黑料不打烊

This autumn, the V&A and Crafts Council will celebrate the role of making in our lives by presenting an eclectic selection of over 100 exquisitely crafted objects, ranging from a life-size crochet bear to a ceramic eye patch, a fine metal flute to dry stone walling. Power of Making will be a cabinet of curiosities showing works by both amateurs and leading makers from around the world to present a snapshot of making in our time.
 
The exhibition will showcase works made using a diverse range of skills and explore how materials can be used in imaginative and spectacular ways, whether for medical innovation, entertainment, social networking or artistic endeavour. Works on display will include moulded shoes by Marloes ten Bh枚mer, new Saville Row tailoring by Social Suicide, furniture such as a spun metal rotating chair by Thomas Heatherwick to individual handcrafted puppets from the 2009 film Fantastic Mr Fox, a six-necked guitar, bio-implant embroidering to aid surgical implants, a lion-shaped Ghanaian coffin, extreme cake decorations and new technologies such as 3D printing. There will be a recently completed work by David Mach, a giant gorilla created of metal coat hangers, which will stand in the V&A鈥檚 Grand Entrance, outside the Porter Gallery.
 
The exhibition will encourage visitors to consider the process of making, not just the results. There will be commissioned documentary footage filmed at individual maker鈥檚 studios and factories, to provide an insight into how the knowledge of making is preserved. People from around the world will be invited to upload short films about making to a dedicated open submission website and a selection of the best entries will be continually screened in the exhibitions making area.
 
Power of Making comes at a time when the loss of skill is threatening cultural practice and impacting on commercial industries. However, there is also a resurgence of making currently taking place as a means of self expression, social participation and cultural definition. The exhibition will examine and celebrate the expertise, knowledge and innovation demonstrated in objects, supporting the importance of traditional making skills and the drive towards new ways of working.