8 June 2010
Innovators gather in Dundee
Hundreds of the world’s top innovators in a variety of fields will gather at the University of Dundee this week for 'Prototype: Craft in the Future Tense', a two-day symposium co-convened by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Speakers at the event include conceptual artist Simon Starling, winner of the 2005 Turner Prize; Michael Schrage, an internationally acclaimed innovator and pioneer of rapid prototyping; Constance Adams, a space architect and consultant to NASA; and Norman Klein, a cultural critic, historian and novelist based at the Californian Institute of the Arts.
'All the speakers have been invited because of their progressive thinking - they all push the boundaries,' said Dr Louise Valentine, co-director of Craft Festival Scotland, the parent event of the symposium.
'A diverse range of perspectives concerned with innovation and ingenuity will be presented and we are hoping that this will stimulate unusual conversations and debate. It is aimed at exploring the many and radical ways people from across disciplines are experimenting with and sharing ideas.'
Biomedical engineer Dr Stuart Brown, leader of the Surgical Technology Group at the University’s Institute for Medical Science and Technology, and entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl will also be speaking at the event, held in the Dalhousie Building at the University on June 10th and 11th.
Chicks On Speed, the German group currently staging their first major UK exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts, will also be taking part.
The symposium and Craft Festival Scotland, the nationwide celebration of craft taking place this summer, have both arisen from Past, Present and Future Craft Practice (PPFCP), a major five-year craft research project funded by the Art and Humanities Research Council and led by Professor Georgina Follett and Dr Valentine.
The project has been exploring new directions, practices and perspectives in contemporary craft with an ultimate goal of defining a new relevance for craft in the 21st century.
'The project was the largest investment in craft research in the UK,' said Dr Valentine. 'Craft research is a new form of practice and Dundee is recognised as leading the way in this.
'We will now be showcasing the results of our research through Craft Festival Scotland. It is a way of evaluating the project and disseminating the ideas and giving people the opportunity to see what is going on in the sector. The symposium is a major part of the festival. We’re hoping it will highlight and celebrate the diversity of craft in the 21st Century.'
For more information symposium and the festival visit www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/prototyping/.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Craft Festival Scotland launched in March with the Past, Present & Future Craft Practice exposition at the Matthew Gallery at DJCAD. Running until 24 April the exhibition presents an overview of the project and features new work by silversmith Drummond Masterton, interactive jeweller Hazel White, weaver Tim Parry-Williams and product artist Geoffrey Mann.
The festival includes a programme of events, exhibitions and activities in Dundee throughout the summer months as well as a host of events across Scotland and the UK.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will be one of the locations outwith Dundee to take part in the celebrations when it hosts an exhibition looking at 300 years of British quilting history. As part of the PPFCP project a quilt by DJCAD textile student Kirsty Fenton will be on display alongside more than 70 quilts including bed hangings from the 18th Century and a creative reinvention of the quilt by artist and Turner Prize nominee Tracey Emin.
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