Catalogue: Lost in Lace

Lost in Lace is a partnership exhibition developed by the Crafts Council and Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG). Site-sensitive installations by 20 artists exploring the language of lace are presented in the striking Gas Hall in Birmingham.

The catalogue extends the exhibition’s interpretation strategy beyond the exhibition space in order to engage the public with ambitious contemporary craft in an informative, discursive and accessible way.

It forms part of a suite of interpretation that includes a free exhibition map and glossary of techniques and materials, onsite interpretation units that feature handling samples, contextual imagery and films, and a standalone website.

The affordable £4 catalogue provides the quality content expected of an exhibition publication. The 32-page paperback includes an introduction, three essays, images and artist contributions using the graphic identity created by OPX for the exhibition.

The essays present three different voices; an edited extract from Santina M Levey’s Lace: A History, which situates Lost in Lace within the historical development of lace to provide an information bridge for those visitors expecting a more traditional experience of lace; David Revere McFadden, chief curator at Museum of Arts and Design, New York, draws out the conceptual themes of the exhibition; and curator Elias Redstone reflects on one of the exhibition’s key themes – the contemporary relationship between craft and the built environment.

The artists also discuss how their work was made, the ideas behind what they have done and the reasons why lace is significant to their work.

The catalogue’s first print run has sold out – with nearly a fifth of visitors buying a copy – and so this is definitely a model that the Crafts Council will be revisiting.
 
Annabelle Campbell is the exhibitions and collections manager and Charlotte Dew is an exhibitions officer at the Crafts Council

Lost in Lace is a Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Crafts Council exhibition, in association with the University for the Creative Arts. A fully illustrated book by curator Professor Lesley Millar MBE is also available; visit www.lostinlace.org to order both publications.