Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic research with Polish craftswomen, this paper explores weaving as co-produced through a historical dialogue with the arts. It points to the contradictory effects of introducing and redefining creativity through the interplay of rule-making and rule–breaking in textile craft.

Paper long abstract:

Creativity is a key component of artisanship, constituting an interplay of rules and their contestations. Although ‘traditional’ textile production is often seen as a domain of heritage, the work of the craftswomen in north-eastern Poland demonstrates how craft has been co-produced through a historical dialogue with the creative sector. Based on recent ethnographic research with weavers in Poland, this paper explores how making of textiles sits at the intersection of creativity and the rules of past practice. The presentation uses examples of weaving techniques from north-east Poland to explore the tangled history of these forms of making as well as the different contexts in which creative engagement between the rural producers and the art practitioners took place.

The paper argues that the craft partially owes its reputation and dynamic status to generations of professional artists, ethnographers and museum practitioners who recognised, co-produced and supported its creativity. The discussion demonstrates that on the one hand, creative work within the craft allows the weavers to break the rules of pattern, shape or composition. On the other, these creative expressions are situated within particular frameworks of institutionalised competition and expectations of art market and the heritage industry. The exploration of the different historical and contemporary contexts of engagement between craftswomen and creative practitioners sheds light on what counts as creativity and what constitutes craft rules in such encounters. Finally, the paper points to the contradictory effects of introducing and redefining creativity through the interplay of rule-making and –breaking in textile production.