Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council

The path to creation can be a solitary one, as many craftspeople and artisans in Nova Scotia know. Often found working countless hours alone in a home studio or workshop perfecting their craft, craftspeople become involved in the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council (NSDCC) to participate in structured meetings, workshops and craft markets and also to network with like-minded craftspeople. 

“The interconnectivity of the council is particularly important to the members living in rural Nova Scotia,” says NSDCC executive director, Susan Hanrahan. “For the benefit of those living in both rural and urban areas we began sending members a weekly email bulletin with information about what shows are opening and what market and funding opportunities are coming up.” Simply formatted, this bulletin is accessible to all council members whether they use high speed or a slower dial-up internet connection.
 
Elizabeth Goluch, a metalsmith, NSDCC member, and finalist for the 2007 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award appreciates the information-sharing and regular communication amongst the council members. Goluch recently took part in the 2009 Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea, an opportunity she says she first heard of through the council’s email bulletin.
 
“That just would not have hit my radar otherwise,” Goluch says. Not only is she exhibiting her piece I’ll Sing in the Sunshine (a beautifully ornate metal and gemstone cicada) while in Cheongju, she will also deliver a lecture. “It’s exposing my work to a wider audience—an international audience. This is a chance for a lot of people to see it, so that’s a great opportunity.”
 
In addition to social, networking and marketing opportunities, the NSDCC also offers its members educational, exhibition and access to funding opportunities. It plays a significant role in promoting Nova Scotia’s craftspeople not only at the local level but nationally and internationally as well.
 
“What we try to do is provide support services and activities that will help craftspeople succeed with their craft practice,” Hanrahan says. The council has arranged export exploratory missions to the US and Europe; trips have resulted in council members selling knitwear in Colonial Williamsburg and jewellery in Santa Monica, for example.
 
A big factor in the exposure beyond Nova Scotia is through the council’s membership in the Canadian Crafts Federation.
 
“This fall, through the Canadian Crafts Foundation, we had the biggest international exhibition of Canadian fine crafts that has ever been pulled together in Cheongju,” Hanrahan says. The Cheongju International Craft Biennale is the largest international craft event in the world, “the Cannes Film Festival for craft.” This year, works from 11 artisans in Nova Scotia were part of the million-dollar showing; four of those artisans had their work continue on to Vancouver for an exhibit during the 2010 Olympics.
 
Hanrahan was successful in getting funding to fly four of the Nova Scotia artisans to Cheongju to lecture on or demonstrate their craft, including Goluch. She writes about 20 to 40 funding applications each year on behalf of NSDCC members. That labour has yielded around $100,000 in support that goes directly into the hands of craft businesses in Nova Scotia to help with business development and export development growth.
 
Although anyone with an interest in craft is welcome to join the NSDCC, Hanrahan says the council follows a certain definition for what a crafted object entails. “A crafted object is one where, through substantial hand manipulation of raw materials, an end product that is different than the starting materials is achieved. For example, you’re taking silver and turning it into jewellery; you’re taking raw clay and turning it into ceramic ware; you’re taking bolts of fabric and turning them into fashion through original design and the extensive application of hand skills.”
 
That does not mean a craftsperson can’t or won’t use machinery at some point, she says, but part of what makes something a crafted object is “the workmanship of risk,” or the opportunity at every point in the creation process for the artisan to make an error. What distinguishes the maker, then, is their demonstrated mastery over their tools, their techniques and their materials. The NSDCC is there to make sure the end results of the artisans’ skills are shared well beyond the walls of those individual studios and workshops.