The notion of the handmade has shifted from the margins to center stage. Craft’s value is increasingly recognized across creative, economic, social, cultural, and political contexts. Amid dissolving disciplinary boundaries and the widespread appropriation of craft, its meaning is changing. While its claims to values such as authenticity and anti-consumerism are questionable, the role of craft is poised to be optimized within the contemporary climate. Amid new economies of making, as craft moves from “modern craft” to “post-craft,” we need to examine not only the practice of craft but also its mediation and interpretation.
About the Authors
Alex Coles is a critic, editor, and Professor of Transdisciplinary Studies at the School of Art, Design, and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, UK.
Catharine Rossi is Senior Lecturer in Design History at Kingston University, London.
About the Publisher
Sternberg Press is a London-based publishing house of art and cultural criticism, creative nonfiction, and literary and experimental fiction. Founded by Caroline Schneider in New York in 1999, it aims to support both new and established writers and nourish lasting editorial relationships. The press is committed to publishing books with an interdisciplinary focus on contemporary visual culture and related critical discourse.
