The transition from the relative hot house of full-time studies into the cold hard world of professional practice is a ticklish one. Not every student has the combination of talent, grit, and luck to continue their practice as a career (and not all of them want to). Since 2009, The Future Makers Awards & Supports programme has offered both practical assistance and encouragement to students and recent graduates of craft and design, assisting them in taking the first steps into professional practice. Their success, in the medium term, will be displayed in ‘Shape the Future‚’, an exhibition of the work of twenty designers and makers formerly supported by Future Makers. The exhibition is part of the centenary of the 1916 Rising and will explore the role of craft and design in shaping our cultural identity and, conversely, the way that cultural identity shapes creative practice. The exhibitors include Cillian √ì S√∫illeabháin and Snug (furniture); √öna Burke (leather); Karen Donnellan (glass); Kate Murtagh Sheridan and Kate O’Kelly (ceramics); Jaki Coffey (jewellery) and Lisa Ryder and Natalie B Coleman (fashion). The exhibition is curated by Angela O’Kelly and runs at the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, from 18 November until 5 February.
