A new future for crafts in Flanders
Launch of two major initiatives for the future of crafts in Flanders

There is a lot going on around crafts in Flanders right now. Grassroots, academia and policy are joining forces to make crafts future-proof in our rapidly changing society.

During the weekend of 30-31 March 2024, the first edition of the Ambacht in Beeld Festival will take place in Brussels in the Gare Maritime of Tour&Taxis.

This festival embodies the resurgent public awareness, curiosity and sensitivity to hand skills and abilities. Everyone can roll up their sleeves in workshops with artisan masters in a range of crafts: from glassblowing and woodturning, to calligraffiti, goldsmithing, tubing and much more!

Clearing stumbling blocks

At the same time, there is also plenty of cooperation in Flanders today to tackle numerous structural challenges that craftspeople encounter. Because there are a lot of stumbling blocks that put a lot of pressure on the survival of craft professions: digital transition, economic pressure and market prices, the lack of legal frameworks and statutes, the scarcity of training, workspaces and studios, …

In 2024, the large-scale research project CRAFTING FUTURES will be launched, an interdisciplinary track in which universities, colleges, policymakers and many craft players and other societal stakeholders will work together in a crossover between the domains of economy, education, heritage, innovation … with the common goal of improving the ecosystem of crafts and craftspeople.

This is in line with the mission of the Ambacht in Beeld Festival: to draw attention to crafts in an inspiring way, to promote the preservation and passing on of crafts as intangible heritage, to improve the appreciation of craftsmanship and the visibility of artisan masters and to contribute to the intake at artisan training courses.

Want to know more about Ambacht in Beeld Festival & the research project Crafting Futures?

We welcome you on 30 March 2024 at 11 am at Gare Maritime Tour & Taxis (Picardstraat 11, 1000 Brussels) for a presentation to which press and key players are invited.

You will be able to get up close and personal with and learn all about two current initiatives on crafts in Flanders. And after the press conference, you can visit the festival for free.

PROGRAM
11:00 am Presentation Ambacht in Beeld
Festival director Wendy van Wilgenburg and co-initiator Jorijn Neyrinck (Workshop Intangible Heritage); testimonies of makers
11:20 Crafting Futures
Andrea Cammarosana, prof. Marc Jacobs, prof. Joke Vandenabeele, Unfold
12:00 opportunity for discussion and interviews and possibility to visit the festival

Please confirm your attendance via this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScS7GUJVFvmTCuwWeOq4nbyB4W9-HdNA4hvcqf4fJpqBSlSCg/viewform