On the surface, a high-end art fair held in Dubai and a digital conference in Bristol might not seem to have very much in common. But both act as important indicators of the Craft Council's direction, suggesting where contemporary making could go in the future, as well as where objects created in the UK might be sold.
As the whole saga untangles, we are delighted that art and design will be retained in the National Curriculum, and that its importance both to the economy and as a tool to broaden pupils' grasp of the world around them has been recognised.
In many respects Chennai was an apposite spot to hold the World Crafts Council's International Summit. A city historically rich in making, it's also at the heart of India's burgeoning new economy, being the nation's second largest exporter of software, information technology and information-technology-enabled services.
The aim of the project is to re-awaken school kilns all over England, introducing a new generation of children to the possibilities (both creative and practical) of clay, and encouraging them to take these skills further forward in their education and subsequently the wider economy.
The nitty-gritty policy work that the Crafts Council does on behalf of the craft sector is not perhaps as glamorous as high profile exhibitions like the recent Power of Making at the V&A (their second most popular exhibition in the last ten years). However - it plays a vital role in how craft is perceived across government.
You only have to watch the crowds of visitors transfixed by the films in Power of Making to realise that people remain fascinated by how things are made. Yet, for a gamut of reasons that began with the industrial revolution and encompass globalisation as well as technological advances, our chance to have direct contact with makers and making has decreased considerably.
