The New Craftsmen was established in 2012 as a platform for genuine and meaningful craft, playfully imagined and properly made by artisans of the British Isles. This initiative has grown to become a substantial community of makers with a rich variety of expertise in the fields of textiles, furniture, pottery, lighting, artworks and more. These makers develop collections that reinvent traditional techniques and create contemporary work imbued with the specific cultures of the places in which they are made. They are open to bespoke commissions and wholly unique projects.

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Specialised in the field of crafts and applied arts, Brian Kennedy is an independent curator based in London. In his Homo Faber Guide itinerary selection, you will discover talented craftswomen working ceramics, wood or bones, as well as a selection of galleries to visit, either contemporary, design or purely craft-related.

London: a day around the Thames through the eyes of a craft expert

While spending time in London, come and discover the recommendations of independent curator and craft expert Brian Kennedy. This itinerary will guide you through his selection of 10 craftspeople and galleries around the capital.

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An independent curator, Brian Kennedy has curated acclaimed craft exhibitions all over the world, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collectors to develop strategies, organise exhibitions and build collections within the fields of craft and applied art. He is Artistic Director of TRESOR, the European fair for contemporary craft, and since 2012 he has also worked with Taste Contemporary.  He has curated exhibitions for the Crafts Council of Ireland, Oliver Sears Gallery and Contemporary Applied Arts London. Many of the exhibitions curated by him have been held in noteworthy international cultural institutions such as the American Irish Historical Society, New York; Somerset House and the Royal Academy, London; National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; and Fonderie Kugler, Geneva. With Taste Contemporary he has curated projects at Art Geneva, Miart and Art Monte Carlo.

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The Ceramic House was founded in 2011 by architectural ceramicist Kay Aplin. A unique artist’s home, it is a living work of art, adorned with Kay’s large scale tiled installations inside and out. It is a pop-up gallery, artist residency, boutique guesthouse and artist-led project space investigating the intersections between ceramic and sound art practice. It produces an ongoing programme of projects which are ambitious and international in scope. It partners with museums, galleries, universities, residencies and institutions to create exhibitions, installations, publications, films and performance events which extend its reach beyond The Ceramic House and towards the wider international artistic community.

The Ceramic House

A living work of art

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Beaux Arts Bath opened its doors back in 1979. When Reg and Patricia Singh first opened the gallery, they exhibited many well known artists of the post war St. Ives period, such as Barbara Hepworth, William Scott, Alfred Wallis and many others. Situated near the abbey, in a beautiful listed Georgian building, Beaux Arts Bath has now become the longest established commercial gallery in Bath. Today, the gallery specialises in the works of major 20th century painters, sculptors and studio ceramicists. Beaux Arts Bath offers an exciting programme of eight annual exhibitions, half of which are dedicated to promoting new young talent. Among the contemporary artists represented, visitors will see the works of Nathan Ford, Beth Carter, Andrew Crocker, Anna Gillespie, Sarah Gillespie and many more. The gallery is synonymous with the work of Dame Elisabeth Frink, whose work was ever present in Bath throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Beaux Arts offers a unique experience to visitors, interlacing modernity with history in the heart of the beautiful city of Bath.

Beaux Arts Bath

20th century talents

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Situated in the heart of Edinburgh New Town, The Scottish Gallery is the oldest commercial gallery still trading in Scotland today. Founded in 1842 by Aitken Dott as gilders and picture restorers, since the 1880s the gallery has championed women artists and been the leading promoter of Scottish Contemporary Art. In the same period, it developed one of the longest running commitments to craft and the applied arts: sculpture, furniture, jewellery, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, glass and mixed media by Scottish, UK and international artists are represented in the gallery to the highest standard. The Scottish Gallery runs a monthly programme of in-person and online events to complement its exhibition calendar.

The Scottish Gallery

A fair patron of contemporary and applied arts

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Located in a Grade II listed Georgian house, Ann Symes opened Gallery57 in 2016. The gallery exhibits contemporary artworks and crafts made from materials such as paper, ceramics, textile, metal and wood. National and international artists with unusual methods and approaches to material and techniques are thoughtfully curated within themed exhibitions. Attentive placement of exhibited objects coupled with the ambiance of an originally residential space creates the calm and welcoming aesthetic for which Gallery57 is known. Ann Symes, a practicing artist herself, works in the connected studio space where she occasionally hosts workshops with experienced makers and tutors.

Gallery 57

Themed contemporary exhibitions

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Your authorizations

Developed in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and made possible by the support of Cartier, Homo Faber in Città gives you a rare chance to visit over 70 artisan workshops. The project is developed in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Confartigianato Imprese Venezia, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, The Venice Glass Week and Venezia da Vivere.

Our Partners

Step inside the workshops and ateliers to learn the secrets of local master artisans and manufacturers

Try your hand at different crafts with an authentic experience

Marvel at examples of fine craftsmanship by doing our itineraries

This september, the second edition of Homo Faber in Città invites visitors to step off the beaten track and discover the artisanal addresses where Venetian craftspeople create objects of exquisite beauty. A rare opportunity to witness Venice’s master artisans and young talents demonstrating their crafts and presenting the tools, materials and skills involved in contemporary Venetian craftsmanship.

Enrich your experience beyond Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life

Account and data history

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Homo Faber Guide is an online portal dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship, showcasing artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries, shops and experiences. Create your user account for access to exclusive features on Homo Faber Guide: save your preferred pages, hear about hot topics first, leave recommendations for your favourite artisans and much more.

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Although the Michelangelo Foundation researches the talents for its projects autonomously, collaboration with our ambassadors is fundamental. Over 120 associations, schools and institutions allow us to map the continents for craftsmanship and to have partners in each country who share our vision and goals. In addition, we have asked well-known personalities in the craft, design and art world to be our ambassadors in the cities where they live, so that their recommendations can offer a unique insight into craftsmanship in the major cities of Europe and beyond.

Who are our ambassadors?

Download our free Homo Faber Guide app (iOS and Android) to discover artisans, museums, galleries, shops, and experiences by location. Search Homo Faber on the App store on your mobile device.

Find craftsmanship destinations on the go

Discover the addresses of esteemed manufacturers, well known for producing high quality objects across a wide variety of crafts. Read their stories and find out where you can shop their contemporary pieces, see their archive collections and even in some cases visit their workshops. Find exceptional ateliers where artisans collaborate creatively to create fine pieces of craftsmanship. Reach out to them to commission something special.

Ateliers & Manufacturers

All the artisans and small workshops featured in Homo Faber Guide have been carefully researched and selected. They are presented and narrated through a selection of images and an interview, which allows readers to immerse themselves in the universe of these makers who exemplify excellence in their individual fields or are promising talents of the future. Find masters and rising stars who share the same passion and determination, and whose workshops are ready to share their secrets with visitors.

A selection of the best artisans

Are you eager to discover a city through craftsmanship? Do you wish to spend a few hours visiting an applied arts museum or attending a course on a craft with one of the masters featured in Homo Faber Guide? Browse the section dedicated to experiences and find your next adventure.

Experiences

An expert artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years. He or she may also be engaged in passing on their knowledge to the next generations, but they have been doing so for less than seven years. Beyond this, they will become a Master artisan.

Who is an Expert artisan?

Homo Faber Guide provides you with a selection of the best addresses across Europe and further afield, where you will be able to discover and purchase exceptional objects, some of which are created by artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide.

Galleries

Homo Faber Guide is an online platform dedicated to craftsmanship that allows you to discover artisans and their masterpieces; explore museums, visit galleries and shops selling unique objects; enjoy experiences in cities across Europe and beyond.

Homo Faber Guide is a signature project developed by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was set up in 2016 thanks to the intuition of Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert. The Michelangelo Foundation’s mission is to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship, and for this reason it has created a map of the most significant representatives in this field, with the aim of connecting all its protagonists: artisans, designers, gallery owners, art curators, collectors and enthusiasts of high-quality handmade pieces.

About the Guide

Are you an artisan, atelier or manufacturer? Would you like to be featured in Homo Faber Guide? The Michelangelo Foundation encourages self-assessment initiatives and is pleased to evaluate new members to appear on the Guide or in other projects. Thanks to the Master’s Touch Evaluation Tool, every artisan can send their application: register and access a questionnaire to see if you fulfill the 11 criteria for excellence that stand behind all the activities of the Michelangelo Foundation. If your answers reach the minimum requirement, your application will be brought to our attention; if, on the contrary, you should score below the minimum requirement, we will give you some points for improvement, in the hope that you may participate in future initiatives of the Michelangelo Foundation.

Join the Homo Faber Guide!

Our artisan labels

A master artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years, and who has also been engaged in passing on his or her expertise to the younger generations for more than seven years. This is in keeping with one of the key values of the Michelangelo Foundation: the transmission of knowledge in craftsmanship.

Who is a Master artisan?

Find museums handpicked for their links to contemporary craftsmanship and the exquisite collections they have on display. In each city, discover a museum of interest and organise your visit. From Italian museums displaying coral collections, glass pieces and ceramics to decorative art museums in Russia and Greece, marvel at the variety of museums exhibiting masterpieces, showcasing techniques and recounting histories.

Museums

A rising star is an artisan who has been active for less than ten years, and who is capable of expressing his or her craft with competence, creativity and originality. Whether self-taught or trained, the rising star represents the future of craftsmanship, in creativity, concerns and approaches.

Who is a Rising star?

The artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide have been selected through a meticulous assessment process based on the 11 criteria for excellence, identified by Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in the volume The Master’s Touch, written with researchers Giuditta Comerci and Giovanna Marchello. The members of the Michelangelo Foundation’s network who have been invited to participate in sourcing artisans for the Guide use an evaluation tool based on these criteria. In this way, they can identify the most suitable artisans to include in the project.

Simple rules for a transparent selection

In which city does the artisan work?

In which country does the artisan practise?

What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

What is the name of the artisan you are recommending?

Does the artisan have a website?

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