Craft Futures aims to advance research and advocacy on the links between craft and fashion-based entrepreneurship and sustainable development. It is a project funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences Networking Grant Scheme (NGR1\2031), led by RMIT in partnership with Birmingham City University.
The project seeks to expand existing, Eurocentric discourses on creative entrepreneurship to include the voices and perspectives of practitioners in the global south. Our research responds to the challenging context of contemporary craft and fashion markets, which are dominated by large-scale ‘mega brands’ and fast fashion companies. The devastating environmental and social consequences of these companies are well established, and there is an urgent need to support alternative economic practices that empower vulnerable communities and promote environmental responsibility.
The project involves fieldwork and case studies of socially engaged craft organisations around the world, and online and in-person networking events in the UK and Australia.
Rimi Khan is Vice Chancellor’s Principal Research Fellow in the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University, investigating regenerative fashion systems in the Asia-Pacific. Rimi’s research investigates the cultural and community impacts of sustainability innovations in global south communities, particularly low-carbon, resource-efficient materials that supply fashion systems, and new biomaterials.
Grace McQuilten is a published art historian, curator and artist with expertise in contemporary art and design, public art, social practice, social enterprise and community development. Grace is Associate Dean of Research and Innovation in the School of Art at RMIT University. Her research champions inclusive models of curatorship and art history.
Karen Seaward-Patel is an Associate Professor in Media at Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK. Her research interests centre on inequalities in cultural work, particularly in craft, and the role of socially engaged craft in the creative ecosystem. Karen has led two AHRC funded Innovation Fellowships with the UK Crafts Council, revealing the extent of racism and microaggressions in UK craft.
The Craft Futures network includes academics, practitioners and organisations from around the world.
