Page 281 - Constructing Craft

submission appeared to have a major flaw. Throughout the 1980s the CCNZ

continued to try and encourage the national craft organisations to join.

Regional Membership

Another tension was the perception that the craftspeople located in the major cities
were better represented than those living in the provinces. To some extent this

appeared to involve an adjustment that craftspeople were making as the craft
community became more urbanised. Colin Slade, the President in 1986, in a paper to

the CCNZ on the regions, noted that, like a ‘political party, ... any such body that
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ignores or neglects its “grass roots”, does so at its peril!’ For Slade the advantages
of creating a structure based on regional representation was self-evident and

included benefits such as increasing regional activity, increasing membership,
improving the CCNZ image and, through decentralisation, improved administration

efficiency.

The executive committee structure finally settled on consisted of three different types
of Board positions – individual craftspeople, craft organisation representatives and

regional delegates. The structure was ultimately unsatisfactory because it satisfied

none of the requirements the different groups and factions wanted. In attempting to
serve ‘all’ craftspeople it succeeded in serving only a select few.

Indexes and Registers

The index of ‘top’ craftspeople started in 1987 and appeared to be an attempt by the

CCNZ to differentiate between ‘professional’ craft artists and ‘amateur’ craftspeople.
To many others the index appeared to be an élitist means of favouring some

craftspeople over others. In Britain a similar index had been operating since
September 1974. It had caused some disagreements but the provision for

craftspeople to appear in an unselected ‘Register of Makers’ and the support the

Index received from Britain’s most well known craftspeople helped blunt most
concerns. In New Zealand selection for the Index was controlled by the CCNZ and it

was made clear that it would be rigorous – national crafts organisations were not
invited to undertake the task on behalf of the CCNZ.

Constructing Craft