Cork’s local crafters cannot wait to welcome people to a packed line-up of events this August as Cork Craft Month returns for 2021.
Coordinated by Cork Craft & Design, Cork Craft Month honours Ireland’s thriving craft tradition, championing our 110 members and letting up and coming crafters, hobbyists, collectors and people of all ages connect at family-friendly events throughout the month.
Following on from the success of last year’s virtual festival, we’re delighted to welcome people to in-person events this while staying connected to our online community through digital workshops and exhibitions.
With over 70 exceptional workshops, masterclasses, artist talks, trails and demonstrations events showcasing the best of contemporary Irish craft taking place throughout the month, this year will be our biggest year yet. On top of the stellar line-up of workshops, talks and events there are also several free family-friendly activities to keep the kids busy during the summer holidays! So get your diaries, and check out some of the upcoming highlights below.
Exhibitions:
Showcase Exhibition – Despite the challenges facing crafters during the pandemic, being at home created the space to focus, to be creative, and to try new things. To mark a year spent inside, our showcase Baile/Home exhibitionwill focus on craft work that responds to experience of the last 16 months. The exhibition launches on the July 9th at Working Artist Studios, Ballydehob.
From The Earth – Douglas Village Shopping Centre will host this collaborative exhibition, featuring the work of furniture makers, ceramicists and potters.at the From the Earth
EMERGE – The Gallery @ No.46 on Grand Parade will host Emerge, a showcase for up-and-coming Cork crafters. The exhibition will include graduating students from CIT Crawford College, Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, St John’s Central College, Kinsale College and Skibbereen College of Commerce. The exhibition will open on August 5th and run through Cork Craft Month.
Craft Markets
Fancy browsing through authentic Irish craft stalls? Throughout the month of August there will be different craft markets taking place across the city.
- Made in Cork – The Cork Craft & Design shop at St. Patrick’s Mill Douglas will host two Made in Cork craft and food markets, on Sunday August 8th and Sunday August 29th. These vibrant outdoor markets will feature more than 25 stalls full of local handmade crafts, as well as local food and coffee vendors. Pop-up workshops and demonstrations will also take place each day, making it a great day out for all the family.
- There will be also an online shop featuring local crafts launching on Friday July 9 and running through the end of August. Check it out at https://www.corkcraftanddesign.com/shop/
Heritage Week Workshops in the Chapel Hill School of Art
To celebrate Heritage Week, on Wednesday, August 21st Cork Craft Month will host three workshops in Chapel Hill School of Art, Macroom. Learn about traditional heritage crafts and their importance to Irish culture, with each workshop shining the spotlight on a different craft.
- Basket Weaving workshop with Rosemary Kavanagh of Wild Rose Basketry
- Bronze Age Casting and Mould-making demonstration with Helle Helsner
- Sketching in Stone workshop with stone sculptor James Horan
Traditional Straw Craft events
Down in West Cork, Kilcoe Studios will be running a series of events celebrating traditional straw craft, An Tionscadal Túí (The Straw Project). The series will open with a harvest workshop on August 21st, followed by a family-friendly, multigenerational straw craft workshop, suitable for children over the age of nine on August 24th. Don’t worry if you can’t make it down West as there will also be a unique online straw plaiting workshop on August 25th too, where materials will be sent out in advance so people can craft along together.
Greywood Art Centre Workshops
Greywood Arts, based in a historic Georgian house in the centre of Killeagh, East Cork, will host a series of weekly workshops on Fridays during Cork Craft Month. On August 6th, Martha Cashman will run a Drawing with Clay workshop and demonstration. Two jewellery making workshops will take place in the weeks after, with Jaki Coffey on August 13th and Barbara Hall on August 20. Woodturner John O’Shea will host the final workshop on August 27th.
Cork Craft Month would not be possible without the continued support of the Local Enterprise Office, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Cork Education and Training Board, and Cork County Council’s Cobh Municipal District, Creative Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
For details on all our events, check out our calendar here. https://www.corkcraftanddesign.com/events/