President’s Award for Endangered Crafts supported by HRH The Prince of Wales

President's Award for Endangered CraftsHRH The Prince of Wales has established a new award for endangered crafts through his patronage of the Heritage Crafts Association. Each year the President’s Award for Endangered Crafts will present £3,000 to a heritage craftsperson who will use the funding to ensure that craft skills are passed on to the future.

The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) published the latest edition of its groundbreaking HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts last year, which revealed that there are 107 endangered crafts in the UK. Crafts deemed critically endangered range from bell founding and damask weaving to orrery making and reverse glass sign painting. Other endangered crafts include a number of musical instrument making crafts, including brass, woodwind and percussion instruments, harps and Northumbrian pipes.

Applicants for the President’s Award are invited to submit proposals to help secure the survival of their craft, which must be listed as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ on the 2019 edition of the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts.

The President’s Award will be presented at a special reception at Dumfries House, home of The Prince’s Foundation, as well as at a prestigious winners’ reception at the Houses of Parliament.

The Award judges are renowned advocates of craft skills:

  • Patrick Grant, BBC The Great British Sewing Bee, Director of Norton and Sons and Community Clothing;
  • Mark Hedges, Editor of Country Life;
  • Kate Hobhouse, Chair of Fortnum and Mason;
  • Patricia Lovett MBE, Chair of the Heritage Crafts Association; and
  • Simon Sadinsky, Deputy Director of The Prince’s Foundation.

Patrick GrantMark HedgesKate HobhousePatricia Lovett MBESimon Sadinsky

HCA Chair Patricia Lovett said:

“The UK has a hugely rich cultural heritage of craft skills which can be regarded as important as our great historical buildings and treasured objects – all the result of great craftsmanship. However we are in danger of losing a number of these crafts where our research has found that in some cases there are only one or two makers left. The Heritage Crafts Association hopes that by focusing on endangered crafts with this wonderful award initiated by our President, The Prince of Wales, the craft skills will be passed on to future generations.”

Applications are invited from those practising a craft listed as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ on the 2019 edition of the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts. Applicants must explain how they will use the £3,000 award to help secure the survival of their craft.

The closing date for applications is Friday 17 April 2020 at 5pm. Shortlisted applicants will be expected to attend the Awards Ceremony at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday 17 November 2020, 4pm to 6pm, so please ensure that you can attend before submitting an application. The winner will also be expected to attend the presentation at Dumfries House, Ayrshire, Scotland, in September 2020 (date to be confirmed).

Click here to download the application form including further instructions

Comments are closed.