Biography
The Crafts Study Centre (CSC), University for the Creative Arts, Farnham is a specialist university museum open to the public as well as a research centre and home to internationally renowned collections of modern British craft. Its acclaimed collections include modern and contemporary calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, furniture and wood as well as diaries, working notes and photographs of makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Centre's holdings include work by influential figures such as Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie, and Hans Coper in ceramics, Ethel Mairet, Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher in textiles; calligraphy by Edward Johnston and Irene Wellington, and furniture by Ernest Gimson and Edward Barnsley. The Centre became a museum member of the Contemporary Art Society in 2021 which will help the acquisition of a variety of craft items from its Omega Fund or from its newly-established Griffin Award. It also hosts inspiring exhibitions by leading artist-makers, lectures, symposiums and open days, foster scholarship and writing about modern and contemporary craft and publish new books and monographs. The Centre's research library is available by appointment for those interested in learning more about our collections.
CSC is an internationally acclaimed museum of 20th and 21st century British craft, specialising in the fields of ceramics, textiles, calligraphy and lettering, and furniture and wood. The object collections are accompanied by archives such as diaries, correspondence, photographs, catalogues and working notes from craftspeople and crafts organisations. Works by influential historic figures such as Bernard Leach, Ethel Mairet, Edward Johnston and Ernest Gimson sit alongside works by contemporary makers such as Alison Britton, Makeba Lewis and Gaynor Goffe.
The Centre hosts one exhibition of work from its own collections and several exhibitions of work by leading artist-makers each year. It has an active programme of artists’ talks, lectures and other events, and fosters scholarship and writing about modern and contemporary craft. The Centre also houses an extensive library of books and periodicals relating to the crafts.
