The future of Craft education.

At the moment, I am working on my dissertation which will explore how ceramic education can be secured for future generations. I'm looking at the current state of ceramic education and exploring some of the possible reasons why ceramics courses are becoming seemingly less popular and certainly less available. 

Recently, the future of ceramic education has been thrown into doubt. The last decade has seen the majority of higher education ceramic courses closed or adapted into more general 3D or craft programmes. Not only this, with major changes to undergraduate fees in 2012-13, students are now faced with paying £9000 per annum. With all of these changes affecting prospective students, it is not surprising that ceramics is increasingly becoming a niche higher education market. 

My last blog post was written about the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London and how they have captured the public's attention and imagination. People were discussing ceramics in a positive way and I felt like finally, ceramics was getting the public recognition it deserved. However, on November 5th 2014, Falmouth University announced the closure of its Contemporary Craft degree. Ceramics was back in the news, but for negative reasons. Perhaps it's just me who thinks this is slightly ironic... 

This decision has caused dismay for students (shown protesting above) and the creative community, not just on a local level, but nationally too. The announcement has also come at a time when the Crafts Council have released information regarding their plans for the future of craft education in a recent publication, “An Education Manifesto for Craft and Making."

These visions and plans fill me with optimism for the future of my practice, yet the closure of another course with a ceramic element brings me back down to earth with a somewhat cynical bang. 

Thankfully, yesterday some of my optimism was restored when I visited a local school which took part in the Craft Council's "Firing Up" scheme. The project aimed to "re-fire" dormant kilns in the UK's secondary schools by teaming them with local Universities. UCLan, where I study was involved and this project is something which a lot of my dissertation research has been about. Yesterday, I met with the Head of Art who specialised in ceramics when he was at University. I interviewed him about the "Firing Up" scheme and his general thoughts about the future of ceramic education. 

The ceramic work from the school was generally fantastic. Seeing the classrooms lined with clay creations (such as the one shown above) was so encouraging. But there was one particular thing I was drawn to - a collection of work from a student who is visually impaired. This particular student was desperate to do art - being able to use clay has made this possible for him. He is the first pupil at the school to study for a ceramics GCSE. Some of his beautiful, tactile pieces are shown below.

I have aspirations to teach and currently, the future of the career I aspire to is in doubt. It was so inspirational and amazing to have my passion and love for a subject reaffirmed by another student. This, for me, truly confirms that is it fundamental for ceramics and crafts subjects to remain part of any education. 

To support Falmouth University's Contemporary Craft course, please take the time to sign this petition opposing the closure:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/oppose-falmouth-university-closing-the-contemporary-crafts-degree

To read more about the Craft Council's Education manifesto, check out this link:

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/education-manifesto/

Finally, if you're interested in learning more about the success of the Craft Council's "Firing Up" scheme, this video is a must-see: