the craft council of british columbia
The Craft Council of British Columbia is a charitable arts service organization which supports all stages of artistic practice in the craft sector; creates opportunities for artists to exhibit, sell and produce art; provides a voice for artists and craft organizations and aids in the development of active communities around craft. We have a strong, consistent membership base, comprising individual craft artists (emerging, mid-career and established), craft guilds, arts organizations and supporters of craft throughout the province and some across the country and the US. Now in its 43rd year, the CCBC is the only craft sector service organization in BC that fulfils an educational and public mandate along with regional and national objectives in developing opportunities for craft artists; the art form and the craft sector as a whole.
All of the Council’s activities are targeted to support member’s practice and increase the audience for contemporary BC craft.
CCBC supports opportunities to further excellence in practice for emerging, mature or transitioning craft artists through annual exhibition series; securing unique exhibition opportunities for all members; providing critical reviews of exhibited work; developing standards of quality around craftsmanship; managing annual grant and scholarship programs that support established, transitioning and emerging artists to further explore their practice; providing workshops/discussion sessions exploring single/across medium processes and providing a membership network and encouraging mentoring between members.
CCBC provides leadership in the craft sector through advocacy initiatives by: giving voice to perspectives from the craft sector when issues arise in the cultural sector; supporting artists to develop their own voice through the sharing of self-advocacy skills; and helping to develop a better educated public/government/granting bodies and related arts groups.
CCBC promotes the business practice of artists by: maximizing our members exposure to ensure that the businesses aspect of their practice becomes and remain economically viable through our social enterprise and community education programming; providing small business support services: group insurance, merchant credit card discounting; providing province-wide business opportunities for artists through the online publishing of the CCBC Craft Market Guide; directly advertising and promoting members’ works through our members’ portfolios on CCBC website and bi-weekly e-news bulletins; regional, national and international one on one promotion of artists with collectors; institutions; public and private galleries.
CCBC provides educational opportunities around contemporary craft with the aim of helping the general public develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for contemporary craft objects and the skill, knowledge and talent that creates them. We do this by: delivering live demonstrations by craft artists; providing artist talks with each exhibition and posting to the web; hosting large public exhibitions of craft; ensuring that all external or internal exhibitions have a substantial educational component; promoting cross-sector projects with other arts organizations; delivering a youth-oriented craft appreciation program and hosting workshops, conferences, information and discussion sessions to further a shared understanding of craft.
