Page 292 - Constructing Craft

The Coupe de Grâce

The review of the needs of craftspeople commissioned by the Arts Council was

undertaken by Albert Stafford, an independent consultant. At first it appeared to be a

review of the ‘craft sector’, but it soon became apparent that certain parts of the craft
sector would be under closer scrutiny. Stafford set up meetings with craftspeople,

educators and administrators throughout New Zealand. Despite this apparently
inclusive approach however, the use of the term ‘craft artist’ by Stafford, rather than

the words ‘craft’ and ‘craftsperson’, as used in the Terms of Reference, suggested
that the final conclusions might have been already decided. In the final report

Stafford briefly responded to the combining of craft and art:

Some craftspeople have strongly put forward the need for a
generic group for craft. After raising the art-craft issue with
numerous craftspeople throughout the country we consider it
counter-productive to get drawn into the philosophical
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arguments both for and against the separation of the two.

The consultation process also emphasized the divisions that had developed within
the crafts movement. Stafford divided ‘Professional Craft Artist[s] (Full-Time)’ from

‘Professional Craft Artist/Design Tutor[s]’ because the former insisted that, unlike the

latter, ‘they didn’t have the backstop safeguard of secure income from an alternative
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source.’ The tutors disputed this claim, saying that many craft artists also had
alternative incomes. But Stafford noted that the separate classifications had shown
up the different needs of each group. The craft artists wanted marketing of craft to be

a priority and also some accountability in the way that grants were made. Tutors,

who resented their ‘lower ranking’ when compared to craft artists, wanted more
grants and more emphasis on education. However, always in the background was
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the issue of lack of representation and the declining membership.

The Stafford Report recommended terminating the funding of the CCNZ and the
establishment of an Arts and Crafts Development Board (ACDB). Ominously, for the

craft sector, the ACDB would have a much larger constituency – all visual artists. The

interim committee of the ACDB, called, from early 1993, the Visual Arts Marketing
Board, met under the chairmanship of Albert Stafford. With no national craft

Constructing Craft