Going Places: Communities of Making

Who are the Communities of Making

CofGâr is working in partnership with Highlife Highland in Scotland and the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum in Northern Ireland, as part of a network called Communities of Making. The network will explore how local heritage and traditional making has evolved in these regions through the museum collection with the creation of an exhibition.

What are we doing?

Exploring how local heritage and traditions of making have evolved in their respective regions (for example: Irish linen weaving, Scottish wool, Welsh basketry) through objects from our collections including textiles, costume, craft objects, heritage machinery, paintings and others. All three museums have collections that are rooted in local and regional craft traditions and the skills associated with them, including the Red List of Endangered Heritage Skills. 

In collaboration with hard-to-reach 16-24-year-olds the three partner museums will bring together objects and artworks from their collections to explore how these craft practices relate to young people and their communities today.

Young Curators and Makers

At Carmarthenshire Museum, a group of 16 Young Curators and Makers, aged 14–24, has begun working alongside museum staff to shape the Carmarthenshire contribution to the project. 

Over the coming months, they will co-curate a touring exhibition that will travel between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as part of Art Fund's Going Places programme.

The group has already started getting to know one another, exploring the museum's collections through behind-the-scenes access, object handling sessions and discussions about the stories that make Carmarthenshire unique. These early workshops have encouraged participants to think critically about identity, place and the role museums play in telling the stories of local communities.

Exploring Carmarthenshire's textile heritage

Our recent Textiles Heritage, Object Handling, and Storytelling workshop explored Carmarthenshire's rich textile heritage, from traditional skills and women's labour to craft, identity and storytelling. 

Participants had the opportunity to: 

• handle historic textiles from the museum collections
• learn about their care and conservation

And try a range of heritage textile crafts, including:

• cross stitch
• natural dyeing
• quilting
• nalbinding

The session encouraged the group to consider how contemporary creative responses could help tell historic stories, and which aspects of Carmarthenshire's textile heritage they might want to represent in the touring exhibition.

Coming up next: printmaking, place, and powerful stories

The next workshop will focus on Printmaking, Place, and Powerful Stories, exploring how printmaking has historically been used to record history, celebrate communities and share ideas. 

Working with artists and museum collections, participants will experiment with traditional printmaking techniques while considering how print can help communicate the stories they want to tell about Carmarthenshire and Wales.

Shaping the exhibition

A key part of the project is giving young people the opportunity to decide what stories should be shared through the exhibition.

Together, the group is exploring questions such as:

• Which objects best represent Carmarthenshire and Wales?
• What stories do these objects tell about our communities, identities and traditions?
• Which heritage crafts should be celebrated or safeguarded?
• What does "making" mean to young people today?
• What would we want audiences in Scotland and Northern Ireland to understand about Carmarthenshire?

Working with museums across the UK

Alongside the workshops, participants will have opportunities to work with partner museums across the UK.

Later this year, the group will visit the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum in Northern Ireland to meet fellow Young Curators & Makers, explore collections and learn about local linen heritage and community stories.

We will also welcome colleagues from High Life Highland, including the Highland Folk Museum and Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, to Carmarthenshire as part of the exchange programme.

These visits will allow participants to:

• share ideas
• learn from one another
• build relationships across the UK
• help shape the touring exhibition

Developing skills and new perspectives

Throughout the project, participants will work alongside museum professionals, artists and heritage craftspeople to:

• explore collections
• develop creative skills
• select objects
• create new interpretations

Their voices, experiences and perspectives will shape an exhibition that celebrates the distinct heritage of each nation while highlighting the connections between communities through making, creativity and shared cultural traditions.

Follow the project

As the project develops, we will continue to share updates on:

• workshops
• creative commissions
• exchange visits
• emerging themes and ideas
• progress towards the touring exhibition

The exhibition will be showcased across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

About Going Places

Communities of Making is part of Going Places, a UK-wide programme led by Art Fund and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust.

The programme brings together museums and young people to create collaborative touring exhibitions inspired by collections, creativity and place.