Rosemary James-Beith
r.james-beith.1@research.gla.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3603-5868
Research title: Collaborative behaviours in Scotland’s craft sector: survival skills for postcapitalist futures in the creative and cultural industries?
Research Summary
Self-organised makers in Scotland's craft sector: prospects for good work and social impact in the Creative and Cultural Industries
This qualitative study aims to critically examine the contemporary structures, purposes and behaviours of maker-led craft associations in Scotland. Through the observation of four such organisations, interviews with both maker members and policy makers, a survey of makers and archival research, this study will identify the internal and external factors that have influenced their development.
It will consider the role of self-organisation in responding to and mitigating against the policy environment in a period characterised by precarity, rising inequality and increasing anxiety for cultural workers. While at the same time, in a period when craft is receiving a resurgence of public interest and attention as a potential salve for society’s ills, this study will consider the social aims and values of makers and their organisations.
Primary Research Question
What can the structures, purposes and behaviours of maker-led craft associations in Scotland tell us about the needs, aspirations and values of craft makers in Scotland?
Secondary Research Questions
- What does self-organisation in Scotland’s craft sector look like in practice?
- What barriers to participation in craft sector organisations exist for makers?
- What motivates participation in craft sector organisations for independent makers?
- How does (cultural) policy support, affect or inhibit the self-organisation of Scotland’s craft makers?
Supervisors
Grants
Research Support Award, October 2022, College of Arts, University of Glasgow
Research Support Award, January 2022, School of Cultural and Creative Arts, University of Glasgow
Kesson Scholarship 2021, College of Arts, University of Glasgow
Conference
This PhD Life 2022: Field Work R&D - Using Research Funding in Year 1 to Scope Methods and Ethical Considerations for your PhD, October 2022, University of Glasgow
Teaching
Graduate Teaching Assistant: Issues in Audience Management (MSc Module, CICP), January - June 2022, CCPR, College of Arts, University of Glasgow
Guest Lecture: Craft Makers in Scotland, Creative Lives (MSc Module, CICP), March 2022, CCPR, College of Arts, University of Glasgow
Graduate Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Creative Industries (MA Level 1), January - June 2023, FTV, College of Arts, University of Glasgow
Additional Information
Currently based in Glasgow University's Centre for Cultural Policy Research, where she is undertaking a PhD, Rosemary James-Beith (MA, LLB, MSc) is a freelance research and development consultant with over a decade of experience in Scotland's Cultural Sector.
She worked for many years within Glasgow Life's Arts, Music and Cultural Venues Service, managing festivals, major projects, evaluation and strategy. Recently she also managed the Curatorial Leadership in Collections project on behalf of the Scottish Contemporary Art Network.
For the last four years, in between completing a MSc in Creative Industries and Cultural Policy and starting a PhD, Rosemary has been working on a freelance basis supporting cultural organisations to undertake programme and audience development, strategic reviews, evaluations and research.
Recent work in the craft sector includes authoring MAKE Learn: Craft and Making Education in Scotland Today on behalf of commissioners Craft Scotland and MAKE, and facilitating development sessions for MAKE's Committee, Panel and Craft Scotland. Other clients have included Puppet Animation Scotland, Glass Performance, Karen Gordon Photography, Take Me Somewhere and Glasgow Life.
Rosemary has recently started teaching within the College of Arts on the Creative Industries and Cultural Policy MSc and will shortly be starting to teach on the new undergraduate MA Creative Arts and Industries, both offered through the University of Glasgow's College of Arts.
