Arts & Crafts - From movement to lesson.

Whilst today i know it as a movement that still defines a great deal of England's visual language. Growing up, this was simply the name of my favourite lesson in school. When the Pritt stick and coloured paper came out, and we were let loose to build with old boxes, egg cups, and ideas.

Now im not just wistfully reminiscing, because this feeling of joy associated with simple manageable craft actually speaks strongly to the importance and ideals of this movement.

A movement which I feel we should (and many are) reinventing and reclaiming today.

The original Arts & Crafts movement in England came about as a reaction to the callous side of industrialisation, the loss of artistry brought on by mass production, and the rapidly changing landscape around people. The retreat of nature, the shrinking of the map, and the shift from clouds of white to grey filled skies of smog.

You dont need me to insult your intelligence by belabouring the similarities between this and the world we find ourselves in today. Instead lets focus on how these artists and artisans pushed back against this shift.

They focused on what could be done with their hands, how a tool could be wielded to enhance their craft, not supplant it. In doing so they remained attached to their process, whilst still able to utilise evolving methods and means.

They championed community, and collaborative learning through guilds. These tenants form a solid bedrock for any movement, we are always stronger together, there is always more we can learn from one another, and by enriching the area around you, you enrich not just today, but many tomorrows to come.

Furthermore they worked pragmatically, believing in a functional beauty. To me this was brilliant, at any given time art is a luxury, so imbibing a functional part of someone's life with artistry will carry your craft and message further and more directly than the white walls of a gallery alone. Not everyone needs a painting, but everyone needs something on their walls, therein lies the brilliance of an artist making wallpaper.

All of this made it approachable, and that in turn meant it gave access and elevation to a number of voices that had been excluded from the arts for a great while. Women in particular saw themselves and their work accepted and elevated through this movement. Those also form working class and poorer backgrounds found a home for their skills here, they were not marginalised for their upbringing.

This movement made our everyday more beautiful. This is what accessible art does, this is the importance of joy in art, it draws people in and lets them be authentic. The barriers are inherently dismantled as we celebrate the mundanity as a chance for the magnificent, and so it is inherently approachable. This is why we should let children build models form cereal boxes, not just make them check boxes.