How good practices of handing-over knowledge of craftmanship to new generations look like? Is the new wave of craftmanship a good idea for efficient and interesting business?
During the 19th edition of Creative Mikser the experts will discuss the topic of the new wave of craftsmanship. A special guest from UK will be Neil Brownsword - artist, researcher and professor of ceramics at the Staffordshire and Bergen Universities. With the participation of Polish artists and craftsmen, we will reflect on the best ways of protecting the endangered arts and crafts. We will look at the best practices of the ‘generation- transfer’ of skills and knowledge to new generations in the area of arts and crafts. We will debate whether the knowledge passed over to young designers/craftsmen has a potential of giving them prospects for starting new flourishing business.
Creative Mikser is a series of networking meetings addressed to Warsaw’s creative community, organised by the British Council and the City of Warsaw since 2011.
Participation in the event is free of charge.
The meeting will be held in Polish and English; translation to Polish will be provided. We also provide the Polish Sign Language interpreter.
Panel discussion guests:
Neil Brownsword is an artist, researcher and educator who holds Professorial positions in ceramics at Staffordshire University and University of Bergen, Norway. Brownsword began his career in ceramics as an apprentice in the mid- 1980’s at the Wedgwood factory. His practice examines the legacy of globalisation in relation to Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramic manufacturing sector, and the impact this has had upon people, place and traditional skills. Using film and performative installation Brownsword deconstructs complex craft knowledge within industrial production to pose questions surrounding the value of inter-generational skill. His work is represented in public/private collections internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Korea Ceramic Foundation, Yingee Ceramic Museum Taiwan and Fu Le International Ceramic Art Museum China. In 2009 he was awarded the ‘One Off Award’ at the inaugural British Ceramic Biennial, and the Grand Prize at the Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea in 2015. He was one of twelve finalists shortlisted for the 2017 Woman’s Hour Craft Prize, held in collaboration with BBC Radio 4, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Crafts Council.
Jacek Kamiński – shoemaker for four decades, carrying on family tradition. His uncle, Brunon Kamiński, was studying how to be shoemaker since he was 12. In 1943, he opened Artistic Shoe Making Workshop “Brunon” in Warsaw, at Nowy Świat street. Jacek Kamiński started practice at his uncle’s place right after graduating high school, in ’70. After his uncle passed away, he took over the workshop. Artistically crafted shoes are popular among stars and celebrities. He prepared shoes for well known polish movies such as “Pan Tadeusz”, “Quo Vadis”, “Akademia Pana Kleksa” or “Wiedźmin” as well as for the theatre plays: “Wesele” or “Taniec wampirów”, among others. Although market is full of mass production shoes, Jacek’s Kamiński workshop still receives great deal of purchase orders.
Filip Stanowski – the owner of gallery “Stara Praga”, existing since 1981, founded by his father. Gallery, placed in pre-war tenement house at Brzeska street, in Warsaw Praga district, sells and renovates “old furniture” (the owner tries not to overuse the word “antiques”). Furnitures gathered here comes from different periods, primarily from XIX and XX century. Most of them are preserved in their original condition. Clients wishing to renovate their furniture can use the service of the Workshop beside. It still uses traditional renovation technologies.
Olga Milczyńska – co-creator of a design studio August. It creates ceramics, design objects for everyday use and works with photography. Careful observation of human beings and their surrounding, the functionality of objects, the simple joys – these are the core of design philosophy here. Olga Milczyńska is also a lecturer at the School of Form in Poznań. She is a graduate of the Bachelor programme at the Ceramics Department of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Master programme at the University of Arts in Poznań. She has developed practical knowledge working as assistance for potters in Great Britain, France, Denmark and Korea. In her work, she takes on the subject of time, tradition and preservation of disappearing artistic craftmanship.