Phoebe Cummings Announced Winner of The Inaugural Woman’s Hour Craft Prize

We are so excited about this new prize, which was launched to celebrate the most innovative and interesting craft makers working in the UK. The work of the 12 finalists have been displayed at the V&A Museum since September, and their pieces – exquisite, diverse, challenging – are a wonderful reflection of the vitality in the contemporary craft movement. The talented young ceramicist Phoebe Cummings, who created a stunning raw clay installation influenced by botanical art and architectural ornament, has been announced the overall winner. 

We also particularly like the works of Andrea Walsh, who makes delicate Japanese-influenced boxes from glass and bone china; Laura Ellen Bacon, who created a huge fluid and dynamic willow structure; Emma Woffenden, who sculpts unsettling futuristic figures out of glass; and Celia Pym, who darns old clothing, reflecting on our attitudes to mending and care. Pym will be holding two 'mending days' in December and January, where you are invited to bring in old, beloved items in need of repair - bringing together the notions of making and sustainability. 

The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize runs until 5 February 2018 at the V&A Museum, London 

vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/womans-hour-craft-prize

Photo credit: ‘Triumph of the Immaterial’ Phoebe Cummings for the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize © Victoria and Albert Museum, London