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In order to raise awareness amongst the wider public of the importance of the craft sector to culture and to strengthen links between the craft sector, cultural institutions and arts and crafts tourism, the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation intend to cooperate in future. ZDH President Jörg Dittrich and SPK President Prof. Dr Marion Ackermann laid the foundations for this by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the House of German Crafts in Berlin.

The connection between craft and culture has deep historical roots: many artists originally came from the guild craft tradition. It was not until the Renaissance that the two fields began to diverge increasingly. Through their collaboration, the ZDH and the SPK aim to harness these commonalities for the present day, benefiting museums and cultural institutions as well as the craft sector and an audience that can rediscover the cultural significance of craftsmanship.

ZDH President Jörg Dittrich also recognises this direct connection between craftsmanship and culture: “One-fifth of all craft businesses across more than 100 trades regularly work in the cultural and creative sectors. In this respect, the craft sector is part of culture in two ways: on the one hand, it creates access to culture in the first place, for example when craftspeople build stages, make frames, design spaces, and preserve and restore historic buildings. On the other hand, the craft sector itself produces cultural artefacts, for example in ceramics, glass, textiles, jewellery, instrument-making or the creative metal and woodworking trades. These are not merely utilitarian objects, but works with their own design concept, their own distinctive style and their own unique character.”

Together, the ZDH and the SPK aim to bring this cultural significance of craftsmanship more firmly into the public spotlight whilst also opening up new economic prospects for the cultural and creative crafts sector, as SPK President Prof. Ackermann explains: 

“I am convinced that this cooperation will be enormously fruitful both for the craft sector and for us as a cultural institution. It will shed the light it deserves on the cultural, historical and social significance of craftsmanship and enable our audience to rediscover craftsmanship as a cultural technique.”

The MoU focuses on high-profile initiatives: the partners aim to coordinate their communications more closely, develop joint formats and ensure that the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation features regularly in the craft trade press. Joint events are also planned, particularly as part of the European Days of Arts and Crafts (ETAK) and the German Crafts Collection. There are also plans to recruit further partners from museums and the media and to establish a ‘Crafts Cultural Circle’ comprising high-profile representatives from the cultural sector who will act as cultural ambassadors for craftsmanship.

Exhibitions organised by the SPK are also a planned component of the collaboration. They offer an excellent opportunity to bring craft-related themes and the people behind them closer to a wider audience and to highlight their significance for cultural history. Another key focus of the collaboration will be on the next generation. To preserve craft culture and cultural craftsmanship, greater awareness should also be raised of the range of roles available to craftspeople within museums. After all, the cultural role of craftsmanship can only be preserved in the long term if we succeed in attracting young people to craft trades and opening up new career prospects for them.

Press images:https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder