Following the success of our pilot COMPASS: Emerging Curator Programme 2023-24, we are delighted to announce a second cohort of curators who will take part in the programme from April 2026 to April 2027.

Elizabeth Ann Day, Kate Pickering, Scott Smith and Laura Wilson each bring a wealth of creative experience and passion for connecting audiences with Scottish contemporary craft. 

Background

Curators play a key role in sustaining and innovating contemporary craft, however, there has been little infrastructure to support their professional development to date. In our role as the national development agency, we believe it is more important than ever to invest in makers and the wider contemporary craft ecosystem to ensure a thriving and resilient sector in Scotland.

After our ‘Sustaining Curatorial Careers Research’ report by Dr Stacey Hunter was published in April 2022, Craft Scotland developed a new strand of our learning and development programme COMPASS, specifically for craft curators.

The COMPASS: Emerging Curator Programme aims to address the lack of sustained opportunities for craft curators to develop their practice. It offers a supportive environment for participants at an early stage in their curatorial careers to develop the critical skills needed to build a robust professional practice.  

The COMPASS: Emerging Curator Programme 2026 - 27

Curator, educator and maker Katy West will be leading the programme again, bringing over 15 years of experience working as an independent curator. Her practice considers the cultural status of craft workers, designers, and makers within the fields of material production. Notable past projects include Bothy Stores for The Bothy Project, Modern Languages for Crafts Council and the India Street exhibition and project.

The COMPASS: Emerging Curator Programme has been designed to provide emerging curators with the foundational skills to shape a sustained curatorial career.

The programme will combine online workshops and in-person site visits and will include a visit to London Craft Week 2026. It is designed to provide emerging curators with the building blocks to develop their curatorial practice, with sessions led by knowledgeable workshop leaders.

Workshops will cover areas such as creating a compelling proposal, critical curating theory, fundraising and budgets, marketing and PR, and embedding Sustainability and Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion into craft curatorial projects.

The cohort will also be looking at curating through the lens of archival practices – exploring diverse types of archives, how they relate to craft practice and considering the roles of archives in developing curatorial projects.   

About COMPASS

COMPASS is Scotland’s route to a flourishing craft sector.

Craft Scotland’s dynamic learning and development programme, COMPASS, delivers tailored support for the craft sector. We want to support craft talent and equip individuals with the necessary skills to create a thriving creative and business practice. COMPASS approaches learning and development holistically exploring values and self-development topics alongside business subjects such as finance and marketing.

Originally launched in 2018 to focus on makers, COMPASS has since expanded to also provide support for curators and craft professionals. It is a continuously evolving programme of support responding to the unique needs of the community, informed by industry experts and feedback from the sector.

Current activity includes our year-long flagship Emerging Maker programme, Emerging Curator programme and free-to-access COMPASS: Online.

Previous COMPASS activities have included free webinars, industry networking sessions, bursaries for established makers to develop their practice and for graduates affected by the pandemic, and residencies for Next Generation makers.