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Crafts issue 290: A new beginning

Our September/October 2021 issue delves into this autumn's rich cultural calendar and invites craft world giants to nominate the moments that have defined making over the past 50 years

Cover image: Halima Cassell with her artwork Bow Wave, 2021. Photo: Emli Bendixen

What are the moments, people, objects, trends and innovations that have defined craft over the last 50 years? In this issue, Crafts puts the question to some of the UK’s creative giants – from Grayson Perry to Magdalene Odundo – and the results are full of surprises.

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With the cultural world now back in action, Crafts explores the work of Halima Cassell, whose sculptures currently loom large in the gardens of an opera house, and plumber-turned-artist Chris Day, whose glass artworks confronting Britain’s role in the slave trade are on show in the grounds of a stately home this autumn.

At home with museum director Olivier Gabet

Meanwhile, we drop into the home of Olivier Gabet, director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, which brims with books, glass, ceramics, paintings and prints, and toast the act of dining together once more, looking at how the humble plate is heaped with new significance and discovering the artists transforming our tableware. Finally, pick up this issue to discover the 2021 craft graduates who are set for success.