{"id":786550,"date":"2026-02-24T20:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/786550\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:27:15","slug":"london-craft-week-announces-highlights-for-its-12th-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/786550\/","title":{"rendered":"LONDON CRAFT WEEK ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS FOR ITS 12TH EDITION"},"content":{"rendered":"

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London Craft Week is proud to announce highlights of its 12th annual festival, showcasing exceptional making in an expansive programme at over 150 venues across the capital from 11-17 May 2026. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs audiences become increasingly attuned to how, where and by whom the things in our lives are made, London Craft Week has become the cultural moment celebrating the most exceptional professional craft across all scales and sectors, from local studios to the international stage.\u201d
Aoife Leach, Managing Director, London Craft Week<\/p>\n

Visitors to London Craft Week can discover the stories, skills and people behind works ranging from crafted objects to fashion, furniture, architecture and beyond at demonstrations, exhibitions, talks and workshops.<\/p>\n

This year, London Craft Week is delighted to welcome JW Anderson and Sotheby\u2019s as sponsors, alongside annual favourite The Pimlico Road Series supported by Grosvenor.<\/p>\n

JW Anderson <\/p>\n

JW Anderson will present an exhibition and live making demonstration in collaboration with an exceptional artisan creating new products, to be launched at their recently opened Pimlico Road store.
The Pimlico Road Series<\/p>\n

Annual London Craft Week favourite The Pimlico Road Series returns, showcasing 20 of the world\u2019s most exceptional design and interior brands. This year\u2019s series will feature events from newcomers to the district including JW Anderson and architectural detail specialists Corston, alongside established Pimlico Road partners from Soane Britain exploring sustainable trade to \u201cYoung Weaver of the Year\u201d Leonie Edmead in residence at Rose Uniacke.<\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a joy to bring craft into the Sotheby\u2019s galleries. Craft has a universality that connects makers, materials, and cultural memory, while remaining fully present in everyday life. In an increasingly digital world, craft offers a direct connection to skill, touch, and makers gone by. At Sotheby\u2019s, we have long presented crafts and ceramics alongside fine art, encouraging conversations across disciplines and celebrating the quality of exceptional objects with collectors. Our programme with London Craft Week does exactly that \u2013 supporting the next generation of craftspeople and inviting audiences to experience a practice that is both rooted in tradition and vibrantly contemporary.\u201d
Julia Fischel, Head of Sale, Sotheby\u2019s <\/p>\n

The third edition of London Craft Week\u2019s Secret Ceramics fundraising collaboration with charity FiredUp4 will be hosted by Sotheby\u2019s as part of Crafted, a major public programme at their Bond Street galleries including the London Craft Week Symposium, Sotheby\u2019s own Festival of Craft talks series, demonstrations by world-class artisans, an exhibition of work by learning-disabled and autistic artists from charity Intoart, and an art fair of leading commercial galleries that will showcase the most exciting fine crafts being made today. <\/p>\n

Secret Ceramics will present 100 identically-priced ceramic works by established and emerging artists, each sold anonymously as well as, for the first time, an auction of 12 special lots by leading UK ceramic artists including Hitomi Hosono, Fernando Casasempere, Jacob van der Beugel, Felicity Aylieff and Ryan Barrett.<\/p>\n

Loewe Foundation Craft Prize Alumni<\/p>\n

London-based Loewe Foundation\u2019s Craft Prize alumni will engage with London Craft Week through a series of moments and initiatives across the city, reflecting the Prize\u2019s ongoing dialogue with London\u2019s craft community. The winner of the 2026 prize will be announced in Singapore on 12th May during London Craft Week.<\/p>\n

Maker Highlights<\/p>\n

Exceptional, established and new makers feature across the London Craft Week programme. Bespoke picture framer Darbyshire will present an exhibition of works by Eleanor Lakelin (wood), Derek Wilson (ceramics), Erin McQuarrie (textiles), Kei Tominaga (metal), Kim Francis (stone), Oliver Cook (stone) and Tim Fluck (ceramics). Copper sculptor Sadie Clayton, whose practice centres on bridging art & wellness through copper metal, presents a series of workshops and live demonstrations at Old Spitalfields Market. Jessica Light aka \u2018The Tassel Queen of Bethnal Green\u2019, brings her couture-crafted cult passementerie to East London Cloth\u2019s Vyner Street showroom, and glass blower Theo Brooks opens his Cockpit Deptford studio for tours led by Homo Faber.<\/p>\n

The City <\/p>\n

This year\u2019s London Craft Week significantly expands its celebration of contemporary craft in the City of London. Visitors to The City will be able to enjoy craft themed film series The Old Ways at The Barbican, visit bespoke print artisans Imprimerie du Marais, and delve into an often hidden world of making via multiple livery companies that actively support their founding trades. These include demonstrations by The Clothworkers\u2019 Company in collaboration with Designer Bookbinders; pigment making, woodgraining, marbling, trompe-l\u2019\u0153il, fine-art picture framing, gilding, wallpaper restoration, calligraphy and illumination by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers at the Painters\u2019 Hall, plus a talk series including Lucia Scalisi from acclaimed TV show The Repair Shop; a pop-up exhibition of leading UK silversmiths and jewellery designers curated by Bishopsland Trust at The Cutlers\u2019 Hall; and a deep dive into rare millinery crafts by The British Hat Guild in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Feltmakers. Heritage Crafts, the national heritage craft skills charity, will present Living Legacies \u2013 A Showcase of Endangered Crafts in the UK at Leathersellers\u2019 Hall.
Visitors to the Square Mile can explore craft in architecture through two series of walking tours: The Lettering Arts Trust reveals letter carving with The Masons\u2019 Company, ending at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral; and The Handmade City traces ancient trade routes and artisan materials from Farringdon to St Stephen Walbrook with creative director Catherine Lock. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the recently renovated Grade I listed Barts North Wing will host a day of events including a gold leaf illumination workshop with artist Sarah Davis, and Barts Heritage CEO Will Palin will discuss the role of craft restoration. <\/p>\n

Beyond the City, London Craft Week\u2019s focus on the role of contemporary restoration artisans in architecture includes events at The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and more. <\/p>\n

International <\/p>\n

London Craft Week\u2019s international projects continue to be a diverse and stimulating selection in the festival\u2019s programme offering visitors a taste of the world\u2019s best craft and design from communities far and wide. <\/p>\n

This year sees a strong Italian presence in the festival programme with a combined project from The Embassy of Italy in the United Kingdom and the Italian Trade Agency at their brand new headquarters \u2018Casa Italia\u2019. Visitors will be treated to an extensive exhibition of contemporary Italian craftsmanship with particular attention to new materials, research, innovation and sustainability. More of Europe can be discovered via the high-design of the French Craft Collective, a presentation from Business France, and Meisterstrasse Handmade at The Austrian Embassy. <\/p>\n

Continuing the prescient global interest in modern materials, The National Heritage Board of Singapore will navigate topics of craft heritage, identity, and sustainability through a showcase of present innovative forms. The Thai Art and Craft Development Association embraces contemporary reinterpretations of traditional crafts through Ngob hats while artist Lisa King embarks on a journey to re-examine the ancient textile technique of batik for a modern world with The Indonesian Embassy. Soluna Fine Craft will present a showcase of contemporary Korean craft spanning materials from horsehair to metal. <\/p>\n

Shedding light on an exceptional but lesser known tradition, Yi Crafts celebrates the ethnic minority of Southwest China and their culture of bridal crafts. Far beyond the wedding day itself, Brides of the Mountains is an exhibition not to be missed. In keeping with the theme of exceptional and unexpected, The Royal Thai Embassy brings The Art of Thai Miniatures to London Craft Week 2026. This showcase will offer an intimate journey into Thai craftsmanship through exquisite miniature works, talks, and hands-on workshops. <\/p>\n

Museums and Institutions<\/p>\n

A host of London museums and institutions will be taking part in London Craft Week with specially curated exhibitions and events, including the V&A, The English National Opera, The National Army Museum, The Royal Society of Arts, The Royal College of Art, The Fashion and Textile Museum, The Design Museum, The Courtauld, Leighton House, South London Gallery, Pitzhanger Manor and The Garden Museum. <\/p>\n

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