The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is now in its fifth year and this year sees more than 150 exhibitors as we as a presenting of work of designer-makers, old and new. So if you’re looking for things to do in Manchester that don’t’ revolve around drinking merrily until the early hours, allow us to offer you a chance to sample some local culture.
A first for the fair will be a series of talks, being held at the People’s History museum at Spinnigfields.
Louise Gardiner will give a talk about her installation at the Saatchi Gallery, for COLLECT. Sharon Blakely will be giving a talk related to her collection and research project, which the Mary Greg collection inspired. The collection is based at Manchester Art Gallery. Maureen Brampton will be talking about collecting contemporary crafts.
Included in the fair will be a range of contemporary crafts such as furniture and wood, paper and basketry, ceramics, glass, jewellery, metal, mixed media, lighting, and textiles. A judges panel selected this year’s exhibitors. The panel included freelance interiors journalist, Ellie Tennant, Manchester Art Gallery’s collector and ex-director, Moira Stephenson, Chatsworth House curator of special collections, Hannah Obee, ceramic design professor at Stafford shire University, David Sanderson and Tate Liverpool executive director, Andrea Nixon.
The Great Northern Graduates stand will also be featured at the fair, where it showcase recent graduate’s work, and a stand solely for alumni from the Craft Council’s Hothouse programme, which exists to support makers in the initial stages of practice.