Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution

'Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution' is a Craftspace touring exhibition and was displayed at the Museum from 12 February to 9 April 2011.

Schools

We set up a great day of activities for the Plymouth Excellence Cluster’s Gifted and Talented programme, working with pupils from eight different primary schools. The children looked in detail at the exhibition and took part in a creative activity linked to the work of textile artist, Matthew Harris - using descriptive words and drawings to make their own layered artworks using different coloured papers. Photos of the day can be found on our Flickr page.

Working with groups

Our pre-school group, The Imaginators, had a visit from the composer Hugh Nankivell, to work on songs based on the exhibition. Our super under 5’s had already made their own instruments ready for the visit, and Hugh brought his own along for the day. Some great photos of the day can be found on Flickr.

Further and higher education

Taking Time was very popular with visiting further and higher education students. Among others, we welcomed visits from Torbridge High’s A-Level Art and Design course and University College Falmouth’s MA Art and Ecology course.

We supported two student projects connected to the exhibition. The first was called ‘In the Moment’ and was undertaken with BA (Hons) Contemporary Craft Year 3 students from University College Falmouth, Cornwall. The students visited the Museum and then produced work in response to the collections. Five pieces were selected by a panel of staff and then displayed as interventions in the ‘Explore Nature’, ‘Atrium’ and ‘China Connection’ galleries. The second project was called ‘Over Time’ and was undertaken by National Diploma in Fashion students from Plymouth College of Art, who created a body of work in response to the exhibition and a display of their sketches and knit samples for the Museum café.

Jason Cleverly, Award Leader Contemporary Crafts , University College Falmouth said: “Working with Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery this year has formed an important project for third year Contemporary Crafts students from University College Falmouth. It has allowed privileged access to a fantastic and eclectic collection, not only have students engaged with the collection directly, they have been able to work closely with museum curators to share ideas and opinions, and to enhance both their own knowledge and hopefully that of the visiting public.

"Working with the museum, enables students and their resultant work to cross boundaries, reach a wider audience, form new affinities and increase understanding the professional world.”

Events and activities

We also offered a series of related events during the exhibition run, including a family-friendly holiday workshop, contemporary craft workshops for adults, two lunchtime talks, musical performances and a drop-in ‘Women’s Weave’ event as part of International Women’s Week, when participants tried a variety of fun activities including a giant weaving installation, crochet, knitting and patch work.