Channel is Somerset House’s new curated online space for art, ideas and the artistic process.
Marking its 19th edition, Collect – the leading authority on collectable contemporary craft and design, brought to you by the Crafts Council – announces its return to Somerset House as a hybrid fair taking place from 3 to 5 March, 2023.
At a time when contemporary craft has never been more sought after, Collect is an exceptional opportunity to acquire new, museum-quality work from living artists internationally. A line-up of close to 40 specialist galleries from across the globe, representing over 400 artist makers at the top of their game, have been selected by an expert advisory panel.
With its historic and beautiful Grade I listed architecture, Somerset House provides the stunning backdrop for displaying contemporary craft in a fully immersive interiors setting.
Complementing the physical fair in London, which attracted over 9,100 visitors in 2022, all works will additionally be available to view and purchase online via Artsy.net from 1 to 12 March 2023. Artsy.net cites Collect as one of its most successful virtual fairs.
Collectors, interior designers, art advisors and enthusiasts, will be vying with arts institutions, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, to buy and commission contemporary craft across disciplines and materials. These include ceramics, glass, lacquer, furniture, art jewellery, metalwork, textile and fibre, wood and paper, and pieces embracing non-traditional materials such as resin and plastics - as well as reused, repurposed, recycled materials.
Collect focuses on exclusivity, reputation, rich narrative and thoughtful curation - seeking variety and diversity in its content and vision. The fair provides an unparalleled opportunity for collectors to purchase pieces made in the last five years, and which are often created especially for the fair.
Alongside international galleries, Collect Open, the fair’s platform for pioneering and thought-provoking craft installations by individual artists and collectives, returns with 14 exciting projects by artists hailing from the USA, Poland, and from all over the UK including Northern Ireland.
“For the past 19 years, Collect has reinforced its pivotal position as the authority for contemporary craft and design. The increasingly diverse range of galleries and artistic voices featured at this year’s fair will make the show richer incontent and discovery than ever before.” Isobel Dennis, Collect fair director.
Adding to the hybrid nature of the fair, the Collect talks programme will be live-streamed and brings together international voices to celebrate craft, explore contemporary issues and inspire audiences. The talks programme will be announced in due course.
Highlights for Collect 2023 include:
Collect welcomes a number of new galleries for the collector, which will offer a fresh perspective on artistry in making, alongside a dynamic and diverse roster of established gallerists nurturing emerging talent, including:
• BR Gallery (China) is the first contemporary gallery in China entirely focused on metalwork including vessel, exquisite art jewellery, object and installations, including Yu Zhang whose work aims tohighlight dying minority traditions of the Dai culture.
• Siat Gallery (South Korea) is curating for Collect a presentation entitled "Kyeol: Beyond Fine and Rough" with all new artists, introducing some stunning jewellers to the fair.
• Charles Burnand Gallery (England) is bringing three fresh newcomershot out of the Royal College of Art; Noa Chernichovsky, Inger Heeschen and Binghui Song along with highly acclaimed artist in glass, Fredrik Nielsenand furniture designer Reynold Rodriguez
The line of artists at this year’s features strong representation of artists from Africa and African diaspora including:
• New to Collect Galerie REVEL(France) brings a roster of artists including metalsmith Francisca Onumah (Ghanaian/British; metal); Samuel Nnorom (Nigerian; textiles), whose sculptures explore Okirika clothes and Ankara fabric using bubble techniques as sculptural media while interrogating human experiences that relate to consumption, the environment, socio political economic issues; and Xanthe Somers (Zimbabwean; ceramics), whose practice reimagines functional domestic objects into oversized, bright and large sculptures.
• A welcome return of London-based gallery: 50 Golborne, a space devoted to representing artists from the African continent and its diaspora sees furniture from Senegalese Balla Niangin ebony wood.
• Bisila Noha (Spanish/Equatorial Guinean; ceramics) is showing with Thrown (England) and explores her African roots through material and form; two of her works were acquired by Victoria &Albert Museum at Collect 2022.
• Emefa Cole (Ghanaian; jewellery), who was recently appointed as the inaugural curator of jewellery, diaspora at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and is showing with Goldsmiths’ Fair (UKwide).
• Anthony Amoako-Attah (Ghanaian; glass), who debuted at Collect in 2022 and is represented by Bullseye Projects (USA) is designing a new range of travel bag forms entitled ‘Take Me Home’ in glass made to resemble traditional Kente designs and Adinkra symbols from Ghana.
Collect sees the return of several East Asian galleries since the pandemic,including The Gallery by SOIL (Hong Kong) that specialisein the ancient art of lacquer, and a cluster of galleries from South Korea: Gallery Sklo, Siat Gallery, Icheon Ceramic by Han Collection and Lloyd Choi Gallery - all important contributors to the 'K Wave' in London. There are several Korean artists showing with international galleries too; including Yeena Yoon (jewellery) from Goldsmiths’ Fair, Moon Ju Suh (glass) from Craft Scotland, Sogon Kim (glass) from North Lands Creative, and Keeryong Choi (glass) Bullseye Projects. Building onthesuccesses of East Asian ceramics in previous years, Collect sees much more glass at the fair now and for next year the fair will have a selection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean artists from the ‘Expanding Horizons’exhibit at International Festival of Glass.
Approved 2023 Collect exhibitors (to date):
155a Gallery, England
House of Today, Lebanon
50 Golborne, England
Icheon Ceramic by Han Collection, South Korea
Adoráble ART+DESIGN, Netherlands
International Festival of Glass, UK wide
BR Gallery, China
jaggedart, England
Bullseye Projects, USA
Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections, England
Candida Stevens Gallery, England
Lloyd Choi Gallery, South Korea
Cavaliero Finn, England
London Glassblowing Gallery, England
Charles Burnand Gallery, England
Long & Ryle, England
Craft Scotland, Scotland
maison parisienne, France
Cube Gallery, England
North Lands Creative, UK
Cynthia Corbett Gallery, England
Oxford Ceramics Gallery, England
Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Ireland
Pik'D, Lebanon
FIVE, England
Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, UK wide
Flow Gallery, England
Ruup & Form, England
Galerie Marzee, Netherlands
Siat Gallery, South Korea
Galerie REVEL, France
The Gallery by SOIL, Hong Kong
Gallery Sklo, South Korea
Thrown, England
Goldsmiths' Fair, UK wide
Traver Gallery, USA
Collect Open:
- Anna Bera (Poland; wood/glass)
- Belinda Coyne (UK; vitreous enamel/Steel)
- Bridget Bailey (UK; textiles/natural materials)
- Epona Smith (UK; silver)
- Greg Kent (UK; wood)
- Michèle Oberdieck (UK; glass)
- Olga Prinku (UK; textiles/natural materials)
- Patricia Millar (Northern Ireland; ceramics)
- Sarah Brown (UK; glass)
- Sarah Villeneau (UK; ceramics)
- Helen Pailing (UK; glass)
- Louise Frances Smith (UK; seaweed bioplastic)
- Theo Brooks (USA; glass)
- Zena Holloway (UK; textiles/natural materials)
–Ends –
www.collectfair.org.uk/ @collectartfair/ #collect2023
For more information, interviews and visuals relating to Collect 2023 and the Crafts Council please contact Button Collective:
Annie Croll | Annie.Croll@ButtonCollective.com
Tamsin Bracher | Tamsin.Bracher@ButtonCollective.com
Victoria Itagyba |Victoria.Itagyba@ButtonCollective.com
Key Dates and Ticketing Information
Wednesday 1 March, 2023
Media Preview 13.00-14.00 (invitation only)
Exclusive Preview14.00–18.00 (invitation only)
Collectors’ Preview 18.00-21.00 (invitation only)
Live on Artsy.net exclusively for media and VIPs
Thursday 2 March, 2023
Private View Day 11.00 –18.00 (invitation only and ticket available to purchase); £60.00
Private View Evening 18.00 –21.00 (invitation only and ticket available to purchase); £38.00
PUBLIC OPENING -Friday 3 - Sunday 5 March 2023
Open 11.00-18.00 (pre-booked tickets available)
Live on Artsy.net for all until (12 March)
General Admission: £25.00
Concession*: £20.00 (*Concession ticket holders must present valid ID or upgrade to General admission ticket on the day)
Tickets available from January 11 2023 at www.collectfair.org.uk
Location: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
The Collect 2023 Talks Programme
Working with expert voices including curators, collectors, galleries and in collaboration with our partners and sponsors, Collect 2023 will present a full public programme at Somerset House and online. A series of compelling films, discussions and presentations will bring the very best voices together to celebrate and champion contemporary craft.
Collect 2023 advisory panel
Pamela Crystal Co-Chairman, BFAMI (British Friends of Art Museums of Israel)
Grant Pierrus, Founder, Interior Style Hunter and Pierrus Agency
Nicky Wilson, Collector, Founder and Director, Jupiter Artland Foundation, Scotland
Isobel Dennis Fair Director, Collect (Chair)
Daniella Wells, Market Consultant, Collect (Reader)
Collect Open 2023 advisory panel
Lorna Hamilton-Brown MBE - Artist, Researcher and Educator
Bisila Noha - Ceramicist and Art Activist
Annabelle Campbell -Director, David Parr House
Isobel Dennis -Fair Director, Collect, Crafts Council (reader and chair)
Caroline Jackman -Head of Craft Business and Skills, Crafts Council
Collect 2023 Sponsors and Partners
LOEWE FOUNDATION, Associate Supporter
The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, under the presidency of his daughter Sheila Loewe, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, organise educational programs and protect cultural heritage in the fields of craft, design, photography, and poetry. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish government in 2002. In 2016, the LOEWE FOUNDATION launched the international annual LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize inspired by LOEWE’s beginnings as a craft cooperative in 1846, with the aim to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and to recognize artisans whose talent, vision and will to innovate will set a standard for the future.www.craftprize.loewe.com
“Continuing our commitment to craft and the arts, the LOEWE FOUNDATION is proud to join forces with the Crafts Council in support of Collect 2023. This long-standing collaboration allows us to make a real impact by shining a light on craft and its power to advance society. Discovering the outstanding makers in the show is always an honour and so inspiring for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize.”
Sheila Loewe, President, LOEWE FOUNDATION
Brookfield Properties, Award Partner
Brookfield Properties is a leading global developer and operator of high-quality real estate assets. We are active in nearly all real estate sectors, including office, retail, multifamily, hospitality and logistics, operating more than 800 properties and nearly 375 million square feet of real estate in gateway cities around the globe on behalf of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in the world. With a focus on sustainability, a commitment to excellence, and the drive for relentless innovation in the planning, development and management of buildings and their surroundings, Brookfield Properties is reimagining real estate from the ground up. For more information, visit www.brookfieldproperties.com
Instagram: @BrookfieldPropertiesLondon
‘As a leading global developer and operation of real estate, Brookfield Properties believes in the unique ability of art and culture to transform spaces and bring people together and provide inspiration. That is why we are proud to sponsor Collect Art Fair 2023 and award the Brookfield Properties Craft Award for the fourth year to the best and brightest of British craft talent.’Caitlin Warfield, Vice President, Marketing Europe
Cox London, VIP Lounge Partner
Cox London have built a reputation for creating elemental and remarkable pieces of lighting, furniture and artworks. Because everything Chris and Nicola Cox design and make here in the capital, London’s Collect is the perfect platform, and the VIP room at Somerset house the ultimate showcase, for their unique brand of interior landscaping. www.coxlondon.com
“At Cox London, we are foremost artists and makers and so have an absolute affinity with Collect. From the handmade, soul-nourishing work it showcases, to the extraordinary artisans it celebrates. To partner with Collect is the most natural alliance. For two years we have been working closely with our in-house team of artists and makers, to create new pieces, especially for Collect 2023-we hope to see you there!” Cox London
About the Crafts Council
The Crafts Council is the national charity for craft. We believe craft skills and knowledge enrich and uplift us as individuals and can change our world for the better. Through our activities we inspire making, empower learning and nurture craft businesses. We do this by championing craft and its positive impact on society, increasing levels of craft education and participation, growing the market for craft, and by building a sustainable and inclusive craft sector.
www.craftscouncil.org.uk
Instagram: @craftscouncil/ Facebook and Twitter: @CraftsCouncilUK
Somerset House
Step Inside, Think Outside
As the home of cultural innovators, Somerset House is a site of origination, with a cultural programme offering alternative perspectives on the biggest issues of our time. We are a place of joy and discovery, where everyone is invited to Step Inside and Think Outside.From our historic site in the heart of London, we work globally across art, creativity, business, and non-profit, nurturing new talent, methods and technologies. Our resident community of creative enterprises, arts organisations, artists and makers, makes us a centre of ideas, with most of our programme home-grown. We sit at the meeting point of artistic and social innovation, bringing worlds and minds together to create surprising and often magical results. Our spirit of constant curiosity and counter perspective is integral to our history and key to our future.https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/