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Renaissance of Irish Crafts Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, USA. Until 6 November Through a partnership between American and Irish organisations, 29 designermakers based in the 32 counties were invited to participate in an exhibition, curated by Sean McCrum, now on show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. 77 works were selected . All are unique pieces, drawn from 6 disciplines - ceramics, fibre arts, jewellery, silversmithing and wood-turning. So far, 30 items have been sold. In itself, that is a successful achievement for practitioners, most of whom had no previous reputation in the USA. Sales depended on the response of a sophisticated audience to the quality of their creative expression and technical skill. Generating such a positive American response depends on transatlantic partnership. The Philadelphia Art Alliance had surveyed Irish craftbased work during the early part of this year. It saw an international quality and unusual modes of expression which would interest its audience. As important, it saw that quality ranging over several disciplines, a rich
Cormac Boydell. Photography: Niki Ktori.
source for a survey show. The Philadelphia Art Alliance sought an Irish-based partner to develop this brief in depth and approached the Crafts Council to provide its expertise. The Alliance particularly wished for recent work. Approximately two thirds of the participants responded by using this project as the trigger for trying out new ideas. The result is a dynamic show, which amply fulfils its brief. It
has attracted a consistently strong and positive interest, which translated into the purchasing of work. The show is proving very popular. The glittering opening was attended by the great, the good and the influential of Philadelphia and beyond and there has been a constant stream of visitors ever since. We hope that there will be a major followup exhibition in a couple of years, to tour extensively in the USA.