Tools and ideas for a living heritage of crafts
Handicraft meetings and debates
Making crafts is slow and calming. It’s a good time to reflect on the deeper origins and share ideas when you get together and discuss during making crafts.
Meet other craft lovers, talk about crafting and local craft culture and making. You can share stories about craft memories and crafts that are important to you. The meeting can also be about a living heritage wiki item, a current craft theme, an exhibition or a craft that is important to you and that you want to tell the story about. Discussions can be informal or can be facilitated with selected topics.
Craft heritage evenings
Craft heritage evenings develop ideas for starting, developing and/or implementing craft activities.
The craft heritage evenings provide an opportunity to participate and contribute to the co-planning of craft heritage activities. The Craft Heritage Evenings were based on the Handicraft meetings and debates organised by The Finnish Crafts Organization. The Craft Heritage Evenings are a gathering to discuss the local craft heritage, share memories and experiences of crafting and make crafts.
At the craft heritage evenings, new products, activities or events are designed and conceived together with the participants, keeping the local craft tradition at the topic.
Volunteer craftspeople are also invited to help develop a new craft culture in their local area. Handicraft godparents are people who want to promote and be involved in the production of a new craft culture. The tasks of the godparents are planned according to the association’s craft heritage activities and the godparents’ interests.
Examples of the content of craft heritage evenings:
– Stimulating discussion on craft heritage, for example through the use of Craft discussion cards.
– Presentation of a theme related to the local craft tradition and the intangible living heritage of crafts.
– Brainstorm of craft heritage activities using the community brainstorming method.
– Defining the craft of handicrafts and inviting volunteers to become handicraft godfathers.
The Living Heritage Co-development Wheel
Communities are the heart of living heritage. The Living Heritage Co-development Wheel is for communities to brainstorm, plan and implement activities.
It can help different communities to identify relevant living heritage, assist in planning the content of activities and guide the process of living heritage preservation from start to finish.
The living heritage wheel is driven by co-development, where ideas and activities are conceived and planned together. It is a goal-oriented activity where policies and objectives are formulated in living heritage communities. Potential partners, heritage practitioners and other actors are involved in the development of activities. There are methods and tools for co-development that can help in the process.
The steps in the wheel show the wide range of skills and understanding that are needed and can be used to sustain traditions. Co-development is about bringing different perspectives together, for the common good. The experience, knowledge and skills of all participants are needed.
The wheel has five points: identifying, selecting, researching, planning and implementing. Co-development can start at any point on the wheel or focus on one point. If you are starting a new process, it is natural to start with identification. At each point there are questions to consider. New ideas, activities or practices may emerge from these reflections. New questions can be created according to the needs of your project.
Wheel is available only in Finnish.
Craft discussion cards
Craft discussion cards are a way to explore craft culture with a group or on your own. The card series opens up the meanings of crafts for the self, communities and society. The cards inspire reflection and discussion on craft culture from many perspectives and can provide new insights into the broader impact of craft.
The cards allow craftspeople to reflect on their own relationship with craft and its phenomena and to understand their own work in a new way. The aim is that the ideas evoked by the content of the cards will lead to a refreshing experience of crafting.
The card booklet describes the themes of the card series, explains what is the living cultural heritage of crafts and gives tips on how to use the cards in a variety of ways.
The card set is also available in Finnish (sold out) and Swedish.
The Finnish-language Crafting on the Edge cards are sold out. For information about the Swedish series, please contact: taitoliitto@taito.fi.