Highlights Announced - COLLECT, Saatchi Gallery: 14 – 17 May 2010

The Crafts Council has announced highlights for COLLECT 2010, the leading international art fair for contemporary objects, taking place at the Saatchi Gallery on London's Kings Road from 14 – 17 May 2010. The COLLECT Trail will see the windows of six high profile retailers in the area installed with site-specific work by emerging artists. There will be a programme of events including a series of talks hosted by Crafts Magazine and visitors will again be able to take advantage of the Own Art Scheme. Now in its seventh year COLLECT has established itself as the place to view and buy the best in contemporary craft.

COLLECT Trail, 1-18 May

The COLLECT Trail will run from 1-18 May, and present new work by the very best up-and-coming artists in the windows of Designers Guild, Cath Kidston, David Mellor, Osborne & Little and TASCHEN . The eight artists are unified by their traditional approach to their craft and each installation has been created with the retail brand in mind.

Shauna Richardson will make three life-size crocheted baboons to form part of a tableau at TASCHEN, while ceramicist Glen Wild's three minimal vessels, each around 80cm tall, will tower at David Mellor and Rah Rivers will create a metre-high mosaic tree, using pieces of Cath Kidston's well known designs for the Kings Road store. Further down the Kings Road at Designers Guild, recent RCA graduates Caren Hartley and Lisa Stockham will present new work including metalwork that incorporates found objects by Hartley and sculptural ceramics inspired by the store's well known prints and designs by Stockham. Nearby the Osborne & Little window will offer an exclusive preview of a private commission by Katharine Morling of her new black and white illustrative ceramics.

Finally Lucy Fergus and Claire Knox-Bentham will be presenting works within the Duke of York Square, just outside the Saatchi Gallery. Fergus will wrap street furniture with bright orange industrial rubber cut offs and Knox-Bentham will install a vibrant large-scale plastic illustration in the glass front of a nearby building.

COLLECT Fair Highlights The 36 galleries exhibiting at COLLECT 2010 will be displaying new works by both established and emerging artists, with many stands presenting solo exhibitions and installation pieces. Dutch ceramics gallery Terra Delft will present a solo show by rising star ceramicist Mariette van der Ven and Dovecot Studios will show a large-scale installation by Claire Barclay that incorporates tapestry work undertaken by the studios expert weavers. Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon will create a Treasury of Objects which will contain small-scale works by makers such as Italian jeweller Giovanni Corvaja and Jerwood Prize winner Adam Paxon.

This year over 400 artists will exhibit work at COLLECT, represented by galleries from the UK and Ireland, Central Europe and Scandinavia as well as the United States, Japan and Australia. First-time exhibitors for 2010 include the Netherland's Flatland Gallery and London's Galerie Besson. COLLECT 2010 is also delighted to welcome back Swedish gallery blås&knåda, London-based Cockpit Arts, Ruthin Craft Centre from Wales and Liverpool's Bluecoat Display Centre. COLLECT 2010 will cover all disciplines including ceramics, glass, jewellery, silver and fine metalwork, textiles, and wood and furniture.

COLLECT Events Programme

Crafts Magazine will present a programme of events at COLLECT 2010, free to all visitors to the fair. Speakers will include ceramicist Jacob van der Beugel, Apollo Editor Oscar Humphries, Professor of Anthropology at University College London Daniel Miller and Crafts magazine Editor Grant Gibson. There will also be a series of informal ‘booth talks' given by noted gallerists, artists, and contemporary crafts experts throughout the fair plus a series of talks to celebrate the Art Council scheme Own Art that enables buyers to purchase work through interest-free loans

Participating Territories 2010:

Australia Japan Belgium Netherlands Finland Norway France

Sweden Germany Switzerland Ireland UK USA Italy

Participating Galeries:

Tickets For tickets for COLLECT 2010 visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk/collect

Prices: Advance tickets are £10 (+ £1.50 booking fee) if booked before 13 May 2010; single tickets £15 and £10 concessions (one day); £20 (duration of fair)

Opening dates and hours 14 May (Friday) 11am – 8pm 15 May (Saturday) 11am – 8pm 16 May (Sunday) 11am – 6pm 17 May (Monday) 11am – 6pm