photo: Pekka Paikkari exhibited at Galleri F15, ‘Earth, Wind, Fire, Water’ in 2020. Photo by Vegard Kleven.
The Nordic Network of Crafts Associations (NNCA), representing seven craft organisations across the region, has put forward a proposal for a Nordic Council Craft Prize. This new award would elevate the visibility of contemporary craft across the Nordic countries, celebrate its cultural and artistic diversity, and acknowledge the contributions of makers to society. The prize would sit alongside the existing Nordic Council awards for literature, film, and the environment, and serve as a platform to promote the craft sector on both regional and international levels.
The NNCA’s proposal emphasises the need for parity between crafts and fine arts, particularly given the limited institutional recognition that crafts currently receive. While the fine arts benefit from high-profile awards and broad exposure—such as the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale or the Lorck Schive Art Prize—craft prizes remain fewer in number and smaller in scope. The proposed Nordic Council Craft Prize would help bridge this gap, supporting the craft sector’s role in cultural heritage, sustainable development, and economic innovation. The proposal also highlights the field’s diversity, encompassing a wide range of practices from contemporary installations to Sámi duodji, and stresses the importance of inclusion for underrepresented groups.
The initiative has already been discussed at recent Nordic Council meetings and will go before the Council’s Presidium in June 2025. The NNCA strongly advocates for a craft-specific prize, or at the very least, the full inclusion of crafts within a potential Nordic Council Visual Arts Prize. This would require explicit representation of craft in the award criteria and adjudication committees. Ultimately, the NNCA sees this prize as an important step toward recognising the vital role of craft in shaping a sustainable and culturally rich Nordic future.
Nordic Network of Crafts Associations (NNCA) consists of: Danske Kunsthåndværkere & Designere (Denmark); HANDVERK & HÖNNUN (Iceland) Konsthantverkscentrum (Sweden), Konstnärernas Riksorganisation (Sweden); Norske Kunsthåndverkere (Norway);Norwegian Crafts (Norway) and ORNAMO (Finland).