Obsolescence and Renewal, Neil Brownsword

The lecture celebrates the life and work of the potter and teacher Henry Hammond (1914-1989) who was Head of Ceramics at the West Surrey College of Art and Design 1946-1980. The Crafts Study Centre is grateful to the Trustees of the Henry Hammond Trust for their support of the annual lectures.

As part of Farnham Craft Month 2024, and in connection with his exhibition Obsolescence and Renewal, Professor Neil Brownsword has been invited to present a lecture about his artistic practice for the 2024 Henry Hammond Memorial Lecture.

For nearly three decades Brownsword has explored marginalised histories associated with ceramic manufacture in North Staffordshire, focusing primarily on the impact of globalisation in recent decades upon people, place and traditional skills. His reactivation of endangered industrial crafts has achieved impact internationally via curated projects and cross-cultural exchange. Brownsword's work raises questions surrounding the value and contemporary relevance of intergenerational skills and obscure regional histories, and how these can be re-imagined into new narratives and modes of expression that reinforce place identity.

About the speaker
Neil Brownsword is an artist, researcher, educator and Professor of Ceramics at Staffordshire University. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1995, his work has gained national and international acclaim. It is represented in public collections internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Korea Ceramic Foundation and Yingee Ceramic Museum Taiwan. He has received various accolades for his creativity and contribution to contemporary ceramic practice, including the inaugural British Ceramic Biennial Award (2009), the Grand Prize at the 2015 Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea, and the Whitegold International Ceramic Award (2019).