Crafting Tomorrow

Through our Crafting Tomorrow programmes, QEST is inspiring a new generation of makers by offering opportunities to develop hand skills, meet professional craftspeople, and explore careers in craft and making.

Working in collaboration with key partners,  we are reaching out to communities across the UK where there are barriers to participating in craft activities or learning about creative careers, whether through cultural stereotypes, economic or social inequalities, or a lack of access to the sector.

We are maximising the impact of our programme through these partnerships to ensure the craft sector is as diverse, inclusive and sustainable as it should be.

CRAFT&MAKING CLUBS

National Saturday Club gives 13–16-year-olds the opportunity to study subjects they love at their local university, college or cultural institution, for free.

In 2022 The National Saturday Club and QEST partnered to launch the Craft&Making Saturday Club, generously supported by Howdens. The clubs give young people an opportunity to try their hand at a wide variety of crafts, including jewellery making, printmaking, woodworking, embroidery, bookbinding and glassblowing, and to meet professionals to find out about careers in the craft and manufacturing sectors.

Click here to view a map of the Craft&Making clubs across the UK.

National Sat Club story PIC FINAL (2)

The lino-cutting and printmaking Masterclass with Bonfield Block-Printers was amazing and I’d never done it before. Afterwards I went and bought my own starter set because I liked it so much.

Club member

MAKE Southwest

It has made me rethink what I would like to do in the future. It’s given me more options to pursue.

Club Member

City & Guilds of London Art School

I loved the inclusive environment and the how we were able to make whatever we wanted and have the full support of the club tutors.

Club Member

Birmingham City University

Coming from a low-socioeconomic background meant not only was I not exposed to careers in the creative sector, I was actively encouraged away from it. Visibility and accessibility is so integral for young people who are beginning to make these big decisions about their future.

Rosanna Bishop

QEST Scholar

It was amazing to see all the Club members engaged in making with their hands; the care and attention you have put in is clear in the finished results.

Tom Wilkinson-Dix

Club Tutor

I felt really inspired by the ceramics – learning how the kiln was very rare as it is wood fired, and it was also inspiring that it was a woman doing it.

Club Member

MAKE Southwest

MAKING THE FUTURE

Education and Employers inspires children and young people by connecting them with a wide range of volunteers from the world of work.

QEST is working with Education and Employers to build the ‘Making the Future’ campaign, encouraging young people in secondary schools to think about a career in the crafts and conservation sectors. QEST alumni have been volunteering through an online matchmaking platform to connect with local schools, and craft-specific career events are being held virtually and in-person throughout the academic year.

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I feel that volunteering in activities like this is so important. It gives students a well-rounded overview to an industry that isn’t traditionally taught about in schools, and brings careers to their attention that may otherwise be missed when thinking about their future.

Carl Fox

QEST Scholar

It was great to be able to offer real life examples of people making a living in creative careers. Giving students a broader experience of what is out there. What stuck for a lot of them was the fact that careers aren’t always a straight line illustrated by the speaker who worked as a hairdresser before finding leather and marquetry. Thank you, it was a good experience and I would definitely sign up for any more that you run.

Teacher

I learned that it's ok not to know what you want to do at this stage - give it time and persevere!

Year 11 Student

I felt it was necessary to join this session as I would’ve liked to have been shown these opportunities when I was at school.

Patrick Woodward

QEST Apprentice

I thought this was an excellent, inspiring session which filled a gap in the careers provision that schools can usually provide and opened the student's eyes to new possibilities - thank you!

Teacher

KNOW-HOW CRAFT STUDIO

Intoart is a pioneering visual arts organisation for people with learning disabilities to be visible, equal, and established artists, designers, and cultural producers.

QEST and Intoart will collaborate to develop the Know-How Craft Studio, a new programme launching in 2024 which will offer a workshop programme in craft disciplines led by specialist craftspeople. This foundation will allow the participants to progress to opportunities for commissions and exhibitions. QEST will also support the development of an in-house textile department with dedicated practitioners and technical team.

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If you want to support or get involved in any of the Crafting Tomorrow programmes, please contact our Education and Partnerships Manager Katherine Dunleavy:

[email protected]

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