Abbie Adams is a Designer and Curator, whose practice looks at the innate relationship between man and material, with specific interests in contemporary making and the intangible value of creative collaboration through craft. Her process follows a conceptual path and is concerned with materiality and narrative, and the materiality of narrative, with the practical expression centering around material based cooperation and learning.
Her projects are characterised by experimental material investigations that are methodologically concerned with the relationships between craft and heritage, community, education, shared knowledge, and sustainable approaches to materiality.
Her curatorial work promotes the importance of interdisciplinary exchange throughout the arts and its place within the preservations of skill, community, and the environment. In 2019 she launched Material Connections, an ongoing research project that investigated the value of creative collaborations across the arts. The first public installment, an exhibition and workshop series that debuted at London Design Festival, focused on contemporary craftspeople and practitioners who look to materials and making to engage in a wider conversation with cultural, social, and environmental sustainability.
Profesional Experience
2020Vision, XYZ Exchange
July 2020 (Ongoing)
Freelance Researcher
The Koppel Project Campus
January - July 2020
Curator of Learning
Crafting Futures
December 2019
Designer in Residence
Material Connections
September 2019
Curator
The Koppel Project Central
March - December 2019
Assistant Curator & Researcher
50 Golborne Road
February 2019
Freelance Designer
CAVE Textiles
September 2018 - April 2019
Freelance Designer / Maker
The Koppel Project Baker Street
July - December 2018
Assistant Curator & Researcher
Residencies / Awards
Crafting Futures
The British Council
Jingdezhen, China
December 2019
Under 25's
Makerveristy
London, UK
January - July 2019
Winner of the Boisbuchet Residency Award
Domain De Boisbuchet
Lessac, France
August 2019
Once in a Lifetime Edition
MADE LABS
Syracuse, Italy
July 2019
Edward Barnsley Scholarship
Edward Barnsley workshop
Petersfield, UK
August 2012
Exhibitions
Crafting Futures China
March 2020 (posponed)
Fang Sou Commune, Chengdu, China
Solo Exhibition
Material Connections
September 2019
The Koppel Project Central, London, UK
Group Exhibition
Progress to Process
April 2019
Somerset House, London, UK
Group Show
London Design Fair, CAVE Textiles
September 2018
Truman Brewery, London, UK
Trade Fair
Brown Cube
June 2018
500,000
Group Show
Picture This
June 2018
Central Saint Martins, London, UK
Group Show
Workshops
Crafting Futures; Experimentation & Innovation
December 2019
TXC Ceramic Academy, JDZ, China
The teYos Project; Vessel Casting
September 2019
The Koppel Project Central, London, UK
The teYos Project; Vessel Casting
June 2019
Makerversity, London, UK
Getting Started with Product Design
Vessel Casting
March 2019
Somerset House, London, UK
The teYos Project; Vessel Casting
June 2018
CSM, London, UK
Lectures
Crafting Futures, Belfast Sharing Event
January 2020
Ulster Museum, Belfast, UK
Digital // Craft, London Craft Week
May 2019
Somerset House, London, UK
Progress to Process; Interwoven
April 2019
Somerset House, London, UK
Education
Product Design Ba First Class (hons.)
Central Saint Martins
2015- 2018
Foundation in Art and Design
City College Brighton & Hove
2014- 2015
Press & Publications
Goat Magazine: Issue 03
Conversations
November 2020
Design Week
Rejecting Functionality can help designers tell better stories.
September 2019
Selvedge Magazine: Issue 09
London Design Week: Material Connections
September 2019
The Crafts Council
The Craft Edit: 11 Exhibitions to catch at LDF
September 2019
Digital / Craft / Materials
Materials Media and Arts Technology
Queen Marys University of London
June 2019
Goat Magazine: Issue 01
The Philosophie of Niche
January 2019
