Craft Northern Ireland is the regional development agency for

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. In 2000, the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

took formal steps to establish "an organisation to help shape and define the craft sector in Northern Ireland". Craft NI was set up in 2004 and is located in Cotton Court, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast. Craft NI produces information and publicity about the craft sector. It represents Northern Ireland on national and international bodies including the UK National Advisory Panel for Craft, World Crafts Council, NI Employers Panel for Creative and Cultural Sector Skills Council. It develops partnerships with other agencies for strategic investment in the sector including the

and Invest NI. In 2007, Craft NI hosted its first exhibition of contemporary craft from Northern Ireland. The work represented gave the first multi-disciplinary overview of craft in the region in the period from the 1980s to the first few years after 2000.McBrinn, J. (2007), ''Making changes: contemporary craft in Northern Ireland''. In May 2007, the exhibition travelled to the S Dillon Ripley Centre,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), translated in Irish as and in Ulster-Scots as , was a devolved government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the ...

's Rediscover Northern Ireland programme. August Craft Month is Northern Ireland's annual celebration of

- a coordinated programme of events and activities that showcase the work of craft makers in Northern Ireland and from across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Craft NI also runs a 2-year business incubation programme for designer-makers entitled 'making it'.

References

External links

Official WebsiteFromuk Crafts
{{Authority control Crafts organizations Arts in Northern Ireland Culture of Northern Ireland Culture in Belfast