Brenda Tran
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Craft Futures

 

 

American Craft Council

Craft & Covid-19:
Craft Futures at the American Craft Council

Illustration

The onset of a global pandemic changed almost every aspect of our everyday lives, and craft practitioners were no exception. With livelihoods at stake, craft practitioners around the world were forced to adapt and respond with creative problem solving and community building. Recognizing the importance of this unprecedented time, the American Craft Council (ACC) tasked Lauren Baker, a doctoral researcher based in the UK, with creating a snapshot of the experiences of the sector while presenting possibilities for the sector to imagine and realize a new equitable future for its communities. 

I was commissioned by ACC to create an illustration series to accompany Lauren’s report “Craft & Covid-19: Craft Futures at the American Craft Council”. Each illustration corresponds to a proposed solution for resolving the craft sector’s vulnerabilities. The process involved diving into Lauren’s research; facilitating discussions on ways to visually communicate her ideas; and multiple rounds of revisions. The illustrations were created for use in the final report, presentations, social media, and web. 

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Access — Improve access to opportunity, development, knowledge, and resources for the sector in order to build diversity, innovation, and momentum in the marketplace

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Activism — Encourage sector exploration in to models of social enterprise and community action, whilst building sustainability

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Value — Build recognition for the value of craft, its many roles in society, its economic and social contribution, and its future potential in order to nurture the confidence of the sector when competing in the marketplace

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Consistency — Provide consistency and stability for the craft marketplace, setting standards for practice that encourage investment in opportunity, resilience, and knowledge

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Connectivity — Implement mechanisms for connectivity, research, exchange, and partnership across and between layers of the ecosystem (micro/meso/macro) that will build community, resilience, strengthen sector awareness and knowledge exchange, and expand sector horizons for the craft marketplace