Call for Makers / Digital Makers to Deliver Craft Workshops, Crafts Council

Maker Brief - Make Your Future
The Crafts Council is looking for traditional and digital craft makers to plan and deliver workshops on our flagship craft education programme Make Your Future. 

The project is a major new nationwide initiative to ignite a passion for craft among 6000 young people in secondary schools and enable them to discover their craft and making talents.

Introduction to Make Your Future

In 2014, Crafts Council launched Our Future is in the Making - the evidence-based education manifesto supported by educators, artists and makers, crafts professionals, engineers, scientists and industrialists. This manifesto sets out the case for every child having the chance to develop craft skills and achieve their full potential. 

The Project
Make Your Future is a response to this manifesto: delivering a hands-on collaborative making programme focused in London, the Midlands and Yorkshire, developing sustainable working models for bringing making skills back into secondary schools nationwide. Make Your Future follows on from an earlier Crafts Council project called Firing Up. Make Your Future will develop the 21st century skills of creativity, critical thinking, flexibility, and initiative-taking, that are integral to business and enterprise. Make Your Future will help secure the future of craft as a discipline that is vital to society, culture and economy.   

Maker Role Within the Project
The successful makers/digital makers will work alongside teachers in secondary schools, at key stage three (years 7-9), to deliver a series of traditional and digital craft workshops.

Depending on your practise you may apply to deliver the traditional craft or digital craft sessions, or both. Joint applications from traditional makers/digital makers are also encouraged. There are 8 schools taking part in each region. Makers can propose to deliver workshops in up to 4 schools and it could be the same project in each school.

It is envisaged that when two separate makers are working in a school, they will be delivering a joint project with connected outcomes. They do not necessarily need to be delivered on the same day(s), but there should be a strong link between the sessions. If the maker is to deliver both aspects of traditional and digital craft, equal importance should be placed on each skill. You will be working alongside the teachers in the schools to deliver your workshop.

Programme Delivery 
Your programme and delivery will be flexible and respond to the needs and schedule of the school(s) you are working with, but may look something like the following:

• 4 half days or 2 full days – traditional craft making sessions.
• 4 half days or 2 full days – digital craft making sessions.

1. One day preparation for each maker is included in the budget.
2. You will be expected to attend the end of year exhibition/celebration in Summer 2017 and to contribute towards evaluation and data collection when requested. You will also be required to complete a DBS check, if you don’t have one already.
3. The output will be a series of workshops in schools which focus on traditional and digital craft. It will inspire future makers and encourage students to look at craft in broader terms, how it links to STEM subjects and career opportunities available to them in crafts industries.
4. All work and images produced for use by the Crafts Council and partners.

Applications Should Include

• CV with relevant experience
• Proposal for the workshops – how will you respond to the project/challenge?
• Statement outlining your suitability for the work

You Must Address the Following within Your Application

• Evidence of your suitability for the work, including demonstrating relevant experience in delivering making projects, teaching and working as a maker or digital artist/designer.
• Which of the following three regions you wish to work in: 
  London with a ceramics project, 
  Leeds with a textiles project or 
  Birmingham with a metals project. 
  (It is important to stick to these materials and locations, they are not interchangeable.)
• If you are applying as a craft maker only, as a digital maker only or combining both elements in one project.
• Two references, one that knows you in a teaching capacity and one who knows you from the making side of your practise.

Application Deadline
12 Noon, Wednesday 4th January 2017.

Budget

The fees for the work are as follows:

• £600 – craft maker fee
• £600 – digital maker fee
• Or £1200 –  for a combined craft and digital maker fee
• All of the above are inclusive of expenses, travel and VAT
• There is a separate budget for materials and equipment.

How to Submit Your Aplication
Applications should be submitted in Word or PDF format by email to Joanne Haywood, Make Your Future Project Manager at j_haywood@craftscouncil.org.uk by 12 Noon, on Wednesday 4th January 2017.

Selection
Selection and interviews will take place: w/c 2nd January 2017

www.craftscouncil.org.uk