traditional crafts, UNESCO and cultural heritage

[robin wood]

Various folks know that I am passionate about traditional crafts, turning, knife making, scissor making, basket making or whatever.

I only discovered today that there is a UNESCO convention on "intangible cultural heritage"

Old woodland crafts, the Sheffield cutlery industry, traditional basketry are exactly the sort of intangible cultural assets that this convention is there for. At present there is no government support for traditional crafts in the UK, no one has identified those crafts that are down to their last 10 masters, or the last one. Once this knowledge is gone it is not easy to retrieve.

The convention is inspiring here is a brief excerpt of what it has to say on crafts.

“Traditional craftsmanship” seems in many ways to be the most tangible of domains in which intangible heritage is expressed, but the focus of the Convention is not on craft products as such, but rather on the skills and knowledge crucial for their ongoing production. Any efforts to safeguard traditional craftsmanship must focus not on preserving craft objects—no matter how beautiful, precious, rare or important they might be—but on creating conditions that will encourage artisans to continue to produce crafts of all kinds, and to transmit their skills and knowledge to others, especially younger members of their own communities."

and a link for more http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=57

This was created in 2003 and 107 countries have signed up to the convention but not the UK, these are the states that have http://portal.unesco.org/la/convention.asp?KO=17116&language=E&order=alpha.

I have just written to my MP to ask why we are not signed up to such an excellent convention. If we were it would help traditional crafts in the UK enormously.

 

[Muddypaws]

I will write to my MP too. I am interested in the traditional woodland crafts, rake making mainly, and although my skills are not great (I learned from a book) if the skills die out then there will be no-one to write the books.

 

[robin wood]

Well the last full time traditional rake maker was not so far from you, Trevor Austen near Ashford in Kent. Sadly he got some degenerative disease, maybe MS. I used to do all the shows with him and he is a nice chap. Here is a video of the workshop.

http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/online_exhibitions/ruralcrafts/thefilms/hayrakemaker.html

Now as things stand that is not counted as being a part of our heritage. Trevor never received any government support whilst the crafts council has a £5 million budget for "contemporary innovative craft" to the man in the street most of what they support would be called modern art and is nearly all non functional.

There is one other maker in the lakes but he uses imported ramin and commercial dowel so he doesn't count in my book.

I have not seen Trevor for a year or two and don't know what the situation is with the workshop I know he wanted someone to take it on.

 

[Muddypaws]

That was an interesting link Robin. I have to stress that my rake making is an amateur only affair, and my rakes are a lot more "rustic" (i.e. not very good).

By the way, what crafts do count part of our intangible cultural heritage?