14 must-see craft exhibitions in 2022

22 December 2021

From a forest of woven sculptures to a spotlight on African fashion

22 December 2021

Exhibitions

Glass artist Vicky Higginson's work will go on tour to galleries in London, Penzance and Aberdeen as part of the 2022 Jerwood Art Fund Maker's Open

We’re keeping everything crossed that we can continue enjoying in-person visits to exhibitions next year. In the spirit of optimism, Crafts magazine has compiled a list of the must-see shows taking place in 2022. Please keep an eye on the galleries’ websites, as listings are subject to change.

We Gather

We Gather, taking place in the Crafts Council Gallery, features the work of five female artists of Black and Asian heritage: Shaheen Ahmed, Lorna Hamilton-Brown, Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings, Francisca Onumah and Onome Otite. Each works with different materials, but all exemplify the importance of craft’s cultural value. The exhibition also features a selection of portraits of female artisans from The Black Artisans, a photographic project by Jo Sealy that gives visibility to makers from the African and Caribbean diasporas. We Gather is part of the Crafts Council's Make! Craft! Live! programme, a year-long series of nationwide exhibitions, workshops, fairs, and digital activities that celebrate the value of craft to empower society.

11 January to 12 March, Crafts Council Gallery, London

Jerwood Art Fund Maker's Open

Five new commissions by early-career artists and makers Anna Berry, Cecilia Charlton, Jahday Ford, Vicky Higginson, and the collaborative duo Francisca Onumah and Helena Russell, will go on tour to galleries in London, Penzance and Aberdeen. Together, they present a snapshot of the exciting work being made in the UK and cover a broad range of material disciplines, including glass, textiles, digital modelling, silversmithing and sculptural installation. Beginning in London in January, it will tour to Newlyn Art Gallery in summer 2022 before travelling to Aberdeen Art Gallery in autumn 2022.

28 January to 9 April, Jerwood Arts London, London

25 June to 1 October, Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance

19 November to 4 March 2023, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen

Assemblage of Turned Wooden Vessels by Ash & Plumb, whose work is part of an exhibition produced by arts organisation Design-Nation

Body Vessel Clay

Curated by Crafts contributor Jareh Das, Body Vessel Clay takes a look at 70 years worth of ceramics practiced by Black women artists. The neo-gothic setting of London’s Two Temple Place gallery will provide a backdrop to works that begin with the late Nigerian pottery legend Ladi Kwali, to experimental new works by the likes of Phoebe Collings-James, Jade Montserrat and Shawanda Corbett.

29 January to 25 April, Two Temple Place, London

Design-Nation, Our Journey

Twenty-five designer-makers from the portfolio of arts organisation Design-Nation have been chosen to present their work at this exhibition. Selected due to their common commitment to addressing sustainability and ethical making, their material choices are diverse – and collectively present innovative ways in which different practices can up their green credentials.

29 Jan to 24 Apr 2022, Hub Sleaford, Sleaford

A Louise Bourgeois retrospective at London's Hayward gallery will take place in February. Pictured, Conscious and Unconscious, 2008. Photo: Christopher Burke
Untitled, a glass piece by Claire Falkenstein, will be shown in A State of Matter at Leeds' Henry Moore Institute

Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child

Best known for her large-scale sculptures, namely the gigantic spindly ‘Spider’, this show will mark the first major retrospective of the late artist Louise Bourgeois to focus exclusively on her work using fabrics and textiles, produced in her final years. Expect to see huge installations alongside sculpture and collage work, each exploring themes of identity and sexuality, trauma and memory, guilt and reparation.

9 Feb 2022 to 15 May 2022, Hayward Gallery, London

A State of Matter: Modern and Contemporary Glass Sculpture

In Leeds, the Henry Moore institute pays homage to all things glass, and will bring together works that demonstrate the material’s breadth. Work spanning 1965 to present day will be split across three sections exploring the three different states of matter forms of glass: solid, liquid and gas. Expect to see the likes of Claire Falkenstein, Mona Hatoum, Luke Jerram, Joseph Kosuth and Hew Locke.

18 February to 5 June 2022, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds

The Hepworth Wakefield will host a major exhibition dedicated to US artist and sculptor, Sheila Hicks. Pictured, her Grand Boules work, exhibited at the Tate in 2009. Photo: courtesy of Sheila Hicks
One of two embroidered parasols forming the piece 'Mina El Shourouk ila Al Fahmah', by Mounira Al Solh, whose work will be on show at the Baltic in Gateshead

Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters

For the latest edition of the Harewood House Biennial, curator Hugo Macdonald has framed craft as a ‘radical act’, rather than just a process or final object. Arguing that craft itself helps to address societal crises, Macdonald will bring together a selection of projects that celebrate ‘resourcefulness, respect, restoration, regeneration and repair’.

26 March to 29 August 2022, Harewood House, Leeds

Sheila Hicks: Off-Grid

In April, The Hepworth Wakefield will host a major exhibition dedicated to US artist and sculptor, Sheila Hicks, which will include a major new commission and over 70 pieces created over the course of her long and illustrious career.

7 April to 25 September, The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield

Mounira Al Solh – A day is as long as a year

Mounira Al Solh bases much of her work on personal conversations she has with those affected by conflict in Syria, Lebanon and the Middle East region. From April, her solo exhibition at the Baltic in Gateshead will include a selection of new and recent work, including some on paper, embroideries, and films, which act as a record of different lived experiences.

9 April to 2 October, Baltic, Gateshead

A 90s catwalk show by designer Alphadi, whose work will be part of African Fashion at London's V&A

Althea McNish

The late textile artist Althea McNish produce designs for the likes of Liberty, Conran, Dior and Balenciaga. The first Black woman to complete a postgraduate degree in textiles at the Royal College of Art, she used painterly techniques to create abstract, botanical shapes inspired by the Caribbean, and brought colour to an otherwise grey post-war Britain. Catch an overview of her work at the William Morris Gallery in London from April.

2 April, William Morris Gallery, London

Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe

The fabric of Ruth Asawa’s life has been nothing short of astonishing. Living in an internment camp as a teenager, on the eve of World War II, she learned skills from artists also held there – and developed the firm belief in art as a force for good. Titled Citizen of the Universe, a term she used to self-identify, this exhibition will feature her signature hanging sculptures in looped and tied wire, showcasing her ability to bring together art and community education through letters and photographs.

28 May to 21 August, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford

Africa Fashion

Some 250 objects will tell the story of Africa through the lens of its most prominent and influential designers. Pieces by trailblazers such as Kofi Ansah from Ghana, Folashade 'Shade' Thomas-Fahm from Niger, and Chris Seydou from Mali will feature alongside kente, khanga, commemorative and bògòlanfini cloths, and photographs examining how fashions have changed.

11 June 2022 to 16 April 2023, V&A, London

A 1969 Abakan Red sculpture, by Magdalena Abakanowicz, part of her retrospective at Tate Modern. Photo: courtesy of the Magdalena Abakanowicz Foundation

International Festival of Glass

The International Festival of Glass returns in 2022, and with it comes the British Glass Biennale, which, through an anonymous selection process, presents work from both emerging and established UK based artists. Elsewhere, the 2022 festival will focus on exploring glassmaking from Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan.

26 to 29 August 2022, various locations

Magdalena Abakanowicz

At the Tate Modern, the towering woven works of the late Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz will be brought together in a forest-like display, filling its 64-metre long gallery space inside the Blavatnik Building. While the exhibition itself focuses on the work she produced in the 1960s and 70s – during which her works came off the wall and stood on their own within the space – early textile pieces and rarely seen drawings will also be on show.

17 November 2022 to 21 May 2023, Tate Modern, London

14 must-see craft exhibitions in 2022

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