Radical Acts

The Harewood Biennial returns in March 2022 with Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters. Following 2019’s Useful/Beautiful, curator Hugo Macdonald and the Harewood team have once again set to create a ground-breaking exhibition rooted in craft and craftsmanship.

The 2022 Biennial explores why craft is a ‘radical act’, helping us to address urgent crises in life and society today, and looking to a future where we might live in a more environmentally and socially-responsible way.

Radical Acts launches with a series of short films and podcasts – scroll down to the featured links below.

Read an introduction from Trust Director Jane Marriott >>

Explore Radical Acts with curator Hugo Macdonald >>

Generously supported by Arts Council England and the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund

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What’s on

Make It Harewood

Make It Harewood returns for 2022! As part of Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters, we are bringing you a weekend long festival which opens up the world of craft, allowing the whole family to get stuck in, meet … Read more

Lectures

Radical Acts Symposium: Craft’s Power for Positive Change

30 June – 1 July 2022

The Harewood Biennial explores the transformative power of craft and creativity, which connects people and empowers communities. In this year’s exhibition, Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters, curator Hugo … Read more

Lectures

Reclaiming the Earth: Live in Conversation

30 June 2022

Reclaiming the Earth: Live in conversation in partnership with Intelligence Squared Harewood Gallery + Online Opening the two-day Radical Acts symposium on Thursday 30 June at 6.30pm, Harewood joins … Read more

Radical Acts

Film – Community Clothing

We’re not here to change the world of fashion. We’re here to create good jobs. In The Radical Act of Community, Patrick Grant, founder of Community Clothing, introduces the fashion and clothing … Read more

Radical Acts

Film – Sebastian Cox

We all have a responsibility to make sure the objects we are designing or creating have either a limited negative impact or, as we do, a positive impact on the earth. In The Radical Act of Environment, … Read more

Radical Acts

Film – Mac Collins

It’s an opportunity for discussion and these things can also become a vessel for that kind of conversation. In The Radical Act of Respect, furniture designer Mac Collins reflects on what it's like to … Read more

Radical Acts

Podcast – Celia Pym

Not so long ago, we wouldn’t have thought twice about getting out the sewing box and mending holes in our clothes. Today, thanks to the rise of fast fashion and the decline of our patience and … Read more

Radical Acts

Podcast – Michael Marriott

The impacts of our throwaway culture are extreme – socially, environmentally and globally. In the UK alone, we produce around 200 million tonnes of waste a year. Michael Marriott is a … Read more

Radical Acts

Podcast – Fernando Laposse

Mass commercial farming is a modern ill with extreme environmental and social consequences. Traditional, rural farming communities are decimated by conglomerates, and once fertile fields are … Read more

Radical Acts

Podcast – Retrouvius

The construction industry is one of the greater culprits in modern society for carbon emissions and waste. But the subject of reuse in construction and architecture is gaining ground. … Read more

Radical Acts

Trust Director’s Introduction

The Harewood Biennial is a bold exhibition for our times, exploring the transformative power of craft and creativity, which connects people and empowers communities. Listen to Jane's introductory … Read more

Radical Acts

From the Curator – Hugo Macdonald

In Radical Acts, craft is presented as a bridge between our roots and our future. Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters is about craft with social and environmental purpose. We tend to define craft as a … Read more

Radical Acts

Launch Press Release

Harewood Biennial 2022 to explore narratives of social and environmental purpose in the work of 15 contemporary craftspeople, designers and initiatives. Saturday 26 March to Monday 29 August 2022 … Read more

Radical Acts

Radical Acts Exhibitors

Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters features 15 exhibitors from across the UK. Mac Collins Mac Collins is an emerging designer from Nottingham, committed to designing and making narrative rich … Read more