Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University runs an exciting Craft&Making Saturday Club giving young people the opportunity to develop their creativity and explore the world of activism and powerful storytelling through craft and making – learning new and exciting ways to voice their thoughts and opinions.
Looking at Craft&Making through the lens of Art Activism and Craftivism, Club members will get to work alongside brilliant lecturers, technicians, and students from within the Art, Design & Media and School of Jewellery faculties. Throughout all sessions, the Club will build on themes of re-using and upcycling, encouraging Club members to engage in important conversations and narratives that promote equality, diversity, and mental wellbeing.
Club members will also learn hand-making skills and techniques in collage and drawing, printmaking, hand embellishment, metal and jewellery work, stop motion animation and moving image. They will have the chance to explore their city by visiting exhibitions, and with observational trips in Birmingham.
At the Club, members will gain an understanding of why it’s important to retain traditional craft skills and how these can be used to bring about change and make their voices heard. Using donated and waste materials, Club members will create a range of artistic activist outcomes, including protest tees, protest or storytelling banners, jewellery with a message and short animated storytelling films. Through this process they will learn to share ideas, collaborate, and communicate their thoughts creatively.
The Club will help members to understand how craft and making based skills can lead to rewarding careers and will provide an insight into the future possibilities and professional opportunities open to them within the craft, fashion, design sectors and wider industries.
Club members will also take part in free national events including the Summer Show, where Saturday Clubs nationwide exhibit their work in a public exhibition, and Masterclasses with leading industry professionals. Click here to find out more about this Saturday Club’s 2022-23 Masterclass with Lily Deeming.