Souvenirs from Home

This touring exhibition is the culmination of the 3 year Home Ground project initiated by Devon Guild of Craftsmen and funded by Arts Council England. This cross-disciplinary collaborative project brought together 6 contemporary craft makers with 6 National League Football Clubs in order to explore cultural heritage through contemporary practice. The nickname of each of the Football clubs selected originated from a local crafts trade tradition and through co-creative activities undertaken by the artists with different community groups the project provided an opportunity to capture people’s interest in craft through another passion – football. Chris Knight was commissioned to work with Sheffield United Blades to create an object in Metal for this exhibition that toured to 7 venues from September 2016 to February 2017. (https://homegroundcraft.com/souvenirs-from-home-exhibition/) Through the community based creative workshop activities with Lowfield Primary School, Girls United and Senior Blade supporters, Knight used the story of the City’s historic craft industries to connect people and places and build an understanding of the importance of craft in creating a distinctive sense of place. The final commission created by Knight uses the traditional spun copper plate format with photo-etched text that connects the infamous goalkeeper William Henry 'Fatty' Foulke (1874-1916) with what is referred to by supporters as the Chip Butty Song. Drawing, Text and Images formed the basis of creative workshops undertaken by participants to distil their own thoughts, relationships and feelings towards Sheffield, Sheffield United and Making. The exhibition brings together the commissioned works and the 'souvenirs' made co-creatively with participants.