21 January 2019

THE LAUNCH OF A MAJOR NEW CULTURAL BIENNIAL FOR THE MAIN FOCUS OF ACTIVITY AT HAREWOOD HOUSE IN 2019

“Why are we so interested in craft today?” is the question the inaugural Harewood Biennial seeks to answer when it launches at Harewood House in March 2019 and opens a vibrant new season at the Yorkshire stately home.

The first exhibition of the Harewood Biennial is Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters, which aims to challenge preconceptions, spark interest and inspire debate about the role craft can play in culture, identity and society. At a time when there is a surge of interest in craft, (from the supermarket to the catwalk) there is also confusion – is it a product or a process? Is it always handmade? Is it just a marketing buzzword?

Visitors to Harewood, , will experience a visual treat across the House by some of the most exciting British-based makers of the moment. Each invited to interpret a different room, the twenty- six exhibitors work both nationally and internationally and span fashion, textiles, woodwork, glass, metalwork, furniture, papercraft and leather.

Highlighting Yorkshire’s wealth of skilled talent, six of the twenty-six exhibitors showcased are based in Yorkshire. Distinguished names include Wakefield-based paper artist and illustrator Andy Singleton, Sheffield-born ceramicist Lena Peters and Whitby glass maker, Effie Burns, rubbing shoulders alongside statement printmaker Anthony Burrill, Welsh sustainable denim-makers Hiut Denim, whose jeans are worn by Meghan Markle, Freed dance shoes and the Emily Blunt-sporting Fox Umbrellas.

Curated by design critic Hugo Macdonald, the exhibition crosses generations and disciplines, mixes classic and contemporary and uses Harewood House as a platform to showcase and question the very definition of skill and craft today. Harewood House itself is renowned for the craftsmanship that built and furnished it in the 18th century, using the most skilled architects, designers and makers of the time including Chippendale, and .

“This is one of our most ambitious projects to date,” comments Jane Marriott, Harewood House Trust Director. “Together with a wider programme of workshops, demonstrations, symposia and events, Useful/Beautiful will be a fully immersive and visually striking exhibition for the first six months of our season, across all rooms in the House and extending outside, offering a vibrant and playful new perspective and experience for visitors.”

In addition, there will be three exciting new commissions for Harewood by renowned British designers, each showcasing craftsmanship in a different way and specific to the House. These are due to be revealed in February 2019.

A full programme of weekend events, participatory workshops and more will be added to the website www.harewood.org as tickets are released.

Additional key exhibitions at Harewood House in 2019 Summer: Pleasure Garden – an exciting new audio installation for the revamped Walled Garden

Autumn: Postcards to the Future – a celebration of thirty years of contemporary art at Harewood, set up by Diane Howse, Countess of Harewood, in 1989

Winter: Christmas at Harewood 2019 – 23 November – Sunday 5 January 2020.

Major events hosted at Harewood in 2019 Further information and booking: www.harewood.org / follow us on social @harewoodhouse

25 – 27 May: Great British Food Festival – The Great British Food Festival is back at Harewood over the late-May bank holiday weekend, with local and artisan producers, food and drink stalls, cookery events for kids, top chef demonstrations and live music. An excellent foodie family day out. £12.50 adult / £7.50 child / £35 family. Members Free.

Outdoor Theatre: the highly respected Chapterhouse Theatre Company returns with two classic productions, ideal for an evening sat beneath the stars. Bring a picnic, blanket and folding chairs to enjoy these wonderful open-air productions. £16 adult / £11 child / £46 family (2 adults 2 children) 29 June: Secret Garden 13 July: Pride & Prejudice

20 July: Classic Ibiza – the outdoor event of the summer, with live DJs and the Urban Soul Orchestra returning for a second year following a successful first visit. A great family-focused event with food and drink bars and a magnificent backdrop of the House. £39.50 adult / £17.50 child / under 5s free

9-11 August: VW Festival – one of the most popular events on the summer calendar, the VW Festival is a great family day and involves everything from trade stands, club stands and vehicle displays, to camping, entertainment and live music. A great laid back and family atmosphere. Pre-booking advisable: £15 adult / child free (5-15yrs) / family £30 (2 adults 3 children)

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters www.harewood.org 23 March – 1 September 2019 Opening hours: Daily from 10AM – 6PM Harewood House, Harewood, Leeds, LS17 9LG

ABOUT HAREWOOD HOUSE Harewood House Trust is an independent charitable educational trust set up to maintain and develop Harewood, its collection and grounds, for the public benefit. The Trust includes the Grade 1 listed Georgian house and over 100 acres of listed parkland and grounds. Harewood House is the seat of the Earl and Countess of Harewood and boasts one of the finest furniture collections in the country. The House became a Royal household in the 1920s, when Princess Mary married the 6th Earl and they moved into the House to live permanently.

ABOUT HUGO MACDONALD The exhibition is curated by design critic Hugo Macdonald. Hugo writes for several international titles about the social implications of design, including Domus, AD, Wallpaper*, Apartamento, Monocle, Kinfolk, Cereal and House & Garden. He consults across a broad range of industries, helping define narrative identity and strategy for clients, including Airbnb, The Goldsmiths’ Company, Erdem, Instagram and Ikea.

Hugo is the curator of the Object section at MiArt, Milan’s annual contemporary art fair. He published his first book “How to Live in the City” for Pan Macmillan in 2017. A former digital editor at Wallpaper*, design editor at Monocle and brand director of Ilse Crawford’s design studio, today Hugo lives between London and Hastings.

Press Contact: Lindsey Porter, PR & Communications Manager, Harewood House [email protected] M: 07849 846 383