Heritage craft expertise and the
transfer of knowledge
I am a specialist in museums and craft and a keen advocate of both as vital contributors to our personal and shared cultural well-being. Through membership in the All Party Parliamentary Group for Craft, and with a doctorate in small craft-related museums, I am regularly engaged in activities that seek to address the challenges highlighted in The Radcliffe Red List of Endangered Crafts. This powerful list illustrates the critical importance of perpetuating the intangible cultural heritage of traditional crafts within the UK. At present, the UK is one of only thirteen countries in the world that has not signed the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, thus depriving this country’s important heritage craft practitioners of much needed funding and support to help perpetuate their crafts.
What is the intangible cultural heritage of craft? It is the intangible knowledge and skills that are required to create, conserve and restore the objects of our shared cultural heritage. My specialism considers the ways in which small craft museums contribute to our intangible cultural heritage. These individual organisations share characteristics that serve two separate yet mutually dependent purposes that are atypical for most museums; 1) the perpetuation of their specific heritage craft and 2) the support of the individual communities of people that have a connection to the craft and without whom the specific craft practice could face extinction. As a result, small craft museums offer an important avenue for the continuous transfer of knowledge between craft practitioners and non-practitioners and an important resource for practical and social interaction.
In addition to my doctorate, my practice draws on my two separate master’s degrees, in museums and narrative environments, and my bachelor’s, in fine arts. I encourage craft organisations and museums of all sizes to work together to support the legacies of our current traditional craft practitioners. The continued viability of these crafts is contingent upon inspiring future generations to actively engage in perpetuating these intangible skills and the expertise of our craft related heritage.
A pdf of my doctoral thesis, entitled ‘It’s All Relative: The Small Craft Museum’s Contribution to Intangible Cultural Heritage’, is available from the British Library or please email me using the contact page.
