Polly Macpherson, Associate Professor in 3D Design at the University of Plymouth, has been selected as one of the expert judges for the Woman's Hour Craft Prize 2017.
A new initiative developed by the BBC, Crafts Council and V&A, it aims to find and celebrate the most innovative and exciting craft practitioners or designer-makers resident in the UK today. And the organisers have invited respected figures from the UK craft and design industry to assess the entries.
Ms Macpherson, who leads the designer maker course at the University, is one of a handful of higher education representatives among the judging panel.
She has held roles on a number of regional and national bodies in recent years, including having been a trustee of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen and acting as South West coordinator for the Crafts Council’s national Hothouse 3 initiative.
She has also worked to develop a number of exciting student and research initiatives, facilitating opportunities within the creative industries and working with organisations including Hole and Corner Magazine, London Craft Week and the Port Eliot Festival.
She said:
“It was a real honour to receive this invitation, and to get this kind of recognition and acknowledgement at a national level. I am used to seeing the inspiring and innovative responses to challenges we set our students, and am excited to see some of the talent in evidence among women across the UK. The judging panel includes leading figures in the UK craft industry, and I hope working alongside them might inspire my practice and, in turn, that of students on the designer maker course.”
The Woman's Hour Craft Prize will reward originality and excellence in concept, design and process and individuals who have demonstrably contributed to craft practice in the last five years.
Judges will select 12 finalists to exhibit their work at the V&A, and in a subsequent touring exhibition, and one of those will be chosen as the overall winner and awarded a prize of £10,000 at a ceremony in November 2017.
The deadline for entries is February 13.
