2010 UAAC Conference / Congrès AAUC 2010 Guelph University / Université Guelph October 14-16 octobre
Proposals for papers should reach session chairs no later than May 3

ECONOMY, COMMUNITY AND SELF-EXPRESSION – CRAFT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

From the socialism of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the radical interventions proposed by “craftivists”, the material, makers and processes of craft have been mobilised for social change. Central to this panel discussion are the communities created through craft — whether on a local, global or virtual level. These range in time and space from the DIY movement documented in Faythe Levine’s 2009 film Handmade Nation to the historical Canadian Guild of Handicraft, the Grenfell Mission in Labrador and the Home Arts Association in Great Britain to initiatives like the Navajo Crownpoint Rug Auction and Amazi Abesifazane or Voices of Women project in South Africa.

Perhaps because much of craft production is embedded in living culture and intangible cultural heritage it has attracted the attention of a wide range of scholarly approaches. Cultural geographers, craft historians, anthropologists, philosophers, art historians, women’s studies and material culture scholars and folklorists have all tried to decode the halo of meaning surrounding craft production within the social context.

Craft gets pressed, for better or worse, into social service because it speaks to people, it is perceived as accessible and useful. In this context, papers may address, but are not limited to, the following:
-The revelation of class, gender, and sexuality through economies of craft
-Transnationalism, cultural hybridity, and race as these relate to the role of craft in social development
-The transmission of traditional skills through craft cooperatives or finding a new relevance for traditional skills
-The intersection of craft and tourism as it relates to cultural identity and rural development
-The relationship of poverty with craft or craft as a survival skill
-“Doing good” or creating craft for those in need

Contact either Chair:
Gloria Hickey Independent scholar and curator St. John’s, NL [email protected]
Elaine Cheasley Paterson, PhD Craft Historian, Department of Art History Concordia University, EV 3.765 1455 De Maisonneuve Boulevard West Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 514.848.2424 ext. 4605 email: [email protected]

Please send documents in .doc. or .rtf format only. Submissions from students should be accompanied by a letter of support from their supervisor.
All participants at the UAAC Annual Conference, speakers or not, must be UAAC members in good standing with a 2010 Membership number.