CraftNet is a research platform that connects people through craft and creativity; a tool for building creative communities and networks around crafts to reveal their contemporary potential.

CraftNet offers an open-source, participatory mapping tool, where creative minds and maker hands can explore and document the craft ecosystems of cities. 

This makes CraftNet not only a website that visualises craft studios on a map; but most importantly a research tool for creatives to discover the existence of craft studios in their cities and contribute to the local craft ecosystem.

CraftNet's motivation is to understand the value of manual labour in the digital era and to bring back the social recognition of craft, in order to preserve and pollinate the intangible knowledge gained over centuries.

We therefore invite everyone who believes in the power of making to explore, document, connect, and reimagine what craft can be today!

Background
CraftNet is a socially engaged art project by artist Bilal Yilmaz and curator Lydia Chatziiakovou. Its origins trace back to Crafted in Istanbul, a research project initiated by Yilmaz in 2012, to map the city’s craft studios and uncover their creative potential. CraftNet takes this mission further by opening the mapping process to creatives and institutions around the world, creating a participatory, global craft network.

CraftNet

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CraftNet

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