Talks programme

Collect 2024 once again played host to an engaging talks programme in the talks theatre, offering visitors a chance to hear from leading experts in art, craft and design. Scroll down for the timetable.

Alongside the main talks programme, there were a series of more intimate booth talks with gallerists and artists over the course of the fair. These took place on the gallery stands and gave a richer insight into the work.

Talks Programme

Crafts: In conversation with Freya Bramble-Carter
and Chris Bramble
Friday 1 March, 12.00
Talks Theatre, Somerset House

Over the course of his nearly four decade-long career, celebrated ceramicist Chris Bramble passed on his passion for clay to daughter Freya Bramble-Carter (both represented at Collect 2024 by 50 Golborne), now a star potter in her own right. Here, the pair join Crafts editor Debika Ray to talk more about their work and the delight from collaborating with family.

The World of Interiors: Connection with the Land
Friday 1 March, 13.30
Talks Theatre, Somerset House

On the precipice of climate crisis, our relationship to the natural world urgently needs reframing. How are designers and makers responding to the changing environment? How can sustainability be built into materials and processes?

As a magazine that celebrates extraordinary interiors and the objects within them, The World of Interiors is delighted to partner once again with Collect, a unique platform where there are always exciting discoveries to be made.

This year's talk features three varied perspectives on the subject: designer and co-founder of OCHRE, Joanna Bibby, ceramicist Jim Gladwin (155A Gallery) and gallerist and founder of Charles Burnand Gallery, Simon Stewart. They will be joining Eleanor Parsons, digital director of The World of Interiors to discuss the matter.

Collect Open: Material Cultural language
Friday 1 March, 15.00
Talks Theatre, Somerset House

Chaired by creative industries consultant Caroline Jackman, three Collect Open makers come together for a unique panel talk to discuss the Venn diagram of material cultural language through their creativity.

Jo Fairfax, Karen Browning and Divya Sharma come from shared backgrounds in three-dimensional study, where materials are a vehicle for ideas fuelled by their interest in cultural traditions, heritage and lived experiences, generating narratives that reflect on the here and now.

LOEWE FOUNDATION: Space for innovation in contemporary craft
Saturday 2 March, 13.30
Talks Theatre, Somerset House

Glass artist Choi Keeryong (represented at Collect 2024 by Bullseye Projects), ceramicist Annie Turner (represented at Collect 2024 by Cavaliero Finn) and silversmith David Clarke (represented at Collect 2024 by BR Gallery) – all previous finalists of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize – will discuss craftsmanship with artistic ambition and its relationship to tradition and the future. The meeting will be moderated by Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, executive secretary of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize expert panel.

Crafts: Against the grain
Saturday 2 March, 15.30
Talks Theatre, Somerset House

Wood has been used creatively since the beginning of time, and craftspeople today are still finding new ways to wield the material. In this talk, Crafts meets three innovative makers to discuss all things timber, chaired by Isabella Smith, senior editor of Apollo.

Gordon Sparks (represented at Collect 2024 by Craft Alliance Atlantic Association) is an Indigenous artist from Rough Waters, New Brunswick, who hand-carves wooden masks in the tradition of the Mi'kmaq First Nations people of eastern Canada.

Scotland-based Naomi Mcintosh (represented at Collect 2024 by Ruup & Form) uses her architectural background to create three-dimensional drawings, telling stories about the sanctity of the natural world – from wearable objects to sculptural installations.

Sculptor and arborist Robert George (represented at Collect 2024 by Cavaliero Finn) creates forms and furniture that reflect his deep knowledge and relationship with trees.

Booth Talks

Thursday 29 February
11.30: Cynthia Corbett Gallery (W6)
12.00: BR Gallery (W18)
12.30: 50 GOLBORNE (E22)
13.00: Intoart (S12)
13.30: BR Gallery (W18)
14.00: Ruup & Form (W1)
15.00: common sense gallery (S11)
15.30: PIK'D (E14)
16.00: BR Gallery (W18)
16.30: Craft Scotland (W10)
17.00: Design & Crafts Council Ireland (E28)

Friday 1 March
11.30: Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections (S9)
12.00: Galerie REVEL (E17)
12.30: Design-Nation (E7)
13.00: Craft Alliance Atlantic Association (S8)
13.30: Contemporary Applied Arts (S5)
14.00: Lloyd Choi Gallery (E6)
14.30: Ruup & Form (W1)
15.00: Design & Crafts Council Ireland (E28)
15.30: Cynthia Corbett Gallery (W6)
16.00: Craft Scotland (W10)
16.30: Goldsmiths’ Fair (E11)
17.00: Long & Ryle (E9a)

Saturday 2 March
11.30: London Glassblowing Gallery (E24)
12.00: Cavaliero Finn Gallery (W17)
12.30: The Stratford Gallery (S10)
13.00: Craft Alliance Atlantic Association (S8)
13.30: Long & Ryle (E9a)
14.00: Ruup & Form (W1)
14.30: Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections (S9)
15.00: Siat Gallery (W15)
15.30: Cynthia Corbett Gallery (W6)
16.30: Galerie REVEL (E17)

Sunday 3 March
11.30: Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections (S9)
12.00: Bullseye Projects (E16)
12.30: Craft Scotland (W10)
13.00: Craft Alliance Atlantic Association (S8)
13.30: Objects Beautiful (E8)
14.00: Cavaliero Finn Gallery (W17)
14.30: London Glassblowing Gallery (E24)
15.00: Design-Nation (E7)
15.30: SHAM Gallery (E9b)

BR Gallery at Collect 2023, photo by Iona Wolff

Talks programme

Talks Programme

Booth Talks

Read more

Collect 2024

Galleries

Collect Open

Sponsors and partners