Open Call Contemporary use of crafts – 9 projects selected

23 May 2024

With this open call, the Creative Industries Fund NL aims to encourage the contemporary use of crafts by strengthening equal collaboration between designers and artisans. We invited professional craftspeople, designers, makers, observers and cultural institutions to submit proposals for explorations, new uses or applications of traditional and contemporary crafts. Applications could be made for various activities, such as an experiment in materials and technology, design-based or artistic research or a special collaboration within a workshop or lab.

general impression

Notable this edition was the large number of applications within the discipline of design. Common sub-disciplines were product, furniture and industrial design and product design, textile design and fashion design. Two architecture projects were also submitted.

assessment and selection

All applications were submitted to an independent advisory committee consisting of Bao Yao Fei, Jarah Stoop, Ruben van der Scheer and Marjolein van Eig. The advisers assessed the extent to which the proposals were consistent in purpose and design and how well they aligned with the theme of this call and the Open Call Grant Scheme. The following criteria were used:

• The innovative quality of the proposal, including the intended added value for the craft; 
• The artistic-artisanal quality of the project; 
• The effectiveness of set-up, methodology and expertise involved;
• The significance of the intended collaboration. 

In the positively assessed proposals, artisanal knowledge and artistic principles were well balanced. It makes these proposals stand out and therefore align well with the objective and principles of the open call. The positioning of a project or collaboration in relation to existing knowledge was also appreciated by the advisory committee.

selection

The following nine collaborations were selected:

• Virgin, renewable, willow, waste – Arnout Meijer Studio
• A new layer – BCXSY
• De borduurschool – Crafts Council Nederland
• Anthotyping landscapes – Freja Kraemmer Nielsen
• Vervlochten polderstructuren - Hedwig van der Linden
• Van imitatie naar interpretatie - een kleuronderzoek binnen het schildersambacht – kolk+
• Testing patterns: a queer textile cooperative – Werker Collectief
• Broom – sanne vos ontwerp
• Server tempeh – yeast.computer

numbers

For this open call, the Fund took 37 applications into consideration. With 9 selected proposals, the percentage of applications receiving grants comes to 20%. A budget of € 200,000 was available for this open call. The maximum contribution per proposal was € 25,000.

follow-up

This was the fourth and, for now, last edition of the Open Call Contemporary use of crafts. Keep an eye on the website and the newsletter for announcements of future grant schemes and open calls.

Photo at the top: Freja Kraemmer Nielsen