Dr Stephen Knott has been appointed the new Director of the Crafts Study Centre

Stephen joined the Crafts Study Centre in June and after a summer induction period has now taken on the role full time. Stephen has a background in Higher Education with lecturing posts at Liverpool Hope University, The Royal College of Art, Camberwell College of Art and most recently Kingston University. Since his PhD at the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum that looked at the phenomenon of amateur craft, Stephen has been committed to the study of craft history and contemporary craft practice, as shown by his editorial position at The Journal of Modern Craft for the past ten years. He has served on the Acquisitions Committee of the Crafts Study Centre since 2017 and completed a post-doctoral research project at the Centre in 2012 on the relationship between prominent studio craftspeople and early-twentieth century craft education. For Stephen’s full bio and research statement please click through to his UCA staff profile.

Stephen joins the Crafts Study Centre at a time when its position as a centre of high quality craft research - through its exhibitions, publications and work with local partners - is well established. He hopes to build on these strong foundations to advance understanding of craft history and contemporary craft practice, and is committed to broadening the reach, accessibility, and impact of the Centre through dynamic mobilisation of its collections. Keep an eye on developments on the website and through social media.

Stephen succeeds Professor Simon Olding, who retired in autumn 2022 and sadly passed away shortly after.