery (England) will spotlight the ceramic works from first generation mid-career female artists from Japan and Korea who have not always been given the recognition in the past including Sayaka Shingu, whose fragile ceramics embody the dark, sombre and fleeting nature of flowers, but also, human life.
Founded in 2021, Galerie REVEL (France) showcases visual artists historically marginalised within Western art discourse and will bring a group presentation of 8 emerging artists including textile artist Talia Ramkilawan, whose work focuses on her analysis of self, family, friends, lovers, queerness and her South African Indian identity and culture, and Colombian-born artist Juan Arango Palacios who portrays memories, fantasies, and archetypes associated with the endurance of queerness in contexts that challenge their existence.
50 Golborne (England) will curate ‘Heritage and Transmission’ – a showcase of new works by artists of African heritage including a series of ceramics made in collaboration by a father-daughter artist duo composed by Chris Bramble (father) and Freya Bramble-Carter (daughter).
jaggedart (England) will focus its presentation on textiles and weaving with organic materials and words, including the works by Iranian born multidisciplinary artist Batool Showghi, whose work is concerned with her cultural heritage, memory, identity and loss as a means to examine the physical limits that women can experience with regard to cultural and religious boundaries.
Intoart (England) challenges the under-representation of people with learning disabilities through integrated programme of art education, professional development and innovative public programming. For Collect, the gallery will present new works by three artists including Dawn Wilson, whose drawings depict figures from communities in Jamaica, Mali and Democratic Republic of the Congo and who will create new ceramic slab tiled drawings using black clay, with incised drawn line and slips.
Further pushing the boundaries in the exploration of materials on display at Collect, other key highlights, include:
Founded in 2019 and specialising in silversmithing, BR Gallery (China) will create a dialogue between East and West to bring together the works by 11 Chinese artists and 4 British artists including Yingze Chen, who creates intricate pieces combining porcelain and silver, and David Clarke, who is often cited as one of Britain’s most highly innovative silversmiths.
Bullseye Projects (USA) will debut the collaborative work by Joshua Kerley and new artist Guy Marshall-Brown using combining Kerley’s innovative Pate de Verre works with Marshall-Brown’s expertise in 3D printing and rapid prototyping.
The curation of Lloyd Choi Gallery (South Korea/England) will explore the contemplative aesthetic of Korean craftsmanship through the work of established and emerging crafts practitioners, including beautiful new wood sculptures by Mok-su.
FIVE (England) will present ‘Colour’ exploring the metal colouring processes like patination, plating, inlay, alloying, oxidisation and weathering to create larger, dramatic pieces and finer work.
Collect 2024 confirmed exhibitors 155A Gallery (England) – 50 Golborne (England) – Alveston Fine Arts (England) – BR Gallery (China) – Bullseye Projects (USA) – Candida Stevens Gallery (England) – Canopy Collections (England) – NEW – Cavaliero Finn (England) – common sense gallery (Austria) – NEW – Contemporary Applied Arts (England) – Charles Burnand Gallery (England) – Craft Alliance Atlantic Association (Canada) – NEW – Craft Scotland (Scotland) – Cube Gallery (England) – Cynthia Corbett Gallery (England) – Design & Crafts Council Ireland (Ireland) – Design-Nation (UK) – FIVE (England) – Galerie REVEL (France) – Gallery Sklo (South Korea) – Goldsmiths’ Fair (England) – Icheon Ceramic by Han Collection (South Korea / England) – Intoart (England) – jaggedart (England) – Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections (England) – London Glassblowing Gallery (England) – Lloyd Choi Gallery (South Korea / England) – maison parisienne (France) – Maud & Mabel (England) – Objekti (England) – PIK’D (Lebanon) – Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (UK) – Ruup & Form (England) – Siat Gallery (South Korea) – The Stratford Gallery (England) – NEW – Thrown (UK) – Vessel Gallery (England)
Collect Open: Adrienne Rogers (Canada; textiles) – Alison Rees (UK; ceramics) – Andrea Spencer (UK; ceramics) – The Post Colonials (Divya Sharma & Emmanuel Boateng) (UK; textiles) – Ash & Plumb (Dru Plumb & Barnaby Ash) (UK; wood) – Emily Gibbard Ceramics (UK; ceramics) – Jo Fairfax Studio (UK; 3D printed corn starch) – Browning Lewis (Karen Browning & Jon Lewis) (UK; glass and metals) – Katrin Moye (UK; ceramics) – Kye-yeon Son Fine Craft (Canada; metals) – Kyra Cane Ceramics (UK; ceramics) – Marita Setas Ferro (Portugal; textiles) – Botanica Textiles (Natalie McCormack) (UK; textiles) – CoucouManou (Nell Beale) (UK; wood)
For up-to-date info/news: CollectFair.org.uk
About
The Crafts Council is the national charity for craft. We believe craft skills and knowledge enrich and uplift us as individuals and can change our world for the better. Through our activities we inspire making, empower learning and nurture craft businesses. We do this by championing craft and its positive impact on society, increasing levels of craft education and participation, growing the market for craft, and by building a sustainable and inclusive craft sector. CraftsCouncil.org.uk
