Craft is rooted in the art and heritage of Harewood House, the Grade I listed historic home of the Earl and Countess of Harewood. The selection of narrative-rich contemporary objects will open histories and inform and inspire new stories within the house and gardens. These works, embedded throughout the house and landscape, encourage new ways to engage with the environment of a historic house; actively, playfully and multi-sensorially.

Create/Elevate foregrounds how artists and designers working with craft self-organise to affect societal change and promote social equity. Craft is shared as a continuum, collaboration and cross-generational knowledge sharing that is generous, and the foundation of most things we know, use and value.

Somers’ group of work includes a new vessel, titled Eye Of The Beholder, created as a reflection on Harewood’s collection of French Sèvres porcelain. Admired by many Europeans as a symbol of sophistication and beauty, the Sèvres wares were copied extensively by other European porcelain factories. Brought to the Global South during colonial rule, these commodities became part of an established ‘good taste’. The Sèvres-inspired handheld mirrors confront the viewer with their own reflection, asking us to consider our own concepts of beauty, value, and refinement.

Co-curator, Ligaya Salazer, says of this year’s biennial:“Create/Elevate is really about the role of craft and some of the intangible ecological and societal knowledge attached to it as something that brings people together and is passed on through generations. All the artists, designers and craft makers that are involved are interested in this in some way. Inherently, we celebrate this in the Biennial - that craft can help connect with and learn from others and also because it can be accessible, sociable and tactile.”

Darren Pih shares: “Create/Elevate builds upon Harewood’s reputation for bringing world class arts and crafts to all our audiences across Yorkshire and beyond. It presents works created through community engagement while taking a global perspective to reflect upon Harewood’s history and our extraordinary art collections and decorative interiors. Craft is a skilful expression that can be beautiful and illuminate our current times while providing models for living, learning and thriving together. We look forward to welcoming audiences to Harewood House to explore our 2024 biennial.”

Rachel Crewes, Chief Executive Officer, Harewood House Trust says: “Harewood Biennial is a showcase for the trust’s vision to commission and collaborate with exceptional artists who engage with Harewood’s history in a contemporary way, provoking different perspectives and conversations. Darren Pih and Ligaya Salazar’s bold curation in Create/Elevate accentuates and highlights Harewood House and its collections giving us all an opportunity to explore the skills and knowledge of these global and visionary creatives. We are thrilled to be welcoming these inspiring creatives from locally, nationally and across the globe to share their work and ideas at Harewood House and Gardens this June for a fun and accessible summer of craft.”

Harewood Biennial 2024: Create Elevate will be accompanied by an accessible summer programme of educational workshops and courses, as well as the Make-it-Harewood festival of craft.

Other participating artists and designers include: Mani Kambo, Kusheda Mensah, Lucia Pizzani, Jackup Ferri, Temitayo Ogunbiyi and Emefa Cole, among others.

ABOUT XANTHE SOMERS

Xanthe Somers is a contemporary ceramicist whose large-scale, vibrant works carry barbed social and political critiques. The bodies of her intricate pieces are hand-coiled in the traditional way and then disrupted – their surfaces punctured, woven or adorned with meticulously shaped and painted details. Her creations evoke a sense of play, combining political commentary and hyper-ornamentation to draw attention to overconsumption, cheap labour and the impact of environmental-racist practices on the Global South. Somers will hold a solo exhibition with Southern Guild Cape Town opening on 29 August 2024. Titled Invisible Hand, the presentation will feature works made during her stay at the GUILD Residency in 2024.