How might traditional crafts be reimagined into innovative and modern products that express and embody Singapore’s rich and diverse cultural heritage? This was the challenge posed to the traditional craft practitioners and local designers paired up by the National Heritage Board’s (NHB) Craft X Design scheme.
In Singapore, traditional craft practitioners have been using time-honoured techniques and materials to create objects of aesthetic value with function cherished by many communities. At the same time, traditional craft practitioners have started to explore partnerships and expand their boundaries, to reach out to and connect with contemporary audiences.
Launched in 2021, the inaugural Craft X Design scheme seeks to raise the profile of local traditional craft practitioners and increase their access to new markets. The scheme pairs four traditional craft practitioners with four local designers and/or studios, to co-design and co-create contemporary product prototypes for the local market, over a period of six months. This showcase represents the final stage of the Craft X Design scheme and presents the product prototypes co-produced by the four pairs, which range from furniture to fashion to metalware.
Through the showcase, NHB hopes to highlight the possibilities that can emerge from intersections of craft and design, culture and creativity, tradition and modernity.
Learn more about the artists' and their processes at www.go.gov.sg/craftxdesign.
