This London Craft Week, Rachael Taylor will lead a panel discussion on the future of human craft and creativity in an AI world.
Taking place at the FORGE, the creative hub in London’s historic jewellery-making heartland of Hatton Garden, the talk will explore how we’re returning to authentic craftsmanship, and increasingly valuing things made by the human hand.
It will ask:
If so much can be simulated, what cannot be replicated?
If so much can be rendered, what makes something real?
When perfection is effortless, does imperfection become powerful?
Rachael will be in conversation with the below four experts:
Rajesh Gogna is a fourth-generation silversmith and goldsmith, contemporary craft practitioner, academic and researcher based in the UK. His work explores traditional techniques through a contemporary aesthetic and has been exhibited internationally, with pieces held in major museum and private collections including the V&A, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the National Museum of Wales. He is Senior Lecturer in Design Crafts at De Montfort University and a former Chair of Contemporary British Silversmiths.
Karin Paynter is a silversmith, strategist and advocate for British craftsmanship, with a career spanning making, exhibitions, sector development and cultural partnerships. Trained as a silversmith and educated at the Royal College of Art, she has led major initiatives that champion jewellery and silversmithing, including projects with the V&A, the Goldsmiths’ Company, Christie’s and the Silver Trust. Karin played a key role in the creation of the Goldsmiths’ Centre and now works across research, advocacy and strategic development to support the long-term visibility, value and future sustainability of craft in the UK.
TF Chan is is the director of Collect, an international art fair for museum-quality contemporary craft and design, organised by Crafts Council and held annually at Somerset House in London. He is also the author of Louis Poulsen: First House of Light, a monograph on Denmark’s leading lighting company. A frequent speaker and moderator, TF has appeared on BBC Radio London and Monocle on Design, and participated in talks in London, Milan, New York, Tokyo and Copenhagen. As a journalist, he has contributed to publications including The World of Interiors, Monocle, Ark Journal and Icon. He began his career at Wallpaper*, where he led the print magazine from 2020 to 2023.
Mary Lewis is Head of Craft Sustainability at Heritage Crafts and lead researcher of the Red List of Endangered Crafts, the nationally recognised research project tracking traditional skills at risk across the UK. With a background in craft practice, she has developed training, apprenticeships and sustainability initiatives that support the future of endangered making traditions. Her work brings valuable insight into skills transmission, cultural heritage and what is at stake when craft knowledge is lost.
Event Details
🗓️ Tuesday 12th May
🕠 6-8pm
📍 FORGE, 59 Leather Lane, London EC1N 7TJ
🎟️ £25